St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-04-28
A COUNT OF NOSES,
The Annual Directory Cam
vass in Minneapolis Has
Begun.
How the Canvassers Are
Trained t O the Work
They Perform.
Many New Names Already
Returned From Various
Parts Of the City,
Showing a Probable Increase
in the Population of
$4,000 Souls.

tory has already begun and will be COM
pleted by June 1, and the book will
probably be published as early as twas
last year. The work of getting up this
much used and much-abused volume,
from which the entire public culls its
information of the whereabouts and
whatabouts of their neighbors, is enOr-
nous. A directory is an annual history
of the city for which it is published. 1t
contains the complete list of adults re-
siding in it, history of its growth and
an estimate of its population, classifi-
cation of its industries, directions for
finding yourself in its streets and
that the citizens could not do without.
In cities the size of Minneapolis the
issuance of directory is a work of
greater difficulty than it is in New York.
There there are three directories issued,
name directory, cOpartnerShip di-
rectory and a business mems directory.
The name directory tells you nothing
about firms, about capital stock or Off
GERS of corporations. You must go to
the copartnership directory for that.
The copartnership does not classify
merchants into grocers, millers, boots
and shoes, ETC.; for that you must seek
VIC DuolllCSo HlCI ulICClOIy. lHTCG
volumes sell for SIP. The directory
company in Minneapolis combines all
that information IN one volume and
sells it for S..
1.-The 1888 directory began, "said Mana
ger BaIdrey yesterday, las soon as the 'SS
book was printed" Then he took down
an old volume, and showed the reporter
how the new officers of societies had
been interlined. the organization of new
corporations had been noted, and the
names had been changed to jibe with
corrections that had been discovered or
sent to the office. The directory was
scared and marked like newspaper
proof. THAT is a work that goes on
Mr.. Baldrey. 1.-The active canvass of
localities has begun. The outskirts of
the city have been ca nvassed, and the
business portion wi IL soon be tackled.
The directory this year will contain
great many Improvements, and will
be modelled, as to the cover and binding,
good deal after the Cincinnati directory
but in a different color. There are a
great many new names coming in, and
l think the population will be about
100000. We had over $4,000 last year,
using the lowest multiplier. namely, ~;
and 2l7,000 using the old multiplier,
~. We shall use the lowest again."
The work of training force to can
ineXhaustible patience. The applicants
are usually men of ordinary education,
and the eXactneSS of the information
they are required to bring seems to
prove bugbear to them. To teach
them the art the directory company has
to establish training school. Each ap-
plicant'S name is taken and he is as
signed place to work, given pencil
and paper and directory. His
first work is to study the directory,
familiarize himself with the abbrevia-
tions used and the order in which
names, residences and employments are
to be written. Then the applicant gets
book of practice slips and goes to
work on the theory that he is canvass
ing city and gets up all of the differ
ent varieties of slips for individuals, for
firms and corporations to indicate diff
ferent classes of individuals. etc. This
is no small thing to do, and if the be-
ginner gets majority of them right he
is looked upon as promising candidate
for employment. After weeks prac-
tice the best of the applicants are
sent out to do actual work. They
are armed with the directory slips,
which are quite small and conveniently
bound. map of the city and has di-
rectory at his disposal. The canvassers
good days work. Their Instructions
are to get names and addresses correct,
as spelling, house numbers, etc.
Not to take initials but full Christian
name, and ask the canvaSSed person to
spell his or her name in every case.
Firm names must be entered on two
slips, one for the house and one for the
business directory.
No domestic's name must be taken
unless she has been employed six
months previously at the residence
where the canvaSSer finds her.
The canvaSSer must not leave house
until he has learned the name and en-
plOyment of every male adult, and of
females who are entitled to 60 in the
directory, such as widows at the head
OF households, dreSSmakerS and, in
general, women who are employed in
Industries and earning their own bread
A good deal of care must be taken in
visiting large factories to get employ
ments accurately. 1t is easy, for in
stance, to go into cigar factory and
describe all the employees as cigar
makers, but that won't do. They must
be Disseminated carefully. In large
stores too. statesmen, bookkeeperS, clerks,
SeS's ihSoo w PlOpClly ClooSlHCus uS
canVaSSer, as soon as he has canvaSSed
block, completely marks it off on his
map, but it is not canvassed completely
until every house and lot upon it is ac-
counted for. Whenever he visits a
house and finds the inhabitants are alb
sent, he must turn in slip, ''Out; call
back" Every unfinished house must
be located and a slip turned in, sun
finished house. :" and tell where it is.
Every slip is stamped and dated when
it reaches the Office. Some of the men
have natural knack Of getting things
right and others of getting them wrong.
A few days under the eye of an expert
enced manager demonstrates this, and
the incompetent is dropped, his slips
tied together and marked, 'Recan-
vass." That ends his career as a
canvasser. Two months of this kind of
work brings in an enormous stock of
slips. The heavy end of the outside
work is done, and all the canvassers
but the best are dismissed. Now comes
the work of dispatching, as it is called.
That is, every incomplete slip is set
aside, and the dispatchers arrange them
by streets and start out to turn in the
missing information. Every unfin-
nished house is visited to see if some
one has not moved into it. If it is occu-
pied, the dispatcher must get the ten
ants name and the place he moved
from. People who have been marked
found out" must be found in even if
the canvaSser calls every day for a week
OF more to do SO. The whole city has
now been rounded up. The balance