The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-06-24
CENSUS TAKER
TROUBLES OVER
His Troubles Were Many While They
Lasted.
HE HAD A HARD ROW TO HOE.
One Ennmerator Tells of His Expc-
ricnccs and How He Had to Go
Abou. Securing Infor-
nation
His Troubles Were MANY While They
HE HAD A HARD ROW TO HOE

The census takers troubles are about at
an end. and beyond the reports of the
eight special agents who are now at work
securing statistics concerning Richmond
manufacturing and other industries,
the reports have been handed in
and forwarded 10 the proper Off
cials ard departments. Thirty days
or more viii probably elapse before
these special agents make their reports,
US the ground to be covered by them Is
Very great and the strictest attention must
necessarily be paid to the details of the
work.
Under the industrial census every
branch OF industry is taken up and Stats
tics concerning il most carefully compiled.
Whether The industry is a paying or non
paying one. the capacity. the output. the
number OF hands employed tie amount of
capital invested are but few of the
queries fropoGnGed This industrial cca-
sus Will include every branch OF industry.
and il Will necessarily be some time before
the returns wil be completed ready TO
be handed over TO the superintendent.
THEIR OWN TROUBLES.
The special agent may think that he
has a hard row to hoe but the from
house 10 house man has his troubles,
loo. When they had finished canTa ssing
their respective districts every last man
was ready ia sing the long metre doxoiogy
in q way never sung before, and with
special emphasis on every word, accord
ing to the testimony of one who had been
Through the MILL But it is all over
now. and the only thing that remains is
to sign and receive The amount Que for
1he part played by them in helping num-
Der Uncle sam s children at two and one
half cents per head. Mr. J. a. McLaugh-
lin the Superintendent of the census, does
not think that there viii be any delay IN
the paying off OF the men, and IN conse-
auence the enumerators are, MicaWber-
~ to
The census taker had no sinecure. he
found himself up against the real thing,
and some of the experiences he had will
seerve 10 make him long remember the
census of nineteen hundred.
Talk about troubles said one OF the
men who had been engaged In the work;
the fellow that has not been through
Al has no idea of what it means The
average enterpTising American citizen has
mo conception of the blitherins IDIOTS by
whom he Is surrounded. Between the fel-
low that does not know his age, the
woman who will not tell, and tue fellow
who tries to pass himself off as a hui
tanorist, the enumeratoTs life was made a
Burden. In fact, he did not live: he sim
.1,ly elled out an existence, and was happy
when it was over.
Yet there was a ridiculous side to it all,
400. remember on one occasion was
at a house and was conSratulaung my
self on the progress had made. when the
lady OF the house bore down on me ike
"a ship under full sail
Are you the census man, and what do
you want here? was the inst question
;ehe pTopounded.
st answered in the affirmative and eX-
planned the object Of my visit"
.sShe waited until / had finished my lit
.xle set speech, warranted good to use on
.all occasions and then she calmly in
formed me that she had seen list of the
Aquestfons used and considered them as i'm
s1,ertinent and unnecessary In few words
ashe considered them IS nobody's business.
+sand she did not purpose answering a sin
tele solitary one
TALKED INTO EXHAUSTION.
What was I to do? / saw from the
start that 1 captured a Tartar. We'll.
I'll tell you what I did. I simply stayed
there and talked her into submission.
or may be, a state of exhaustion. l
never knew my tongue was so long, or
.that had such command of the English
Language, but I stuck to it and finally
i>on my swearing by al that was black
land blue that no information she would
fgive me would ever find its way to the ears
51ny questions. 1t was struggle, III
tell you.
Another time I went into house and
was shaking hands with myself on the way
my subject was answering. But I reck-
oned without my host / struck a snag
sand had a narrow escape. l had gotten
sr1own TO the What is your ase2' when
1he storm broke with all its fury. I was
S,naligned and denounced as no gentle
tnnan,' and finally ordered out Of the house
u left, too. One of my fellow-workers had
"a similar experience and wanted TO resign
He did not. however, but profited by ex-
a,erience. In subsequent cases he left the
age question until the last.