Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1900-06-28
In Regard to Census Returns.

The census office is now in receipt
of many letters daily, asking for in
formation as to the results of the cen
sus in particular localities. especially
in the larger cities. 1t does not APP
pear to occur TO the writers that the
census has not vet been taken. The
law allows until June 18th in cities of
5000 inhabitants and in rural dis
tricts until the first of July for its
completion, and after that the sched-
ules have to be examined by the SUI
pervisors of census before they can
be forwarded to Washington, in order
that the supervisors may determine
whether the work has been satisfac-
torilv done and may be in position to
certify to correctness of the enume-
rators accounts for service rendered
under the law.
In order to appease the i1npatience
has been prepared, showing what has
to be done with the census returns
when received at Washington, and it
may be weeks or months before the
figures can be given out in their en-
tirety.
Every enumerator is required to
till daily report card, showing how
many hours and minutes he has been
at work and how many persons he has
enumerated that day. Since there
are (including special enumerators
for institutions and for the military
and naval population) approximately
30, 900 enumerators and thirty DAYS
are allowed for the number of daily
report cards to be examined in the
census office is somewhere between
one million and a million and half,
every one of which has to be copied by
hand upon a series of blank tabular
statements, of which there is one for
every enumerator. These are then
recopied upon summary statement
showing the amount OF work in each
supervisors district, aud since there
is space on each blank for recording
the work of 100 enumerators, and
only part of the blanks will be filled,
there will be pproXimately 1000 Of
these sheets. 1t is difficult for any
one not familiar with census work to
form any idea of the vast amount of
material to be handled in all of the
divisions of the office The mum Der
of boxes containing schedules sent TO
the enumerators in advance of taking
the census was 1900, and their total
weight was estimated at 800 tons.
All OF this material is returned to
Washington, where it has to be sorted
out and arranged in order by states
and the subdivisions of states upon
shelving aggregating several miles in
length.
There is an invoice of schedules in
every box received, which has to be
verified and the schedules which do
not relate to population must be
counted and delivered to the chief
statistician for mortality, agriculture
and manufactures, anu their receipts
taken for the same. 4 separate re-
ceipt has to be made out by each of
them for each of the 80, 600 ennlnera-
tors.
Next in order follows the examina-
schedule has to be examined in order
to see that the enumerator has not
made an overcharge for his services.
For this purpose the schedule has to
be compared with the account rem
dered by him. Every possible effort
will be made to pay the enumerators
at the earliest practicable date. Every
business man knows that 53 0U0 bills
presented for payment in one day
could not be audited and paid ut
sight.
The schedules then 20 to the clerks
EMPLOYED in punching cards for the
Hollerth electric tabulating machine.
When these cards have been punched
they have to be verified by the use of
special machine 50 adjusted as to
throw out every card which does not
fulfill certain conditions OF accuracy
in punching. A count OF the popula-
ton will be made during this vertical
ton by color. by sex and by native
or foreign birth. which will consume
possibly five or six months. Not un-
til this machine count shall have been
made for any particular city, county
or state. can the figures be given out
for publication. The cities will nat
urally be taken up first, and as fast
as the actual population, as returned
bv the enumerators, is ascertained. it
will be posted on bulletin board in
the ha J outside the directors room
f the information of the press.
Figures not given out by the census
office will be understood to be merely
guesses which may in some cases APP
proximate the truth. but are unauth-
orized and untrustwOrthy.
Carl A. Richter Goes to West Point.