Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-07-10
THE CENSUS.
A Republican Paper Declares That II
Is a Political JOB.


Is q Political JOB.
The Springfield lMass.) Republican, an
independent Republican paper, thus ven
tilates the census Job, as conducted by
Superintendent Porter and his partisan
supervisors and enumerators:
Between the incompetency Of the enum.
orators and the neddlesome ambitions Of
some Western localities, the census is fall
ing into a lainentable disrepute. We have
already shown how the Job was let out In
Indiana 10 the politicians, and what mess
they have made of II. A young and active
Republican ofthat state thus writes: "The
wretched census enumeration will hurt the
party. Some men have been appointed to
this work on the score of politics whom ]
would not oven admit inside my house ex-
cept under protest. Such Is the short
sighted spoils policy OF Indiana Republi-
superintendent of census mt Washington.
II makes the heart sick to soc the extent OF
the strain upon good government which
the spoils principle injected into the CEN
sus."
But Indiana is not the only state where
complaints are heard and charges against
the character of the enumefators made. In
Cincinnati, says the Commercial Gdsctte,
"the total omissions by careless and in
competent census enumerntors Ia hard to
estimate" The slip-shod manner in which
the work has been done at Denver, Col,
has led the governor TO call public meet
ing to demand recount. The enumera-
tion in Portland, Ore, is claimed 10 be a
failure; the supervisor has resigned and
an Eastern man has been dispatched there
to finish the work, which the Oregonian
declares must DO done all over again II
popular confidence In the results IL to he
gained.
At Richmond, Va, the police have been
organized into force To canvass the city
for names omitted In the regular enumera-
ton, of which there appear to be many.
Through alleged frauds at Minneapolis a
recount has been ordered, and at st. Paul
1t is charged that people In the railway
stations and on trains passing through the
city have been included in the returns of
that place. Frauds are charged at Duluth,
where hundreds of fictitious names are
alleged to have been added to the lists by
enumerators In collusion with town au-
thorities. In the South, as In Indiana, the
work has been I'm the hands of local poiti-
clans, appointments seeming To have been
based on conditions outlined In this pledge
of the supervisor of the Fourth North Car
olina district:
"Ths Is to certify thati am appointed
| supervisor of the eleventh census district
| for the fourth district of North Carolina,
| Republicans of each county In my district
shall have the patronage, aud that l viii
| lend my influence TO that party"
| The consequence naturally IL that the
census is quite rs deeply IN dsrepute in
| southern sections as In Indiana, and com.
| plants, demands for recounting and pri .
| vate caDvassing abound.
Nothing relating to tho work could be
more unfortunate than these complaints.
They can hardly be groundless where SC
| general, and in any case they arouse siIs-
picion and to be- of virtue the census
must be above suspicion. Ifit lacks popu-
lar confidence it lacks about everything OF
value. faint upon 1t anywhere, of ever
SO slight degree, goes wonderfully far to
| vitiate the character of the whole work
| And If enumerators in 40 many places
| have proven such u sorry lot of incompe-
| tent political hacks and workers in the
simple count of the people, what is likely
| to be the nature of their work on the more
| difficult and delicate task of filing up the
industrial schedule7
But, after all, could any other result
| have been expected? The authorities, had
| they tried, could not have done more To
| bring the work into discredit than they
have. President Harrison started off by
appointing as superintendent hot partisan
and special pleader, who had pet cause 10
champion from the very figures he was
authorized to gather. This was tho funda.
mental blunder. II ut once awake tened sus-
| picion. Then the superintendent, In con.
| junction with the president, airily waved
| aside the proposition to apply the civil
| service rules to the census bureau. This
was the second blunder, almost Al great ae
| the first. H..--
The congressman at once rushed in and
took possession of the job in behalf of the
workers, largely, no doubt, through tho
| self.important views of the superinten,
dent, who seemed to enjoy the attention o
| the place hunters, and gave out with some
| pride the news tha: he was waist-deep In
| congressman" We sec the result. The
| spoils system is what Is now spelling the
census. In some casos, as in Massachti-
sctts, tho work was put into trained hands
and out of the reach of politics: but else
where the political jobbers and heelers
took hold aud have run It for what it was
worth in dollars TO the ignorant hangers.
on out of a job No wonder the country is
complaining. The party has gained the
spoils of the thing there Is no doubt about
that. But it may have lost something
worth more and lasting longer