The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-06-12
Supervisor Weastell Says
the Work Will Be Com
pleted Friday Night.
MORE FUNNY EXPERIENCES
The Women Continue to Add
to the Enumerators
Stories.

Census Supervisor John H. Weastell has
stated that the returns from all the
enumeration districts of Hudson county
would be in by Friday or Saturday at the
very latest. Friday night is the time set
for the completion of the returns. TWO
small districts have been completed and
others are expected to be finished day by
day
The amusing experiences of the men
continue each day. Yesterday one woman
ktold an enmerator that she could not re-
member her age and asked him to guess
as near as he could. The agent placed
her in the column as being on the shady
side of the half century mark. When she
was told this her memory came back like
a flash and the she remembered that she
was only forty-seven. These occurrences
are not uncommon. A dozen such are re-
corded each day by the men.
The difficulty lies for the most part with
Irish born people who have reached an
advanced age. Not only are they in ig-
norance of their age but the month they
were born in.
Sure we never think of remembering
our birthday in Ireland said one old lady
to an enumerator yesterday. She was
then asked to guess her age, and it was
given as about sixty-two.
''What is your brothers business?"
asked an enumerator of woman yester-
day.
He's an actor was the prompt reply.
How many months in the past year
has he been employed?' was the next
question.
''Well, really, I do not know said
s.IJo,e x,,orl-ipor ,,ou- in, Don, N pia
anyhow
"Oh, just put me down for hundred"
said a mature lady to an enumerator yes
terday, after he had questioned her age.
How old do you think l am?
She was told that the agent was not
blessed with the ability to read minds or
to accomplish others feats of that sort,
but would be very much pleased if he
could have her age.
well. guess how old I am and put it
down that way" replied the lady.
"Will sixty do?" asked the enumerator.
Mercy sakes, do look that old? she
asked, Indignantly. Young man. 1 am
forty-nine. What's all this for? Does the
government expect people to answer such
impertinent questions? What's the use of
it? What's done with it? What is it all.
for anyway"
81 don't envy you your job,' said an
other lady. You ought to get million
minute for that work. This same per-
son asked the enumerator to call next
week when she had more time, after hav-
ing previously extended him her sympathy
because of some troubles she had read
about.
The keeper of large boarding house
kept an enumerator busy for awhile yes
terday. She had sixteen in the house, and
she reeled off the names, ages and busi-
ness of these people with startling rapid
ity without being put through the usual
course of Interrogation.
'sYou see l have not the slightest diff
Guilty in keeping my boarders," said she,
because 1 always try to make the place
as much like a home as possible. The
secret of my success lies in the fact that
the meals 1 furnish are the best obtain
able" Then she asked the enumerator if
he did not wish to board with her. She
had nice double room on the top floor
for S. week, and the house was always
in apple-pie order. The agent was asked
to climb three flights of stairs to view the
room. He graciously declined on the
ground that he had no time She was per-
sistent until the agent finally rushed off
in a hurry, with the boarding house mis-
tress still singing the praises of her estab-
lishment.
Perhaps I could tell you how much my
husband pays for stabling his horse said
lady this morning. This remark was oc-
casioned when the enumerator asked
where the horse was kept, as the schedule
calls for this information.
Another woman wanted to give the
names and ages of her cats and dogs this
morning. but she was politely told thas
the schedules did not include that class of
pets.