The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-06-20
LOST--A HUSBAND.
Census Supervisor Weas-
tell Is Asked to Lo-
cate Him.
THE POST NOT A SINECURE
At Least One of Uncle Sans
Jobs Means Hard
Work.

One of the busiest men in the State of
New Jersey is Census Supervisor John II.
Weastell. A visitor to the.F Federal Building
on Washington street would at any time
between 8 A. M. and P. M, find Mr..
Weastell struggling bravely with piles of
all kinds of literature relating to the
Twelfth United States Census. The Cen
sus Supervisors throughout the country
now realize the vast proportions of their
undertakings, and if the thing had been
feasible, many of them would long ago
have thrown up their hands and quit. Ihe
urbane Mr. Weastell, who has long borne
the sobriquet of Smiling Johnny" now
rarely smiles, and if he does on occasion,
it is only a sort of a contemptuous smile
at his own lack of judgment in seizlng
with such avidity the government census
gold brick. 1t is a position to try men
souls, and any one living through it is I'M
der obligations to offer up praise Tor pe-
ing endowed with an iron constitution.
The population enumeration is nearly
finished, but now comes another agony
the Industrial census. Special agents
will be detailed to do this work. The
task will be exceedingly difficult, as
MANY business men will be loath to inn
part the information desired by the
government The agents are expected TO
enumerate fifteen establishments a day,
which seems under existing conditions
almost an impossibility. In view OF the
many questions to be asked, many OF
which certainly can not be answered OH
hand, six day would undoubtedly be
good record and a fair days work. To
get truthful answers to all questions Will
be well nigh impossible as many people
refuse to be convinced that the govern
ment will treat all information given
for census purposes, with the strlctest
confidence
A reporter visited Mr.. Weastell in his
rooms in the Federal Building yesterday.
Surrounded by a mass of papers sat Mr..
Weastell at desk in his shirt sleeves In
the same room were number OF clerks
and special agents, who were readlns
through census matter endeavoring TO
find mistakes and judging from the com
ments they were unusually successfui.
In still another room were dozen or
more enumerators who had made records
in the matter of speed for canvassing their
districts, which now appears were mace
at the expense of accuracy. Weariiy they
struggled to bring order out of chaos, ana
many were the sighs and many the male
dictions on the whole census job.
Mr.. Weastell looked up and smiled
YEARLY.
yes" he said sadly, Everything is pro-
crossing smoothly and satisfactorily. We
sent a. case of returns to Washington
+n
tomorrow. Yes it is big job, but then
you know the experience is worth some
thing The much mooted theory that
Government jobs are sinecures IS eX-
ploded so far as l am concerned, and
have not the slightest doubt that there
are many more of the same opinion.
Occasionally something happens which
for at least a few short minutes makes
a man feel that he is living again. Only
a few days ago one of the clerks in
formed me that a woman desired to see
me. I was very busy and told the clerk
to inquire her business. WE'LL that would
not do. She must see me in person. Send
her in, I said, and in walked woman
about fifty years old
Are you the census man?' she said.
l.
"sWen, she said I have lost a hus-
band. or rather he's gone away and left
me and you being in the census business
ought to know where he is, I want to find
him badly to bring him back to his happy
home"
Madam, replied, the United States
covers a vast extent of territory, which
is divided into many States, your hus-
band may be in the most distant point
from here. You might write to Director
of the Census at Washington, giving
full description of your husband. He
might be able to locate him.?
'.She left with an expression on her
face which boded i'll for that husband, if
fate should once more throw him in her
way
The population returns are not yet all in
and probably will not be until Thursday
of this week. Progress in the outlying
districts has been necessarily slow owing
to the distance between houses. In West
Bergen the inhabitants all turn out on
Saturday afternoon to witness ball
game, which compels the enumerator to
quit work.
The enumeration of the Greenville sec
ton has been completed and it is esti-
mated that the population has increased
100 per cent. in the past ten years. At
the expiration of another ten years this
section will undoubtedly be one of the
most important and thickly populated in
Hudson county. The vast railroad pro-
jects now under way in that section will
be to a large degree responsible for the
change With but few exceptions the
enumerators in that section completed
their work without any great difficulty.
The people were prepared for what was
coming and were invariably prepared to
answer questions promptly. This prepara
ton saved much trouble and annoyance
for both enumerators and themselves.
In only one instance was 10 necessary
TO procure the assistance of the police. A
woman informed the enumeratorsthatss she
WAS too busy to bother with him and be-.
came quite angry when he insisted upon
the questions being answered and slammed
the door in his face. He wenti to the
police station and secured the aid of an
officer. They went to the house, but the
woman had evidently seen them coming
and would not let them in. 1t later trans
pired that when she saw the officer she
became frightened and left the house by
a rear door to seek refuge in a neighbor's
house.
After the officer had departed she dis
covered that She wasn't so very busy
after all and hurriedly sent the desired