Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-11-20
CENSUS RULES.
Employment Of Assessors And Deputies as
Enumerators Prohibited.

Hon.. Pedro Sanchez, census SuperNiS-
or for New Mexico, now has his office IN
the federal building, arranged conVeh-
iently for expediting work. He is re-
ceiving many applications for employ
ment as e~numerators. In the seiectloh
of employees the census bureau allows a
wide range, but it prefers men OF voting
age as being more responsible IMAM
women or minors, although the employ
ment of either of the latter classes is
not prohibited. AS a matter of fact, no
citizen who is intelligent and can write
readily is ineligible to appointment, ex-
cept persons who are or have recently
been connected with the office of the
CITY or county assessor. 1t might seem
that assessors and their deputies would
be better equipped to find people n
property than anybody else, but long
experience has demonstrated to the CEN
sus officials that their employment is
not satisfactory.
Ignorant people always confuse the
census enumerator with the assessor.
When they are asked about their chill
dren mem have been known to lie about
the number, supposing that they were
to be taxed for their offspring at so
much per child. The coming of the CEN
| sus taker has often been the signal for
hiding everything in sight and causing
people to plead poverty most g~rievously'
The very first thing the department
wishes people to understand is that it Is
in no way connected with or interested
in the assessment and collection OF
taxes. The next is that people must give
information, and every family must be
found. 1t is desirable that the head OF
the family should give the information
and the enumerators are instructed te
find the head of the family If necessary
The work of census enumerators viii
be much more simple this time thar
usual. The instructions to enumerator'
contain this clause: Under the provi
sions of section Z of the census act tn
enumeration of June, 1900, Is restricted
to inquiries relating to the population
to mortality and to the products of agri
culture and of manufacturing and me
} chanical establishments, and, by tn
same section, the schedules of mortalit
. and of manufacturing and mechanics
| establishments may be withheld fror
the enumerators, in the discretion of tn
: director Of the census" Part of thes
schedules have been withheld, and spe
: cial men will be sent to the large mar
5 ufacturing establishments. The sma
. ones will be visited by the regular enu
: meratOrs.
In giving instructions to the censu
: supervisors, Director Merriam say
: country physicians, school teachers an
e postmasters at small offices will NAL
0 good census enumerators, because the
S are likely to be fairly we'll posted a
: ready, but he makes short work of tt
: assessors by saying: "No person who
t directly or indirectly concerned either
: the assessment of property for taxatio
or in the actual levying of taxation
should be designated for appointmel
d as a census enumerator. 1t Is not to |
expected that every person will rendt
: a true account of his property or !
S products to a census enumerator WI
d has official knowledge, either direct
e or indirectly, Of statements made /
It such person for taxation purposes at
vt recent date; nor yet to an enumerat'
lie to whom he may be called upon in Il
near future to render statements f
D such purpose, or who, by virtue of son
official position, will have knowledge
or access to such statements. No loo
officer to whom the foregoing would a.
ply is, therefore, eligible for appoin
ment."
The instructions also contain a stat
ment that nearly $50 women were err
ployed ten years ago as enumeration
and $50 as special enumerators in Il
" institutions.