The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-02-17
THE CENSUS BUREAU BUSY
1T HAS A SPECIAL BUILDING OF
IT'S OWN.
Director Merriam Has Every Conven-
fence to Facilitate His Work-Work
All on One Floor.

WASHINGTON, D. c., January 81
at the census office these days, and it
will continue for the next two or three
years. Director Merriam is well salts
fed with his new building which was
designed by him and erected through
his enterprise. Heretofore the census
people have been scattered all over
town, occupying such buildings as could
be secured on a temporary lease, and
they were neither safe, convenient nor
comfortable, while the rent was was
enormous. The rent bill for the last
census was somewhere between $150,000
and $4,000. Mr.. Merriam entered into
contract with a syndicate of real es-
tate men, under which they erected a
new building upon his designs, which
covers 10000 square feet, or about two
and one-half acres. The building cost
$143, 900; the land upon which it stands
is estimated to be worth $4,000, and
under Mr.. Merriam's lease the govern
ment will pay a rental of $25, 400 year
| for five years, with an option to renew
at the rate of $4,000 a year for a Sec
ond five years, or to purchase at any
| time within the next ten years for $780,
| 900.
! The beauty of the building is thar,
with the exception of one small wing,
| where the executive offices are located,
everybody will be employed on the
ground floor. There are no stairs to
climb, no elevators, no defective flues
! to start a fire, no plumbing, plenty of
| light from glass roofs and electric
| lamps after shutdown. The rooms are
very large. In one room will be placed
| 1,064 electric tabulating machines, by
which the returns of the enumerators
will be tabulated automatically by the
use of most ingenious apparatus. In
two other rooms there will be desks FOR
1900 clerks, so that their work can be
supervised by two men, The different
divisions of the organization will be as
sembled each in it's own great apart
ment under the eye of the chief.
At one end of the building is a COM
plete printing office, where the emer-
gency printing will be done. Beside
it is a stationery store from which
supplies will be distributed upon orders
from authorized persons, just as if il
were a private establishment and the
employees were purchasers. In another
large room the blanks are classified
so that they can be reached instantly
as they are called for; but it would
take a great deal of time and space
to describe all the arrangements and
conveniences which Col. Merriam has
introduced. He sits at the desk and
converses with the chief of every divis-
ion and all of the responsible men UNI
der his direction. He will issue his or
ders and receive his reports through
a telephone. The wires from his eaI
and his mouth go to every corner of the
building.
The vault is one of the most impor.
tant features of tine building. 1t cost:
the government IS 1000 900 to secure The
information upon which the census re-
ports are based, and it will all be con
tanned in paper schedules which hereto
fore have been exposed to fire; but 70
their protection Col. Merriam has con
structed an enormous vault, with thicl
walls of fire brick, that is absolutei!
freproof, and at the close of business
each and every document of impor
lance will be slowed away upon III
shelf.
The clerks are now engaged in send
ing out blanks and other supplies u
the supervisors throughout the coun
/ try, and if they were all shipped at tn
same time it would require a long tran
of freight cars. The first thing for tn
supervisors is to subject the candidate
= for appointment as enumerators to
test Each will be given a sampl
blank, which will be required to fill GU
= with imaginary information such as h
will be required to obtain from the PEG
pie in his district, giving the names
the abodes and the personal informa
- ton concerning each citizen. Ate
a these blanks are filled they will be re
turned to Washington for examination
and the selection of enumerators wi
be based upon the intelligence, accura
= cy and the neatness with which the
! are made.