Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1880-04-22
Helena, Montana, Thursday, April u, 1880.


The compensation allowed Supervisors for
the completion of the work in their districts
has been fixed at $500, with such an allow
ance for clerk hire as the superintendent may
think necessary. The enumerators are to be
allowed So per day, or a certain fixed sum
per name, which shall not exceed in the ag-
gregate the per diem allowed by law. In
| cities of over 10, 600 inhabitants the time for
making the canvass is limited to two weeks,
| while the small towns and the country, from
the first Monday in June to July 1st, twenty
six working days, is allowed. The following
extracts from circular letter addressed by
the superintendent to the supervisors, con-
corning the appointment of enumerators, will
be found to be of interest:
"The most important duty which the su-
pervisor has to perform, is the selection of
enumerators. Ii this is we'll done the success
of the census is secured if it is badly done
in any district the service will be discredited,
the district will be disparaged in the result,
and the supervisor will not escape blame"
The following considerations shall be OBJ
served in the choice of enumerators:
"The appointments must be bipartisan.
The fifth section of the act of March 3, 1869,
makes it the duty of the Supervisor of Census
to designate to the Superintendent of Census
suitable persons, and with the consent of said
superintendent, to employ such persons as
enumerators within his district, one for each
subdivision, and resident therein, who shall
be selected solely with reference TO their lit
ness, and without reference to their political
or party affiliations, according to the appoint
ment approved by the Superintendent OF
Census ETC.
"The superintendent is aware of no reasons
existing in law for regarding women as ineli-
gible for appointment as enumerators. Each
supervisor must be the judge for himself
whether such appointments in any number
would be practically advantageous in his own
district. It is clear that in many regions such
appointments would be highly Objectionable; ;
but the superintendent is not prepared to say
that localities may not be found where can
vass of the population by women could be
conducted without any disadvantage being
encountered by reason of the sex of the emu
meratOr."
The amount appropriated by Congress for
the entire census of the country is So, O0O, 900,
and for printing and preliminary expenses an
additional sum of $25O,0OO. In addition to
the enumeration of individuals, arrangements
will be made for gathering complete statistics
of the manufacturing, mining, agricultural,
and other industries of the country. A well
organized effort will be made to obtain &C.
curate and reliable vital statistics, something
which has never been done in former GEN.
suses. On this point the superintendent says:
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been
invested in life insurance in this country
within the last thirty years, and yet we have
not even an approximate life table of the
United States. Insurance companies do not
know how much they should charge to be
safe; the people do not know how little the
companies should charge to sell insurance at
its fair value. All parties are and have been
operating in the dark in the matter of inter-
ests involving enormous expenditures and re-
ceipts for lack of information which only
government can supply, and which in almost
all other progressive countries does supply"
The law provides that any person refusing
to answer any questions propounded by the
census enumerators, shall be liable to be pun
ished therefor on conviction and subject to
pay fine not exceeding 800.