Los Angeles herald., 1890-06-07
CENSUS TAKERS.
What L. E. MOsher Says
About the Work.
Some Unpleasant Difficulties
That Are Met.
A Government Job With Plenty of
Drawbacks.
Shortage in Blank Schedules-Inaccurate
Statistics-Enumerator Anxious
to Resign.

In these warm days L. E. Mosher, who
represents the United States govern
ment in these parts, in the matter of
taking the census, is inclined to perspire
freely and use strong language. A re-
porter of this paper, who dropped into
his office in the Bryson-Bonebrake block
yesterday to ask how the work pro-
ceeded, got an answer which was not
calculated to make the temperature of
the apartment any cooler.
81 suppose we are doing as well as
could be expected under the circum-
Stances" said Mr.. Mosher after mis- first
burst of wrath had blown over, "but as
the circumstances are not particularly
favorable we are having rather hard
time. The first difficulty lies in the fact
that the government did not send
blanks enough. 1 have sent out all the
agricultural schedules that they let me
have and have telegraphed for more,
but none can be had nearer
than Washington, and in the
meantime l keep receiving notices
from enumerators scattered about the
country that their work is at a stand
still. I telegraphed first to some of the
northern districts, but found them in a
similar fix. The government ought to
have established depot of census sup
plies at San Francisco for the coast and
the western states, so that we could Sc
tun nf
having to wait a week. The census
authorities took such means as they had
at hand for computing how many blanks
we would need, but they entirely under
estimated this district.
''But besides this, there is plenty of
trouble with the 1876 enumerators who
are at work. When they started out they
seemed to me pretty we'll selected lot
careless about obeying orders. Each one
card bearing at the top the number of
his district, and below state
ment of the work accomplished.
One copy comes to me, and another
goes direct to Washington without
passing through my hands. Now tell
me why, out of the 1856 there should be
dozen men who persistently leave off
the number of their district, although
l have written warning to some of
them several times over? Funny, isn't
it? At Washington they are receiving
10000 of these cards day. They must
have hard time getting them straight
with mistakes of that sort occurring
everywhere"
''Is not the work very thoroughly
systematized ?" asked the reporter.
"Yes, almost too much so. Such an
immense amount and variety of data is
to be secured that the work becomes
alarmingly complicated for the enumera-
tor, and Iscarcely wonder that he gets
so tangled up sometimes that he forgets
the number of his district. Look at
this agricultural schedule, for example
The farmer is called upon to make
complete statement of his business af-
fairs for the year-such a statement as
he could hardly obtain anywhere un-
less he had carried on a thorough
system of bookkeeping. Outside
of the impertinent questions, which
have frequently been commented
upon, there appears to be good many
inquiries which are liable to be mis-
understood and to draw out useless
answers. take it that the government
wants correct information. Incorrect is
worse than none, because it is mislead-
ing. So it happens that great deal
depends upon the judgment of the
enumerator, whether he will record the
answers that he receives or will mark
the question unanswered"
'Do many of the enumerators report
refusals to answer?"
Eyes, several of them. One man who
had district down in Alameda street
had to give up in a number of cases.
Another enumerator, after working hard
several days in his district without ac-
complishing much of anything, wrote
to me and asked that he
be allowed to throw up his
job. He was much disgusted.
But his request could not be granted,
and if he refuses to do the work he will
be liable to a fine of $500. Quite a
number of the enumerators have de-
clared that they would never have un-
dertaken the work if they had had any
conception of how hard it would be. l
had a card yesterday from one poor fell
low who is driving about the desert in a
wagon. 1t costs him $4 day and he
only gets $6 for the work. All of which
goes to show that working for the census
bureau of the United States is not the
beautiful job which the large number of
applicants for work would have led one
to suppose"