The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1890-09-26
The Census Machine.
.Natinnnl DelnOcrat.I

National DemOcTGtI
Robert p. Porter, the imported
Englishman and free-trader, who
runs the Census Bureau in the in
terest of the Republican party,
went,before the Civil Service Com
mittee of the House of Represent
atiaespn Tuesday to- tell what he
knew about reform. Porter told
the members of the committee that
tho best system of ciyilsewice was
the Porter system and that, the con-
,dition of things in the Census Blu
reau was proof oft. He then with
characteristic spomposity launched
out in praise Of himself. But the
ex-free+trader, WIS asked several
questions by a Democratic member
Of the committee which;disturbed
him somewhat and broke the
thread of his type written argu-
,ment. He was asked this ques-
ton: "You say merritt alone Sc
cures appointments! That being
the. case how many"of'your clerks
are Democrats?" Instead of an
swering in a straightforward, hon
est way Porter replied: "The APP
pointees we're generally recon-
mended by Republicans ~" How
many Democrats have you in the
Census Bureau?" That was direct.
Whatwas his answer? II couldn't
say positively"
No, Mr.. Porter could not say
positively. If he had said there
was one Democrat in the bureau,
he might have given falseptestimo-
my, SO he saved himself by saying
he didn't know positively.
| What Porterdoes know, however,
or should know, is that some of his
appointments were .disgraceful and
scandalous, and all his talk about
merit being the only basis of ap-
pointment is the veriest drivel.
! Perhaps Mr.. Porter might have
been puzzled If the committee had
asked him whether it was "merit"
that secured the appointment of J.
Kendrick Upton as chief of the di-
vison Of statistical experts or the
appointment of Charles l.. Curtis
as chief of division. Curtis was
turned out Of theTreasury Depart
ment for stupidity; subsequently
employed at a small salary by
pension agent George Lemon and
found wanting. Porter has a wo-
man " expert employed,at 81, 400a
year who couldn't honestly earn 30
cents a day in any business out
: side the Government service.
When Frank Park, a Democrat,
who had served under superin-
tendent Francis A. Walker with
great ability, applied to Porter for
| a place, having strong endorse
ment from General Walker, Porter
5 suggested to him to get some Re
5 publican "infuence Elkins and
: Golf and then he would "feel
safe" in appointing him. 1t lis
needless to say that Park was not
. appointed.
The truth is that the eleventh
9 census is a huge Republican ma
, chine, and the swarmsof enumera-
= tors and supervisors all through
e the country,are' just so much Re
t publican patronage, and nobody
D knows that 80 well as Robert P
e Porter, late free-trader and present
t high protectionist. Not counting
d the great army of employees in the
e field, there are as. many people In
o the Census Bureau as in the Treas.
g ury Department over 1900
el twill interest the tax payers
It to be told that they are paying
$ $4,000 a day. to keep up this ma
d chine which will be kept runnin.
until 1892, and longer if the Repub
y licans stay in.
r The eleventh census will cost tn,
IS people not accent less than 500 900,
e 600. And forwhat? For thousand
e and tens of thousands. of strikers
L For the payment ,of,men who ar
L going up and down the.land askin,
=, one hundredand fifty questions an,
d gathering information. which vii
is be about as valuable to the tax-pay
g. er as o section of land in the moor
3 Outside of the counting of the pee
Of pie the work done by the census i
is time and money wasted, and eve
te the counting has been notoriousl
ii wrong in many places throughu
tolthe county