Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-23
SOME CENSUS QUESTIONS.
What Superintendent Porter Says II
Reply to Criticisms Of the Schedule

Among the questions prescribed by the
Census Office. to which the census enumer-
stors are instructed to get answers from the
inhabitants Of the country when they start out
on their rounds June 2, are the following:
''22.-Whether The or she isl suffering from
acute or chronic disease. with the name of dis
ease and length OF time afflicted
"23.-Whether defective in mind, sight.
hearing or speech; or whether crippled,
manned or deformed. and name OF defect
"A.-Wnether prisoner, convict, homeless
child, pauper.
''25 and 26.-1s the home you live in hired. or
is it owned by the head or by member of the
family?
''T-If owned by head or member of
family, is the house free from mortgage en-
cumbrance?
"28-I the head Of the family is a farmer.
Is the farm which he cultivates hired, or
Is 1t owned by him or by a member of his
family?
"29-H owned by bead or member Of FAM
ily, is the farm free from mortgage encum-
brsnce?
''3o-If the home or farm is not owned by
heao or member of family and mortgaged, give
the post office address OF owner"
There has been some newspaper criticism OF
these questions as an unwarranted and illegal
intrusion into the private affairs of the citizen.
WHAT SUfEhiNTENDENT POHTEh SAYS.
The attention of Dir. Porter the superip-
tendent OF the census, was called today by a
STAR reporter to these criticisms. Mr.. Porter
said, ''The first three questions are the same as
were asked in the preceding censuses and SIM
liar questions form part of the census in
quiry IN Germany, France and England. They
are considered to be of the highest possible
importance to medical science. The answer to
these inquiries make it possible to gauge the
atrn hnEth a~ 1,tA
portion OF dead material. DR.. John s. Billings,
who is the highest authority in this country On
medical statistics, has charge Of this inquiry.
He framed these questions and they are re-
garded in scientific circles of the utmost
Importance. Besides, the information thus
secured is entirely confidential There is q
heavy penalty attached to the offense OF dis
closing any of the facts thus obtained. This
Is true of all the inquiries made by the census.
As to the questions referred to from Is to 80
inclusive, am merely executing the law which
required these questions to be asked. The act
was passed by the Senate with only four votes
in the negative and by the House with only
twenty-five votes in the negative, and all pen
allies for refusing to answer were re-enacted."
STATISTICS OF MANUFACTURES.
Mr.. Porter was also asked about the aues-
tons which manufacturers will be asked to
answer, as there have been some complaints
alleging them to be of an inquisitorial charac-
ter. he said that in previous censuses the
value of the raw material the cost of wages
and the value of the product was ascertained.
By adding together the first two and subtract
ing the total from the third it was supposed to
give the manufacturers profit But it was evil
dent, he said, that other items entered into the
cost OF manufacture, such as the interest on
capital, rent, commissions. insurance, &c. The
schedule of questions for this census, he said,
had been approved by many of the leading
manufacturers, and he was surprised to learn
that any of the manufacturers objected t.
them. But after all, he said. all criticisms OF
this character were based upon an apparent
lack of confidence in the Census Office to main
tain the faith which the law enjoined. Manu-
facturers had no hesitation in giving such facts
to the committees of Congress. He thought
that there would be no objections to any census
inquiries when it was remembered that all the
information was strictly confidential. The
penalty. he said, for betraying this confidence
was greater than that imposed by the law upon
those who refused to answer the questions