The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-06-11

the principles, but few were able to do
the examples in the time given. In
percentage q great many threw down
their pencils in despair, and there was
a look Of terror on nearly every race
when the examiner explained that he
wanted them to find 121a per cent OF
and 80 1-3 per cent of 8.
When it comes to marking the pa
pers, the examiner is totally without
knowledge as to the applicants NAME
and has merely the file number, upon
which to work.
The necessity OF a good education is
obvious, especially When cities ike
Worcester, with its population made up
of nearly every nationality under the
sun. The enumerators must have the
knowledge requisite to understand and
be understood by those who have but
slight acquaintance with English. Just
how many enumeratOrs will be re-
quired for Worcester has not yet been
decided upon, but with her numerous
and varied industries and rapidly
growing population, it Is thought that
more men will be required here than in
some other cities 66'eyen greater popu-
lation.
The schedules for 1900 are under five
heads: The individual, corporations,
agriculture, mortality and special. The
questions to be put to the individual
are: Your age, conjugal condition,
place of birth, parents birth place,
alien or naturalized, number Of years
in the United States, occupation,
months employed, literary, school at
tendance and ownership of property
Every person over 20 years Of age is
considered a responsible representative
to answer for every member of his
family. The above questions are the
ones you will be compelled to answer
and refusal to answer or any falsif1ca-
ton of the facts is misdemeanor, for
which the guilty one vii be fined $780,
John C. Rose. who was the supervisor
in Baltimore for the census of 1890,
says that the average pay Of enumer-
ators that year was about $50, and they
were occupied twelve days only.
In, the last two censuses, those Of
1880 and 1890, the publication Of results
occupied from FIVE to seven years; in
that Of 1890 the last Of the volumes on
population was not off the press until
seven years after the date Of beginning
the work.
In the act providing for the census of
1900 congress has stipulated that the
four principal reports-those on popu-
lation, morality. manufactures and ag-
riculture-must be published by July
j, l9UZ. lllS QelllduuS 4 progress AouE
times as great as that of the last CEN
sus, and to meet the requirements of the
act preparations are being made on a
much larger scale than ever before.
The old method Of computing the
facts contained in a census was by
laborious system of hand-tallying. This
plan was clumsy, slow and exceedingly
liable to error.
Now, however, every process former
" executed by hand is carried out by
the Hollerith machine many times
more rapidly and with much greater
accuracy. In compiling the results Of
the enumeration, every persons will be
represented by a card. The facts re-
corded concerning each person are
shown by holes punched in the card.
Experience has shown that the aver
age number of records that can be
transferred from the schedules to the
punch card by each clerk in one day is
700 IT is intended by the census au-
thorities. as soon as tha schedules are