The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1900-04-04

To build up a great Office ike the
Census Office in fifteen months from
absolutely nothing TO an efficient ma
ehIne. employing about three Thousand
men in Washington and about fifty
thousand elsewhere in the country, is q
difficult task, and entire success IS out
Of the question: The Office naturally
compares itself with the stage Of prep
aration attained at the same period ten
years ago and tried by this test, it has
gained several months on its prsdecss-
sor. One of the problems before it IS
how to put ia the Iinie thus secured in
such a way Is most to benefit the Cen
sus.
In the Agricultural Division the need
OF time for preliminary work is perhaps
as great rs anywhere in the Census
Once. Farmers, as q class, do not keep
their accounts as well as manufacturers.
and the returns from farmers may oc-
casionaIly include serious errors which
8 trzined eye will n once detect Hence
the farm schedules must be examined
and such errors corrected before the
tables can be made up from them with
safety If a farmer reports that his
land sown TO wheat was ten acres and
the yield four thousand Bushels, il IS
clear that an average yield Of four hun
dred bushels TO the acre IS incredible.
and must be rejected or corrected in
aecordance with the probabilities
Sometimes the truth can be made out
by an expert from comparison with
entries in other parts Of the schedules;
sometimes correspondence must BE-
opened to settle the doubts. All this
ranks under the genera bead OF verify
ing the schedules, and the Agricultural
Division plans to give ali the time pos
sible to the work Of verifying each of
the millions Of farm schedules To sc
complish this in the time allowed, the
work Of several hundred clerks will
be required, and they must have hard
and fast rules to guide them For ex-
ample, they might be told: When
the wheat reports show q product Of
over forty bushels 10 the acre, they are
suspicious and must be laid aside for
an expert to pass upon. But any such
rules must vary with the section Of the
country. a yield OF twenty bushels in
one section might be more questionable
than yiald Of forty bushels in another.
Hence the division must fix in advance
what j. the range of reports in each
part of the country and for each crop
that may be accepted as probable on
their face and not requiring special
examination To get the limits of
probability for this parpose for each
eoanty in the United States, that is,
the maximum and minimum yield
aud the maximum and minimum price
which may he accepted without yerifi-
cation, is the object Of an extensive
correspondence nov being carried on
0y The Agricultural Division under the
direction Of Mr.. L. G.. Powers, Chief
Statistician in charge OF that division.
Three simple schedules have been pre-
pared and printed on different coIOred
paper in order that they may be readi-
ly distinguished one from another.
One Of them covers ordinary garden
vegetables, a second covers fruits, and
the third the great staple field crops.
Each asks about the units Of measure
employed and the net price realized.
and the two more important schedules,
those for staple field products aud 70
vegetables, ask for the highest and
lowest yield of each crop per aerP.
These schedules are being mailed to
prominent farmers all over the country
and in many instances retarns have
already been received. When the re-
turns have been received and tabulat-
&C, q scheme will be made from them
OF what is TO oe accepted as correct in
each case and what is 10 be probec
farther. The only aim Of the office l.
to get what Was really the intention of
the farmer in answering the questions.
If the presumption Is strongly against
his meaning what the schedule says,
the Office will Try to learn by CORES
pondenee from the Supervisor, or the
EaGmeratOr, or the farmer himself
what the real facts were.
II the farming public will continue
to cooperate with the hesrtiness already
displayed, this effort will result in a
more Trustworthy census Of farms than
has ever been taken. Farmers, as a
elsss, are les able to cooperate than the
representatives Of any other great in
dustry. Hence the Census Offiee can
do more for them than It can for cen
trAIized lines Of business, which can
and do make their own investigations,
and it will do its best 70 present full
aud accurate photograph of this lead
ing occupation The DIR etor Of the
Census urges every one Interested 10