The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-05-29

health Is, and II YOU atc sick what ais you.
how long you have felt that way, " you arc de-
formed. II you arc OF SIund mind, anl u YOU
are crazy tho government VIII want 70 KNOW all
abOutit. II you have been married ihe govern.
ment viii want 10 know all about that nnh
whether YOU have been divorced or not: viii
inuiItc Into your financial status. ask II you
Owi or hire your house. nnd Inc sze o. INC
mortgage ON IL, And II you refuse 10 tell NIL
this yOuafe llaSle To ilnc and imprisonment;
II Ia n national no,inv expedition which the
government has no bu,incts to send out.
Tho Government has "a business to
send out just such an expedition and
unless Congress repeats the law 1t will
send It out, as It has been doing ever
tince the custom OF taking a census
every decade was established.
In speaking OF the opposition 10 the
questions above referred to contempt.
rary says: "Why should any man re-
fuse TO answer whether no owns the
house Alc lives In or not? Tho fact Is
one known to many already, and no
possible injury can come to anyone by
making honest answer to this and all
other questions included In the list. The
Government does not intend to publish
tho name or make any improper use OF
the information. Besides all this, the
most OF the questions were asked
years ago, and answered without arous.
Ing any general feeling Of resentment.
Twenty years ueo the cnumerators were
required to return whether person was
Il pauper or not, whether he was Elm.
ploycd or unemploycjinnd what nmount
OF real estate or personal property lie
owned. Ten years ago questions were
asked regarding the "physical and men'
tai health" Of each person. and whether
crippled, bed.ridden, deaf, dumb, blind
or idiotic.' AS to the inquiry about
mortgages, nosensible man should with
hold from a United States officer intor.
nation which can DO had from the pub
lie records, and the use OF which canno,
by any possibility result in injury. Ih'
information only goes into general mass o
Ifguree, in mhich The individuals are ,rholi.
mkn0wn."
| Another contemporary expresses
sensible view OF tho situation when i
says "Nothing in the annals OF Amer
lean journalism is upon it's face and il
It's effects more vicious than this at
t,mpt TO array the ignorant masse
against the agents OF the Government
No man who is not a fool believes tina
the Census Department is engaged in
partisan work. 1t is impossible to carr.
out such ends through the census If 81
desired. That the fellows behind th
work in the partisan press are pos
sesscd by the devil seems to be abou
the only explanation
The Government has the best OF INC
liyes for seeking the information desire'
and no good citizen will refuseit. Ii h
does he will simply become party to
disgraceful partisan conspiracy to seri
ously embarrass laudable and Lawful
undertaking. AS suggested above, N
names are used in the census report, tn
information only going into genera
table OF figures, and there can be no sen
sible reason for refusing it.
Newspapers that stoop to such 10,
business as to attempt to create this fool
ish prejudice against the Genius are
disgrace to journalism.