The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-12-23
Supervisors Are Busy Ar
ranging for Taking
WHAT THEY HAVE DONE
Enumerators Have to Pass a
Stiff Examination.

Ct1 I'll, d1tl tlAN7A z 4 ~NfScN1N+$
but that the returns TO be made will
prove most accurate ak wels as complete.
All that really remains 70 BIZ done before.
the actual work is Commenced on the
morning Of june / next, IS the naming Of
the enumerators to make the public can-
vases.
1t would seem that the choosing Of
these enumerators was of the very high
est importance. and while it is, in a way,
there are many matters of equal n1omen
that must be considered before selections
are made. While the majority Of those
who viii do this part Of the labor that is
necessary in securing the status of MeF-
GER and the surrounding counties, have
NOT been regularly appointed, as is the
case in almost all parts Of the State, the
men have already been decided upon, pro-
vided' they are able to arsWer the ques-
lions submitted to them at the time they
are officially named. Such a state OF al
fairs obviously precludes the disclosure OF
their identify.
1t may be said, however, that the quail
heatfon Of an enumeration is locke into
with all diligence, the principal objects
being the education and address Of the
man, + his ability to undertake the
particular employment. So exacting are
the measures to be taken during the COM
ing census that in many instances, where
wards ard townships are thickly popu-
lated with foreigners, foreign born emu
merators will be chosen, and in other
cases interpreters will be called upon;
Some of the requirements prescribed for
those acting in the above capacity are
covered in the following sections OF the
written examination:
80 Are you physically capable Of a full
discharge of the duties of a Census EMU
merator?
Have you any defect of sight?
sHave you amy defect of bearing?
aHave you any defect of speech?
sHave you any defect of limb2
10. Do you speak English?
ID YOU understand and speak any a
guage other than English; If 50 what
language?
In particular do you understand and
speak French, German, Norwegian, SWed-
ish. Danish, Italian, Spanish, Russian,
Hungarian. Bohemian Polish, Yiddisn,
Chinese or japanese? Specify languages
spoken)
The will be sixty enumerators for
Mercer county, forty-nine in Mon
mouth. and so on, according to the pop
ulatfon of the different localities. The
counties and also divided into districts,
| according to their size n the number
of inhabitants. and these districts or
divisions are under the direct control OF
the various Supervisors. It is in the
compilation and submission to the
| Department at Washington Of the facts
necessary in arriving at the divisions and
| subdivisions. n the proper appor-
| ionmen of the 800 Supervisors who
cover the entire United States, that the
secret preparation has been going on.
The Supervisors were commissioned
some time in June last, and since receIY-
ing their appointments have been busy
as bees in making returns regarding the
character and volume of productions
peculiar to the raany States and parts OF
| States, the approximate humble of men
employed in the undertakings, and the
settlement of the country with refer
ence to the density Of sparseness.
Originally it had been intended that
| each congressional district should have
a supervisor, but with only 800 appoints
ments there were, of course, not nearly
enough men to cover the ground in that
! WdS III lCDd4I 4AcC b0(-A tA4rt 49, -
visions, explained, were resorted to.
and Mercer county finds itself in what
is now known as the Fifth Census dis
trict which also comprises Monmouth,
Burlington and Ocean counties. Cen
eral William L. James is the supervisor.
and the adjoining district, embracing
/ Somerset. Hunrerdon, Middlesex and
Union counties is in the care of Charles
S. Tunis, who now has his residence in
this city,
The latter was seen at his home last
evening and when asked about the prog
ress that had been made in the range
ments for the taking of the twelfth CEN
sus. said that things were pretty well
under way, and that not much of con-
sequence could be added to the plans I'M
til after the winter months. we have
not yet received the blanks that the en-
umerators wiz carry, he remarked. but
the papers are expected within a few
days"
AS to the sub-distriets, Mr.. Tunis said
that they We're divided into territories
containing not more than 1000 persons,
and that as a rule each enumerator would
have to yisite only 1900 to 1000 houses.
1t will be required that in the thickly
/ settled sections the returns shall be made
within two weeks after June /, and in
the more scattered localities a thirty
days limit will be allowed It is in the
cities having over 5000 population that
the two weeks restriction is to hold
Embodied in the pamphleted extracts
of IAN act to provide for taking the
twelfth and subsequent ~censuses," which
the supervisors are distributing, are the
following pertinent paragraphs pertain
ing to the application Of men for the
position of enumerators:-
The compensation to be paid to emu
merators is fixed by section 16 of the act o.
March 3, 1899, and a minimum rate Of two
cents for each living inhabitant, two cent:
for each death, fifteen cents for each farm
and twenty cents for each establishment
of productive industry is provided for al
subdivisions where such allowance shah
be deemed sufficient. In other subdivision
where higher per capita rates are to b
paid. according to the difficulty Of emu
meratfon. the maximum rate will not ex
coed three cents for each living inhabi
tant. three cents for each death, twentl
cents for each farm, and thirty cents fo'
each establishment of productive indus
try, while in subdivisions where per diem
rates are established, having reference l.
the nature or the region TO be ~canvasses
and the density or s-parseness OF settle