Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-17
Excluding the Census Force From the
Classified Service.
COMPARED With LABOR BUREAU
Commissioner Wright Demonstrates
Its Great Cost.
LETTER TO SENATOR LODGE

In response TO an inquiry from Senator
Lodge. Mr.. Carroll ID. Wright. commits
sioner OF labor. has written the following
letter to Senator Lodge:
In response to your note inauiring
whether had made the statement that the
work oi taking the last census cost $1,000
ooo more than IT would have cost if the ap-
pontments in the census office had been
made under the civil service rules and If I
mad made such statement on the data l
had based IT. l have TO say that the state
ment was made by me In an official report
on plan for permanent census service
maze IN accordance with joint resolution
relating TO the federal census approved
March 10. 1896. The report was submitted
December Z. 1896. and is known as Senate
document No. ). Fifty-fourth Congress.
second session the statement alluded to
is on page of this report and is as fol-
lows:
The absolute necessity of bringing the
whole census force into the classified SER
vice, IN accordance with the act of January
III. lSSf- and the amendments thereto and
rules Hereunder, seems to me perfectly an
parent Had this been the rule in the elev-
entn census. there would have been. in my
opinion. saving CT at least $2OUOUOO and
more than a years time
should have very much preferred that
the statement made relative 20 the saving
OF at least sl.rtp,'sO could have rested as a
matter Of opinion hut as YOU have called
FOR the data on which l made this opinion
l shall furnish them. In doing this | am
Obliged to make comparison between the
WORK OF the department of labor and that
CT the eleventh census office. and thus place
myself in an attitude which may subject
me 10 some captious criticism. The COM
Is:rison ] make is one between systems and
not between administrations under the two
systems. for in the case in hand while at
Inc II adj OF the. ,ieng of lab
was for four years in charge of the federal
census Office Thus. whatever comparison
Is made Involves, in some degree. my own
administration of the census office as well
as that Of the department of labor.
Work of Departments Similar.
The work of this department and tina,
OF the CELSIUS office is of the same general
grade. The facts on which reports are
based gathered by enumerators or
special agents in both cases. correspond
ents. as a rule, being used simply for p2r-
poses of explanation or ver:fcation, when
needed. The equality Of the work perform
Ell 10y the census office and by this depart
nent need not be brought into compa rison
beyond this: that all the Investigations con-
Quoted by the department of labor are
quite as dlflcult as the most difficult in
designations conducted by the census Of
nee; but the cost of securing results NAV
be compared. The facts exist for a fairly
just COMPARISON OF the cost of production
under two systems, the department of la
Cor operating under civil service rules and
the census office being exempt therefrom
The cost OF production can be ascertained
by learning the time and money cost of
sleclned units of production. The eff
cieAcy or labor in production can be deter
mined by the same method To ascertain
the cost. and thus the efficiency of produc-
Ton under the two systems like elements
must be brought into comparison. A state
ment or the cost of production under the
TWO systems Will enable you to determine
whether the opinion l expressed in the Off
Cidi report on permanent census office is
larry well substantiated. To this end I
submit the following table which covers
the productive period of the census office
ana embraces the total production Of that
oHice and OF the department of labor for the
same period | have not included in the
following tabular statement The bulletins
nor the compendium published by the CEN
sus Office. nor the bimonthly bulletin and
laTSe amount Of material prepared by the
department Of labor for d report on The
wages OF the commercial countries of the
Werd. The bulletins and the comperdiUm
o. the census Office are trarscripts 10 a
large extent the material being drawn
from the fluctuations made for the final re-
p'fts Ine comparative table is as fol-,
lows: 60 "