St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-25
GOOD SUMMER GAUzE.
"Shrewd" Ed A. Stevens Takes
His Turn at Swearing.


one Mason, relative to alleged wholesale
frauds in or connected with the late census
enumeration in the city OF Minneapolis IN
said county and state, in which affidavit 1t is
represented that was, more or less dlrectly,
engaged in the work of experimenting sald
alleged frauds, and unlawfully using or pur-
posely misleading divers census enumera-
tors by way of falsifying their returns ana
placing, or causing to be placed, illegal names
upon the census rolls; in other words, that
wholesale system of so-called padding OF the
census had been inaugurated and more OF
less successfully carried out, under my d1recC
supervision. with the aid of said Mason and
of others willing to do the work for the COM
pensation agreed upon. In view OF the !act
that criminal charges are pending against
certain of the enumerators and loudly threat
ened against others, l deem 1t best not TO go
into detail as to matters concerning them
further than to say that if any one OF them
has committed or attempted to commit
crime do not know of it. and that must
have known of it if said Mason speaks truth
fully. 1 do deem it proper, however, 10
make general statement and one which
will be sufficiently explicit TO squarely meet
the issues raised by said Mason. VIZ:
In April last was employed to take charge
of what may be called
Bureau of Information
in connection with the census then soon to
be taken. That was known to all men. 1t
was understood that was to make special
ty of all such persons as rightfully belonged
in Minneapolis, who for any cause would
be overlooked by the census enumerators,
including all legal residents who. were tenn
porarily out of the CITY, whether for woIk or
for pleasure, consul at the Netherlands or
cook in the pineries, street car magnate or
pack peddler, and Including much larger
class who do not often leave the city, and yet
are seldom to be found at home save while
n1o
the thousands and comprising the
bachelor merchant at the club and
the newsboy who sleeps in the alley, and all
grades between, as well as class OF local
tramps and street walkers, who would hght
shy of enumerators on suspicion that they
were detectives aiming to send them to the
workhouse. 1t will readily be seen that the
work was q large one and that the committee
would not have selected man 10 superln-
tend it with as few brains as said Mason ac
cords me- 1t is proper TO state right here
that neither the committee nor any member
OF it, nor any one acting IN or out OF their
behalf either with or without authority, ever
instructed, codnseled or advised any act or
acts to be taken by me in the allotted work
which were not or would not be perfectly
proper, unfinished that in all things l should
advise with the census authorities and
aid in every possible way in getting COM
plete count. This l have done, and done IN
such manner as to stand any amount OF III
Ii.
made involving secrecy In the ordinary sense,
OF to an extent not generally surrounding
business transactions; and Immediately on
the arriva! OF the inspector, as am INFORMED
and believe, he was shown fully what was
being done, and the purpose OF
The Various Blanks
so enlarged upon by said Mason; more than
that, the system of checking up on the blank
stated in Mason's affidavit as exhibit q" as
he saws. said to be for use in census Office to
check final returns of enumerator, to see
that no house or occupied premises have
been missed was carried on day after day,
and night after night in Inspector Boudinot's
presence and in fact he did considerable
checking himself.
Turning to the work for which I was en-
ployed, let me state that, by reason of a mis-
understanding at tlrst got possession of va
cant rooms but on being notified that Mr..
Davenport would need them for his enumer-
ators changed my quarters to the Wander
burgh block where Mason claims that under
closely-locked and carefully doors,
the work in which he had been engaged in
the government building was continued but
he neglected to state that the door to his
room in the government building, the one In
which he claims to have forged names and
made out fraudulent lists, was the small one
on the third floor next to the elevator, and
that it was open for days and nights and his
work left there openly, there being no key to
the door. Those who know me will hardly be-
lieVe that if engaged in frauds, / was as in
cautious as that The elevator for the Van
derburgh block is in the Hennepin block
Just adjoining, and Mason will probably
claim that it was to maintain secrecy that the
sign "ThoSe wanting citizens census blanks
take elevator to third floor was put up, and
the elevator boys admitted into confidence.
The fact is the removal from one building to
the other was made in the afternoon, and
without any attempt at secrecy, Mason with
others assisting therein. and that the new
location was at once known to hundreds OF
citizens engaged in circulating Mason's "Ex-
hibit 81" and it is also well known that the
rooms vacated were Immediately used by the
enumerators for correcting their reports, and
more room needed. which led to my pre-
pairing
Temporary Desk Room
for few enumerators who could not be ac-
commodated IN the old building, and who
had no facilities at home for work. III this
was in any way improper or 1ndlscreet, no
one is to blame save myself; just what the
york was which l super1ntended am will
ing any one shall know. When made fully
public, as it will be, l have no dread of con-
sequences, or of forfeiting any mans good
opinion.
Before returning to Mason's affidavit will
explain his exhibits, which constitute the
''wagon-load of evidence" paraded in the
papers. "Exhibit L" was used before the
census in making preliminary canvass of
buildings, and the blanks distributed to every
enumerator without an exception. They were
distributed publicly to them, i'll the presence
of each other, and returned by them
in the same manner, more or less completely
filled out, and piled up in room to which
any one could have access. Exhibit II"
was a form used for consolidating the data
furnished by exhibit l" in which ''secret
work. of consolidating. not only engaged
Mason. but sezeral other strangers, and put
them to work in the same room. None of
them were sworn to secrecy, nor was there
any reason for SO doing. These are the cheek
lists mentioned above, and the ones SO fully
approved, being USED to see that enumerat-
ors did not skip bouses, which they had
first reported as occupied nor enumerate en-
ployes at their shops instead OF at their
lodgings exhibit Ill" is the small blank
SO industriously circulated by Minneapolis
legged "secret blank which was not only
placed in the hands of nearly every head of
a Minneapolis household, but
Stolen by the Hundreds
for use in St. Paul, and in some cases after
being filled out stolen and used there. EX-
hjbit ~. was blank in the main like the
government blank, save that it varied for
different nationalities, etc.. so as to require
less writing. These blanks not being ap-
proved were, in the main. dumped into the
sacks which constituted the wagon load of
evidence y the data from such as had not
been prepared being again COPIED on EXHIBIT
Ill, the originals, more or less fully complet-
ed. being in said sacks also. If Mason will
examine closely, he will find plenty of names
of well-known absent citizens in his wagon
load,' including those of Thomas Lowry
Samuel B. Thayer, Clinton Morrison. court
landt Babcock, and hundreds, If not
thousands, of citizens of less note
but of equal right to be counted
exhibit VI was blank used for the same
purpose as Exhibit Ill, u and early sent to
the lakes, logging camps, log drives, railroad
crews, etc., and when filled up returned and
sorted,a as were the others. It should be stated
that on very many of the blanks so returned
the information was quite incomplete, as for