Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1880-06-03
SUMMARY OF CENSUS LAW
What is Expected Of the Enuner-
ators and Heads of Families, Nc.

What is Expected of the Enuner-
atOrs and Heads of Families, Nc.
The officers OF the census who cali a.
dwellings are styled "enumerators. -
Each of them is authorized by law to
make the inquiries, and get :he answers
required by the law: each of them viii
have a duly executed commission, and
is under oath to do his duty faithfully.
and is subject to penalties of fine and
Imprisonment if he does not. The an
swers he gets from heads Of families
or business men. or from those who
act for them, are confidential commu-
nications, and are not to he divulged to
any one except his official superiOrs, and
these are under the same oath and sub
ject to the same penalties if they make
unauthorized communications concern
ing he answers they get in the line OF
their duty. The making of false re-
truns by the 'enumerators" is also
punishable by fine and Imprisonment.
sECREsY IN CERTAIN CASES.
These provisions of the Census law
are mentioned to remind the public,
that while the Government provides for
making inquiries as to personal mat
ters for the purpose of enlightening
the law-making power in the exercise
of their duties, it takes care that infor-
nation of personal nature or touch
ing individual business shall not be
revealed by the officers employed to
collect it, For this, as well as other
reasons, the census takers should he
aided and expedited in their duties
Census statistics are capable of being
used to the highest advantage of the
people as guides to legislation, and in
deed, there is a wide range of subjects
upon which there can be no intelligent
and possibly no safe, legislation
without such statistics collected at
short intervals. The law also imposes
duties on heads of families and heads
of business houses or their authorized
agents, in the matter of giving the in
formation asked for by law. Every
person over twenty gears of age belong
ing to any family, in an enumerator's
district, is required by law to give
census information, if requested to do
so by the enumerator, supervisor or
superintendent, and is punishable by
fine for refusing to do so.
FAMILY AFFAIRS.
Among the personal and family mat
ters about which the enumerators are
to ask heads of families, or in thei1
absence the nearest accessible person
over twenty years of age, who can give
the information, are the following:
Name, age, sex, color and place of
birth of every person dwelling in the
house or with the family; the trade,
profession or occupation of every adult
male over fifteen years Of age, and
whether the adults are married, widow
ed or single-and if married, whether
married within the year; also the
school attendance of the children with
in the year; what members of the
family (if any over twenty years of
age are unable to read and write;
whether persons in the family are en-
ployed or unemployed, and during what
portions of the year; what relation
each person IN the household bears to
the head Of the house; the place Of
bilth Of the parents of each person
enumerated; and the mental and phys
ical health Of each person, whether
active or disabled, married, crippled,
bedridden, deaf, dumb, blind, insane or
i6iotic.
BUsINEss CONCERNS.
Some of these are close questions,
concerning matters that most people
do not care to talk about to strangers;
but, when it is considered the com
munications are needed by the govern
ment for its uses, and are made con-
fidential by law, there should be no
hesitancy in giving them freely to the
enumerators. In matters of business,
trade, agriculture, manufactures, COM
merce, mining, railroaiing, other trans
portation, insurance, expressing. tele-
graphing and kindred subjects, the in
quiries take broad range, and in some
respects the information to be thus col
lected will be an improvement on all
former censuses. This, it may be re-
peated, is guarded in the same way as
to its privacy as family matters are
The enumerators are bound by oath,
and under severe penalties of fine and
to reveal it to no one,
except in their official reports to official
and they are bound in the
same way.
There are provisions also for collect
ing the valuation of real and personal
estate, by aggregates from towns, cities
and counties; the aggregates of taxes
assessed for all purposes; The number
of colleges, academies, schools of all
kinds and school funds; the number,
character and condition of public IL
braries; statistics of newspapers and
periodicals; the seasons and the crops;
prices of labor; matters relating to
religious worship; and of pauperism
and crime. Some OF this, as well as
much that relates to mortality, rail
roads, telegraphs, insurance, &C., taxes,
valuation and real estate, is to be got
through corporate authorities or other
agencies outside of the enumerators.-
All of it is important for government
purposes, and should be given prompt
ly and cheerfHlly to those authorized
by law to make the inquiries and col
lect the information.
Grape Growers Maxims.
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