The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-09
WAT wAsLEFr oUr OF rnE cEwsU
special Agents 60 rrint n = RooN what
Was Cut Out or rhetr Re.ort.L


WASHINGTON, Dec. s.-Tbe friction bs,-..,
the Hon. Carroll d. Wright Commi..ion.r Of
Labor acting ~ Superintendent Of Census. and
the special agents Of the Census once IL bv no
means at an end. notwithstanding the deci,ion
OF the District Equity Court This d.cI.ion. A
was mentioned in a previous desp.tch IN Tup
Sun. was TO the effect that Col. Wright b.d IN.
power to cut down the special agents repor,..
and was made In answer to an application from
Thomas Donaldson, expert Indian agent. 10 re-
strain Col. Wright from publishing his much
curtailed report on the Five Civilized Tribe.
Donaldson has not given up the fght, and 4. do.
termined 20 bring the matter before Congress. .
determination in which he will probably b.ve
the active support Of several other special
agents whose reports have been mercilessly
blue pencillpd.
The trcubls began when Col. Wright, on TAX.
Ing charge of the Office, informed hi, .nec,ai
agents that their reports must be entirely statIs-
tcal, and that the introductions must consist
only Of tables In resun6, and such text only "A
s%titpting the body ~ the. work. A schooimester
OF the name Of blodgett had charge Of the blue
slsshed by the Hundreds Of p"aes. VII" tbe
iEsSi'l m rsRorti in on I,.. IIFFris I IsTs. wkIsS would
ume, was entirely demolisScddG; The 't general x9,i
report on agriculture was reduced to a skeleton;
voluintnous essays on the criminal classes were
cut down to n few paragraphs, and every other
report was mercilessly cut. The special agents.
who had been spreading themselves on works
Wnlch were TO he monumental records OF their
labors, were aRhast, and no boiler down in a
newspaper Office was ever so cordially hated Inv
space men as Blodgett was by the special agents
OF the Census ONCE. Quarreis were of daiiy
occurrence and sometimes Of the most violent
description, but the schoolmaster went on trim
ming down the essays, and Col. Wright sus-
Then Donaldson, who describes himself a.
being that dangerous character. "a fat man in
afury," was put forward TO make n legal test OF
with the result described. Now a new move ia
to be made. The special agents whose copy has
been cut to smithereens have formed a mutual
protective publishing company. and are going
tanning What Was Left Out Of the Census" A
big Philadelphia publishing house has offered
terms for the work, and the published volumes
black and white Of what Col. Wright and his
sch3olmnstcr have deprived the Government.
That these volumes will contain q vast
nearly all the twenty odd topics reported on bv
the census there can be no doubt. but Col.
Wright holds the opinion that the contemplated
publication Is just where this Information
should. appear. and not In the census volumes.
He claims, too. that these reports OF the special
agents were gotten up for their own g~lorihca-
largely in the nature Of literary compilations.
To this the special agents make reply that their
reports arc the result of conscientious and expert
tens of thousands OF the Governments dollars,
and that rs they worked on the reports in good
faith and according to the understanding they
Wright has defrauded the Government out of
the enjoyment OF the fruit OF their labors.
Aitogether IT is a very pretty quarrel; and one
gressional inquiry into tho scope and useful
ness of all branches of the census work outside
OF the numbering of the people.