St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-09
How Census Work Is Being
Done at Headquarters in
Washington.
The Old Mcdowell Mill in
Which the Returns Are
First Re ceived.
Day and Night Jingling Like
That Of Sleigh Bells Is
Heard.
The Count Made by Electrical
Currents--Detecting
Frauds.

Amos j. Cummings Washington Let
ter to New York Sun: McDowell's mill
is low brick structure within a stones
throw of the government printing
office. At the back of the mill there is
large room adapted to the storage of
cotton bales. 1t is in this apartment
that the schedules of the enumerators
of the census are received on their ar
rival in Washington. They come in
portfolios packed in boxes resembling
dry goods boxes. Hundreds of these
boxes are piled in the room. In one
corner there is long table at which a
dozen or more persons are seated AS
the boxes are opened the portfolios are
compared with the bills of lading and
checked off. About $4,000 of these
schedules had been received up to July
"a. Seventeen thousand more were ex-
pected between that date and Aug. s.
After the boxes are unpacked and the
schedules classified they arc sent over
to the Inter-Ocean building on Ninth
street. 1t is brick edifce of six or
seven stories. There are fully 1000 per-
sons at work in this building. Here the
preliminary count of the population is
being made. The schedules are carried
into the basement and distributed upon
the floors. They are first compared
with the daily reports of the enumer-
atorS sent to the main Office while the
census was being taken. After this
comparison they are distributed among
the counters. The count is made by
electric machines. There are hun
dred of these machines upon floor. A
young lady sits in front of each one.
They resemble small upright pianos.
There are score or more of small
indicators facing the young lady in the
upright portion of the instrument. A
tiny keyboard stands to the right, filling
the place of the keys of the piano.
These keys are numbered from one to
twenty. With a schedule before her the
lady strikes a key indicating the number
of persons in the household. The indi-
Gators have dials and hands. They
might be mistaken for little patent-lever 4
clocks.
Counting by Electricity.
There is an indicator for each key, and
a check indicator that gives the sum
total as fast as the keys are struck. The
the table to the left of the opel ator. The
population is counted by households. If
a man lives alone the operator strikes
key /. The unit hand of the correspond
ing indicator. moves, and the unit hand
of the check indicator does the
same. Say that the next family is
one of eight persons. the operator
strikes the key numbered s. The
eight persons are counted at the touch.
The hand Oh the dial of the s indicator
moves a j0t and the check indicator
checks another family. The operator
finds the number in each family OH the
schedule and strikes the key correspond
ing.At the end of the day the check indi-
have been counted. Number 1 tells
how many persons living alone have
been enumerated. Other indicators
register families of 8, 4. 5, and so on.
BY the aid of one of these machines a
young lady has counted $4,000 persons
in day. The machines work by cleo
trio currents. Each key, when struck,
closes a circuit through the electro
magnets in its own Indicator and in the
check indicator. The magnets attract
their armatures, and these do the work.
The circuits are closed through plati-
nun points. The electric bells are in
circuit with the indicators. They tell
when the contact is made. They sound
like the jingling of sleigh bells in WIN
ter.
How the Work Is Bone.
Population is being counted on this
floor at the rate of more than 100000
per day. Two counts are made. Supt.
Porter expects soon toincrease the num-
Der to 100000 a day. The work of
+ enumeration goes on night and day. At
dead of night the tinkling of the little
bells is heard in the street outside. The
young ladies al! work hard, each striv-
ing to Quito the other. The work at
night is done by young men. They do
not count nearly as many names as the
young ladies. il is no place for a girl
who does not like to work. There was
great strife for the appointments. The
INDECENT girls. however, have been
welded out. and none but the indus
trious are left. A story is told of a young
lady who secured an appointment at
one of the machines. After four days
experience she said to the Superintend-
ent: MIR. Porter, l am going home.
There's no fun here; no summer yaca-
ton about this"
The second count is to verify the first.
The machines cannot make mistakes.
The girls who run them. however. are
not so thorough. Once in while they
force the machines to blunder. The
same schedules are therefore counted
by different girls on different machines.
If the counts agree, of course the work
is right. If they differ they are sent up
stairs to another division. Here scores
of rectifers are employed. 1t is their
business to ascertain the errors, tell
how they occurred, and correct them.
This is done with wonderful skill and
rapidity. The results are classified in
various ways The name of soldier,
or soldiers widow, a pauper or an
idiot. homeless child or criminal,
should appear upon the general
schedule sent in by the enumerator.
More minute information is given upon
special schedules. The enumerator gets
two cents for each name on the general
schedule and five cents for each name
upon special schedule. If the name of
a soldiers widow appears upon the gen.
eraI schedule the special schedule shows
whether she is married, single, widowed
Or divorced.
How the Accounts Are Approved.
Upon one of the floors of the Inter
Ocean building there is force whose
business it is to compare the general
and special schedules and see that they
tally. If they fail to do so the enumer-
ator is notified by mail and required to
procure the correct information. Until
this is done he cannot get his pay.
| { AS soon as the general and special
lsScheduleS of an enumerator tally his
account is sent to special division for
approval. In approving the accounts