The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1890-07-25

A REPUBLICAN PAPER DECLAIRs THAT 1T
Is A POLITICAL job.


is A PoLIrIC VI JOB.
The Springfield (Mi.&) Republican
an Independent Republican paper, thus
ventilates the census JOKE, as conduct
ed by Superintendent Porter.
Between the incompetency OF the
enumerators and the meddlcsome au,-
bitions of some Western localities,
the census Is falling into q lamenta5le
disrepute. We have already shown
how the job was let out in Indiana to
the polit tcians, and what mess they
have made of 1t. A young and active
Republican of that state thus writes:
"The wretched census enumeration
will hurt the party. Some men have
been appointed 10 this work on the
score Of p ,lilics whom | would not
even admit inside my house except un-
der protest. Such is the shortsighted
spoils policy Of Indiana Republicans
and the inflated individual acting as
superintendent Of census a. Washing.
ton. 1t makes he heart sick TO see the
extent of the strain upon good govern
ment which the spoils principle injected
into the census"
Bat Indiana is not the only state
where complaints are heard and charg
es against the character of the enum-
orators is hard to estimate" The slip
shod manner in which the work has
been done at Denver, Col, has led the
governor to call public meeting to
demand a,recount. The enumeration
IN Portland, Ore. is claimed to be a
failure; the supervisor has resigned and
an Eastern man has been dispatched
there TO flush the work, which the
Oregonian declares must be done all
over again if p pllar confidence in the
results is to be gained.
At Richmond, Va, the police have
been organized in,o force to canvass
the city for names omitted in the reg
ular enumeration, of which there ap-
pear to be many. Through alleged
frauds at Minneapolis recount has
been ordered, and at St. Paul it is
charged that people in the railway
stations and on trains passing through
the city have been included in the re-
turns of that place. Frauds are charg-
ed at Duluth, where hundreds of ficti-
tious names are alleged to have been
added to the lists by enumerators in
collusion with town authorities. In
the South, as in Indiana, the work has
been in the hands of local politicians,
appointments seeming to have been
based on conditions outlined in this
pledge of the supervisor of Fourth
North Carolina district:
"This is to certify that if | am ap
pointed supervisor of the eleventh cen
sns district for the fourth district o.
North Carolina, Republicans of eaci
county in my district shall have thu
patronage, and that l will lend my in
fiuence to that party"
The consequence naturally is that
the census is quite as deeply in disre
pute in southern sections as Indiau'
and complaints, demands for recount
ing and private cauvassing abound.
Nothing relating to the work coult
be more unfortunate than these com
plants. They can hardly be ground
less where SO general, and in any cas-
they arouse suspicion; and to be o
virtue the census must be above sus
picion. If it lacks popular confidenc
it lacks about everything of value. A
taint upon it any where, of ever 81
slight degree, goes wonderfully far t.
| ,;,;o,o Tho oh % otar of tha n ol ,y oh
And if enumerators in so many place
have proven such sorry lot of incom
petent political hacks aud workers il
the simple count of the people, what il
likely to be the nature of their worl
on the more difficult and delicate tasl
of filing up the industrial SCHEDULED
Bot, after all, could any other resul
have been expected! The authorize:
had they tried, could not have don
more to bring the work into di-credl
tn ,n they have. President Hsrriso
! started off by appointing as superin
tendent hot partisan and specia
pleader, who had pet cause to cham
pion from the very figures he wa
, authorized together. TLis was tn
fundamental blunder. 1t at ono
awakened suspicion. Then the supeI
intendent, in conjunction with tn
president, airly waved aside the propot
ition to apply the civil service rules
t the census bureau. This was th
q second blunder, almost as great as th
. first.
= The cor pgressmeE at once rushed
u and took possession of the job in b
: half of the workers, largely, no doub
through the self-lmportaut views of til
superintendent, who seemed to enjo
, the attention of the place-hunters, az
y gave out with some pride the new
: that he was "waist-deep in congres
men, We see the result. The spoi
: system is what is now spolling the ce
sus. In some cases, as 10 Massach
> sets, the work was put into traine
, hands and out Of the reach of polite
but elsewhere the political jobbers an
heelers took hold and have run it f
what it was worth in dollars to Il
n ignorant haugeron out of job. n
wonder the country is complainin,
\. The party has gained the spoils of Il
4 thing; there is NJ doubt about tina
% But it may have lost something wor
/ mora and laattno lnnnar