Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1880-09-02

this little romance of humdrum life. As
ever your old chum, EMMA.
-Ehrtch's QUARTERLY.
l
Experience ofa Census Man.
| Owen Browne, census enumerator,
who is now resting on his laurels, gave q
New York HeroId reporter recently a
brief history of his experience. His dis
trict,was No. 500, between Fifth and Lex
ington avenues and Eightleth and Eighty
fourth streets, which he found to con.
tain population OF 1871. He began
his task every morning at eight O'Clock
and ended it generally at six, but some.
times seven in the evening, taking a
lunch and siesta at noon. He il tall,
dark, wiry, determined sort of man, of
about thirty. five, who, as he says himself,
started out with his mind made up to be
az polite as possible under all ciIcum-
| cumstances, but resolved to stand ssno
shenanigans" it the law was not COM
piled with, and he kept the aforesaid
law before him like lantern to guide
him all along in the path of his duty.
When I'd ask lady, said he. for her
age, she might say, is 1t necessary to
give the exact fguresG' and I'd answer,
mo, ma'am; can't compel you, and l
must only draw my own Conclusions
An American lady of the middle class,
well dressed and lively, gave me her age
one day, as thirty-seven, but when she
came to tell me her sons age was twenty
six, said, Madam, you must have made
mistake 'Oh, then she said, little
put out, but very cheerful make it forty.
seven: it will be all the same in a hun
dred years. That was class ef ladies
I used to like to meet, but some of them
would get their backs up if doubted
their woid and give me look as good
as subpoena. Another lady gave me her
daughters age as twenty one, and ssI
was leaving the daughter called me back,
and said she wanted that made nineteen,
as she was afraid the people next door
might see the entry twenty one in my
book and sneer at her. Young ladies,
found, seldom knew their own ages, and
would always call their mothers and say,
"Mamma, what age ought l be now3'
and the mamma, used to notice, al
ways had to think awhile before she
fired off an answer"
The census man then went on to re-
late how lady refused him admission
to her house three times IN succession.
and would only speak to HIM from an
upper window, telling him that her hus-
band told her to give no countenance to
book agents, insurance agents, Gghtning-
rod men and such. She believed he was
one Of these. At last he grew impa-
tlent and somewhat angry, and told her
that if she did not open the door and
give him the information wanted he
would read the riot act. She bid him
to read away, so he pulled the law out
of his pocket, and, taking a position in
the middle of the street, read the penal
ties out loud enough to be heard a block
away.
"Tell that to your husband when he
comes home tonight and be ready with
your answer In the morning." cried the
census man as he walked frowningly
away.
He was around next day, and the re-
ception he met with will be something
he thinks that he can never possibly for
get. The lady, he saws, was in full dress,
and welcomed him inside with proiuse
apologies, and her hospitality was so
pressing that at the rate of two cents a
name he, believed his earnings that day
hardly exceeded twelve cents.
In his district Browne found Ameri-
cans, Irish, English, Scotch. Welsh,
French, Swedes, Canadians, negroes and
enc Russian. He had more annoyances
from young married woman than from
any other class, as on account of their
babies, they always wanted him to call
at their own convenience. He reasoned
with one of these young women by say
ing that if he had to call two.three or four
times ut every place there was baby the
and the young woman saw the point and
surrendered. One day, Browne, who was
also engaged in tsking the census OF 1875,
called at u dwelling and met the house
keeper, who told him she did not think
she was bound to give him the informa-
tion he wanted. why said he, 81 took
the census of this house before" "Oh,
we'll, that will do, ,''sald she; '.just refer
back to your books and You'll have the
whole of it without any trouble"
"Another thing" continued the cen
sus man, "made an amusing experience.
In. nineteen cas- es out of twenty the men
would be absent at business when I
called, and had to depend on the wo-
men for all my Information. 1t was nee
essary to ask the woman whet business
their husbands followed, AMI though
many were never slow about telling the
real truth others would hesitate and try
to think of something more dlgnifed
than the actual calling. A bartender
would be in the WINE business, a driv-
er of beer wagon in the brewery bust
ness, and clerks in the dry goods and
in the grocery business One colored
woman was crazy to have all her
eight children 'took in the census
Come up here, Jemima; come up here,
Luke; come up here, Lappy,' she cried,
until che had the whole crowd around"
"Well, on the whole, was the work Sc
vereS' asked the reporter.
~ did not feel SO" answered the CEN
sls man, "perhaps because went meth
odically to work. I began at the begin
ming and made it point to finish with
every house in row as far as possible.
IT failed to get Information in the morn
ing, passed to the next house, but In
the afternoon I was bound to return and
I'd pick up such as were omitted. This
would sometimes take me past my regu-
lar hour for quitting work, but I had the
satisfaction of knowing that had every
day so much work covered without
break. There were NJ tenement houses
beyond half "a dozen, containing four or
five families, in my district, and the ma.
jority were private dwellings,"
BLACK ANTS A CURE FOR CURRASr-
WORMS tcorraspondenk of tha Ohio