The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-28
READY TO COUNT NOSES.
GUEssEs on sAVANNAH's POPJLA-
TION ARE NOW IN ORDER.

Census Enumerators VIII Begin
Their Rounds Friday-WilI Not BE
ns Inauisitive as the EnumeratOrs
Were in IS9O-sOme of the Census
work That Is Likely TO Prove
nifHcult-IIOw the Absent People
VIII De Counted.
Census Supervisor Henry Blum, Jr., said
yesterday that everything is in readiness
to begin the census of Savannah, and the
First congressional district of Georgia on
June l. The supervisors have all been
appointed. and have received their in
structions. and the necessary blank sched-
ules for the work. A few of the appoint
ees. who made up their minds after re-
ceiving appointments, that the job was
one which they did not care to tackle.
have resigned and their places have been
filled by others.
So far Mr. Blum has not had a single
kick on his appointments. In this he
has been an exception to his brother
supervisors throughout this section. The
people of Savannah and the district, evil
IDENTIFY feel that Mr.. Blum has exercised
good judgment in selecting and distrib-
uting the enumerators. and that he has
made the best possible arrangement that
could be made under the circumstances.
They are also confident that he will give
them as close and as accurate an enum-
Grafton as it Is possible 10 obtain.
On Friday, just four days hence, the
forty census enumerators who have been
appointed for Savannah, viii begin max
ing their rounds and asking all sorts and
condition of people the various things
which Uncle Sam wants to know about
his 50 900, 900 or 80 10000 children. They will
ask you how old you are and when and
where you were born, your race, sex and
cclcr whether you are single, married,
widowed or divorced, and if in any of
the three last named classes, how many
children you have. They will also ask all
these same questions about all the chill
dren and every other me mber of the fam
lily. They wi ! want TO Know whether you
can read and write and also how many
months the children attended school dur
ing the year. They will ask about your
business and upon what trade or occupa-
ton you depend for a living. They will
not ask about your health, but they will
inquire If you are deaf dumb or blind.
AS a matter of fact, the government is
not near so inquisitive this year as 1t
has been in some former census invesd-
cations. You viii not be asked If you
you are addicted to the use of intoxicat-
ing drinks or whether any member of
your family ever died of consumption. 1t
will not be near so inquisitorial as
medical examination for a life insurance
policy. The census enumerators will
doubtless find people who object to tell
ing their ages or who are disinclined 10
give other information desired. The law
requires these questions TO be answered.
At the same time the enumerators must
exercise tact, as their orders require them
to be extremely patient and polite.
II should be borne in mind that the
enumeration is forbidden by law to make
public any Of the information obtained by
him in the discharge of his duties, and
there are heavy penalties attached for
violations Of this sort. As the informal
tion gathered viii not be given out here.
but viii. be forwarded under seal 10 Wash
ington. where It will be collaborated
along with the reports from thousands of
other districts, there is the remotest pos
sible chance Of any personal informa-
ton 50 obtained being made public. The
government wants the information for
statistical purposes, and the census bu-
reau will furnish it TO the public in this
shape as fast as il is compiled. The re-
port for Savannah viii state how many
blind. deaf and dumb people in the city
and how many illiterate, but not who
they are.
One portion Of the enumerators' work
which is likely to prove difficult is the
gathering of mortality statistics. Each
enumerator is expected 10 ascertain the
name of every decedent within his dis
trict during the year ending June !. his
age cause Of dea tn and other informa ton.
AS there are many deaths of persons,
leaving no relatives behind to give an ae-
count of them, as well as in families who
remove from the districts in which they
were living at the time; this task is not
likely to prove an easy one.
The city census is to be completed with
in two weeks, while the country enum-
orators are allowed a month. Thanks TO
the pleasant weather which has prevailed
up to this time, 1t is probable that less
than ! per cent. Of Savannah's populat ton
has left the city for the summer and
with continued pleasant weather. the city
stands a very good chance of getting a
fairly accurate count of its people. Even
many of those who do go away will be
counted by the aid of members of their
families remaining in the city.
--s-e-s--