Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-17

had the cost of preparing the matter by the
| eleventh census office been at the same
rate per 1850 nonpareil was the
| cost of preparing like matter in the de-
| partment of labor. the total cost under the
| first comparison-that is, exclusive of
printing, engraving and binding. would have
! been 81, 595. s. instead of S10O16, 677.6S.
| a saving of S. 421 .245; while under the sec
ond comparison. that excluding the cost of
the field force in collecting the material, as
well as that of printing. engraving and
binding. it would have been 81, 29S. s21 94,
instead of $.610.Si..15, a saving of $3.3I2,-
02J.21
Claim More Than Justified.
1.-THE above statements more than justify
the opinion which 1 expressed in the report
en- a plan for permanent census service,
for, instead Of an extra cost of $2,OOO,O0O,
to which 1 guardedly limited myself, it is
apparent that under the first comparison
there was an extra cost Of SC, 421 .245 and
under the second comparison, of $3,372, OBS.
The magnitude of the census work, the
lack of time for preparation, the temporary
nature of the force, ETC., may properly, and
perhaps sufficiently. account for the extra
ordinary expense above the 1000, 600 which
have attributed to the absence Of civil
service rules
The figures which I have given thor
oughly justify the opinion Mr.. Porter ex-
pressed to me several years ago, that it
would have been much better had the
eleventh census been taken in accordance
with civil service rules, an opinion he has
now given to the public in interesting
article in the North American Review for
the current month, in which he gives as
| one of the faults of the system under which
censuses have been taken. the placing up
on the shoulders of the superintendent,
whose mind should be fully occupied with
his experts in planning the work, the re-
sponsibility of the appointment Of an afiice
force of several thousand clerks Mr..
Dow h
tive to the civil service in these words:
If Congress expects an intelligent census
1t must not compel it's director to chase
all over the United States for mortgages,
On the one hand. and, on the other. to be
chased morning, noon and night by appli-
cantS for office
If it be necessary to further substantiate
the opinion about which you have done me
the honor to make inquiry. would submit
the following statement relative to the
work and it's cost in the tenth and eleventh
cenSuSeS, respectively:
Items , 10 the census rs. III, II the census Gs:
NoEpareil ems of mat
ter per page. 9,1A 0744
Member Of pages Of
matter prepared. 19, 2SS 81 .42S
Number of 1000
OF matter prepared. 1Ss.O4O POS, T94
Total cost. -. s5,s62, BOA s11,545. 1897
Cost per 900 nom
rureil ems of mat
Ter .---.. S3llS 5000
Increased Cost of Last Census.
Unfortunately, with the data at hand 1
am unable to make a comparison between
the cost of production of results in the
tenth and eleventh censuses, excluding the
cost of collection of material and of print
ing. engraving and binding. The foregoing
table is based entirely upon total cost, and
by this table it is seen that in 1880 the cost
per Loco nonparei ems of matter was
s31.1s. and in 1890. 5000. being an increase
in cost of 17.36 per cent per 1000 ems. Had
the cost of production of results at the
eleventh census been the same as at the
tenth, the total cost of the eleventh would
have been So, 51O, 1850, instead of 81, 3D.
1887, a difference of s5035, 517.O5.
Relative to this comparison. the point
may be raised that the census office was
not under civil service rules in 1850 any
mere than in 1890. This is true, but in
1880 no office of the government was under
civil service rules, and there was, therefore,
= diffusion or distribution of attempts to
secure positions, while at the eleventh
census the bureau was probably the only
one in the executive department in Wash
!Dgton not under civil service. so that the
concentration of applications was upon the
census office.
Absolute Wastes.
LAS matter of personal experience in
the census office. and substantiating the
opinion which is the subject Of this COM
mmicauon, l would say that the total
of Mr.. Porter, from April 20, 1889, to the
date of his resignation, July 81, 1893, was
$3.50, 50; under Mr.. James II. Wardle,
acting superintendent from August l, 1893,
to October 4, 1893, s253, 001.52 and under my
own administration, from October 5, 1885,
TO October s. 1897, sIS7, 1855. l do not hest
tate to say that one-thiri of the amount
expended under my own administration was
absolutely wasted, and wasted principally
on account Of the fact that the office was
portion holds good here Is direct substan-
tiation of the opinion l have expressed rela-
tive to the saving of S2WU,O0I in the census
had the force been under civil service rules
You may ask why 1 express this opin-
ION 10 the amount expended under my own
administration. The answer is that in Oc-
tober, 1893, when l took charge of the
census office, there was an office force of
LUZ There had been a constant reduction
for many months, and this kept UP
without cessation till the close of the CEN
suS- There was never a month after DC
tober, 1873, that the clerical force reached
the number then in office, nevertheless
while these general reductions were being
made. and in the absence of any necessity
for the increase of the force, 339 new APP
pointmentS We're made
''One other reason, to answer your uues-
ton, is found in the fact of the very large
number of individual appointments during
the existence of the census office. The
largest number on duty as an office force
at any time was in April, 1891, when there
were 3, l1J employees carried on the census
pay roll. Ordinarily, it would seem that, as
'.efore and after this date, this number was
never exceeded, the total number of ap-
pointments In the census office, barring q
few emergencies, would not have exceeded
3.l19; as a matter of fact, the total num-
Der of individuals, not including special
agents, upon the rolls of the Office force
during the existence of the bureau was
4,465 nearly 80 per cent more than the
highest number employed at any one time
This statement indicates the constantly
shifting nature of the personnel of the cen
sus office, a condition which would not
have existed had the force been under civil
service rules.
Trusting 1 have fully answered your
kind inquiry. l am very respectfully,
CARROLL ID. WRIGHT. Commissioner