Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-10-10
MAKING A DrREeropy.
How the Men Who Gather the Names
Are Instructed.

INV" nv 0At0eF t00 Names
Are Instructed.
THE CARE TAKEN TO sEcuRs AcrrrpAcy-
HOW THE CITY Is CANyAssEp-KEEpINo
TRACK OF PEOPLE WHO MovR-A TALK
WITH THE DIRECTORY MAN.
s'You must keep one thing in mind. and that
is accuracy. don't care what vour writing Is
If it Is only plain" Thus spoke Mr. William
II. Boyd, the directory publisher. to An appli.
cant for place as canvasser. A STAR reporter
put in his appearance just then. and nc usual
wanted to know, you know. ave have to he
very particular" remarked Mr.. Boyd. ITO i'm.
press upon the canvassersthe importance of ac
curacy. Many men write good running business
hands. The writing looks well and is easily
read. taken as whole, but if you separate the
letters, or, say cover all but one. It is dfcnt 70
tell what that one is. That is the case esnac.
tally with the letters ~ and IN which are een.
orally written alike. We tell our canvassars
where they make doubtful us and ms, tn dis.
t;nguish them by underscoring, or making
q little stroke under the us The writing Of
men which is ordinarily legible, becomes illes-
ible or doubtful when they write names. You
have them to be sure Of every letter. The can
vasser is instructed to ask each person how he
spells his name. He must not trust to sound.
Sound has nothing to do with the spelling of q
name. You can spell your name two or
person spells it. People who consult the direc.
tory must know how to spell the names thew
search for. - TO md a. name me, You must know
nently on the first page of the directory. All of
our instruction to canvassers in the office be-
fore they go out, is like teaching the A, 3. Cs.
A couple OF hours of practice outside is worth
more than two or three days schooling here.
There's blackboard, you see, on the wall there
take all the applicants together, If possible and
instruct them as class. 1t is easier TO talk to
fifty men together than to talk to each
separately. Some of the men, of course nav
close attention and profit by their instruction.
Others copy from the man next to him, he
copies from the next, and SO on, and ii it hap
pens that there is a biockhead at the end Of
the line they all get their copy from their block
head. Afterwards We occasionally instruct an
nlended or appears to be especially well quail
fed for our work.
PRECAUTIONS OF VARIOUS KINDS.
ave pay our men on Mondays" continued
the directory man, taking up another phase OF
the subject. ST they were paid Saturdays and
day night But as it is, they are obliged to
come back Monday. If they stopped on Mon.
day we would be q day ahead OF them, and ii
would not suffer loss. We do not allow our can.
vassers to take names from children, or from
servants, when they can be gotten in any other
his discretion. If a servant hesitated about the
spelling he would take some other means of
getting the name m Eve We inquire always about
corners are expected. 1t any are expected we
make memorandum of it and send back to
the house at the last moment to see if they
have come. When we get the names
of persons who have just moved
into house, we find out where they
vasser in another district has already taken
their names. Then when the two slips came
together in the Office we take the latest. There
Is always great deal of moving going on.
While we are canvassing for and getting out
the directory great many people change their
place of residence, we try to keep track Of them.
We catechise the drivers OF moving wagons on
the streets. We find who are moving and
where they are moving from. Sometimes
people wonder how it is that the day after they
have moved their new addresses appear in the
directory. Occasionally people refuse to give
their names. Some prominent people have
refused their names: but we get them, will
not say how we get them. 1t would be great
deal better for everybody, if people would take
pains to give their names correctly"
THE ROUTINE OF DIRECTORY WORK.
Then Mr.. Boyd explained rapidly the me.
chanical part Of directory making. Each cam
vasser's outfit consists of pen and holder, an
ink bottle which can be suspended from but
tonhole, and q few "books" or bundles of slips
OF paper. These slips are about six inches long,
and Il little more than an inch wide. Holes are
punched through one end, and they are tied
tanning about one hundred slips. The canvasser
records names, residences, places of business,
&c, on these slips He Is expected to prepare
each slip so that it can go, just he wrote it, to
the printer The surname is written before the
Christian name, and the address is written as
1t will appear in the directory. The canvassers
turn in the books they have filled, and the
next day the work of compilation is begun on
them by force of assistants in the office. This
year Mr.. Boyd began the work OF ctnvassing,
which will be completed in a few days, with
over fifty canvassers. Some men will
fill four or more books in a day, but the
fxrn la ,fa finn
Is done rapidly, SO that the work in the office
keeps pace with the work outside. The slips in
the books arc all separated and sorted alphabet
ically. The sorter begins to arrange them first
according to the initial letter, getting all the
names beginning with "A'' in one pile, with
sorted according to the second letter, then to
the third, and SO on. After reaching the fifth
or sixth letter most of the names have been
sorted out and do not have to be handled any
more, but the sorting is kept up until none are
left to be sorted.
at IS an odd thing" said Mr.. Boyd. shat
many intelligent persons do not seem to get the
hang of the work of sorting. An expert sorter
can do his work in a space no larger than the
top Of your hat. / remember one man, how
ever, who was very bright in every other way,
but when he attempted to sort he covered the
whole OF large table with his slips, and then
did not have room enough"
HOW THE CANVASS IS PROSECUTED.
"How do we divide the work up among can
vassers? There, you see that map?" continued
Mr. Boyd, taking up map of the city divided
like a checker-board, into many little squares.
1--WE used to canvass by streets, giving each
canvasser certain streets, but there are SO many
angles and corners where there are entrances
on different streets that that did not always
work well. Now we divide the city into dis
tricts. Some of the principal business streets
which are marked on the map with red pencil
marks, are reserved for special canvass. We
keep a record of the work from year to wear
which, of course, aids us in the work. For in
stance. If man this year finished district in
three days that 1t took man five or six days
cite the suspicion either that the man
had not gone over the district thor
oughly or that the man last wear had
idied away his time. We would send
another man over that district again. Sumo
times the people are annoyed by second visit
deal before losing their temper. During the
canvass of course memoranda are kept Of var
iOus things; errors, or supposed errors, are dis
covered in the office There viii be two or
more slips from different canvassers that con-
tradfct each other: These are held as dispatch
missing. A record is kept OF these ON dispatch
slips, and after the regular canvass is completed
several canvaSSerS are sent out to get the cor
rect information about these matters. This
special canvass occupies sometimes two or three
weeks"
AN EXPENSIVE CITY TO CANVASS.
"WashingtOn is the dearest place in the world
to canvass" continued Mr.. Boyd. "You cannot
do anything before half past eight in the morn.
ing or after four or five In the evening The
government office hours regulate every thing.
You go early In the morning and people are
Just rising or are at breakfast At four O'clock
other cities you will find people ready for bust
ness at seven o'clock, and canvasSers can work