St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-07-02
The Humors of the Census.

Boston Transcript.
The United States district attorneys
office in New York is kept busy attenda
| ing to the complaints of census enu%
meratOrS who have met with refuSals to
| answer questions. Sixty complaints
were brought in Monday, and not long
afterwards a number of recalcitrantl
were marched into the dread presence
of the United States commissioner, who
asked them more questions, and would
have the ans wers, which were slraights
learned that the United States is not
to be trif1ed with; that while the
enumerators may be blutfed, the
marshal will have the offender /
named in the warrant. Mrs. Frederick
S~chonewald, of 213 West Sixteenth
street, was the only offender who re-
sisted by force, and went so far as to
arm herself with a fork, which she
fourished before a deputy marshal.
But marshals have a taking way with
them, and Mrs. Schonewald and her
daughter were taken before the com.
missioner. The old lady, clad in deeb
lady by having Mysteries in the court
room like a lady. United States COM
missiOners are hard men. whose hearta
cannot be touched, so the daughter had
the double duty of holding up her
mother and explaining why she had
sworn in German at the enumeraton.
Miss Katie Fl. Mckinney. Miss Schones
wald's explanation was that her
mother "did not understand velN
good English" The SchonewaldN
answered to the commissioners
and were discharged with a reprimandN
Miss Mary Murphy may have been
justified in becoming angry over quesrI
tions relating to her husband, for she
had just put herself down as a single
woman, but that did not justify her In
driving the enumeration out OF the
house. She fell back on another offense
on the enumeratOr's part, in seeking to
justify herself to the commissioner, re-
marking: Moreover, sir, he spilled
some ink on my carpet" Mrs. Amanda
ing evidence that the spirit of SubOrdi-
nation still exists among our citizens Of
African descent. She said she only de-
layed to answer questions because she
wanted her husbands permission to
answer them. Evidently discipline is
maintained in the Berria household. A
reprimand was sufficient for such
offenders.
Much more serious is the offense of
the superintendent Oh a CdUnOllC C0n-
vent near Jersey City, who refused to,
give any information or permit the
enumeration to enter the building. The
case has been laid before the United
States authorities. and it is to be hoped,
that they will take such action as to-
show that there are nc such things as
two jurisdictions, civil and ecclesiastis
cal. in this country. +
The little skirmishes between the
enumerators and citizens bring out the,
odd popular conception of government
which is growing up in this country.
When the citizen wants anything done
that is beyond his means, his real es-
tate benefited by the erection of a quar-
ter-million public building for a quarters
o%f-a-dollar town; or a pension for not
writing war "reminiscences: or a creek
wIdened into a riyer-he rushes to the
government for aid and comfort, money!
and men. When the government asks a
few questions then the quondam nas
~tiOnalist is at once an eloquent exponent
of individualiSm. This is a queer
country and a queer people.