Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1900-06-28
TO AN ANXIOUS PUBLIC.
Census Director Issues Statement
Saying that Results Cannot be Pub
Iishcd for Weeks and Maybe Months.


Washington, June 23.-Director of
the Census Merriam yesterday gave
out the following statement for the
information of the public:
THE census office is in receipt of
many letters daily, asking for infor-
nation 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 writer's that the
census has not yet been taken. The
law allows until June Is in cities of
5000 inhabitants, and in rural dis
trictS until July 1 for its completion,
and after that the schedules have to
be examined by the supervisors of
the census before they can be for
warded to Washington, in order that
the supervisors may determine
whether the work has been satisfac-
tarily done and they may be in posi-
ton to certify to the correctness of
the enumerators' accounts for serv-
ice rendered under the law.
'In orderto appease the impatience
of the public the following statement
has been prepared showing what has
to be done with the census returns
when received at Washington and
before the figures can be given out
in their entirety. Every enumerator
is required to fill a daily report card
showing how many hours and min
utcs he has been at work and how
many persons he has enumerated
that daV Since there are (includin9
special enumerat, RS for institutions
and for the military and naval popu-
lation) approximately $4,000 enumer-
ators and 30 days are allowed for the
completion of the census, the number
of daily report cards to be examined
in the census office is somewhere be-
tween 100000 and 100000, 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
re-coped upon summary statement
showing the amount of work in each
supervisors district, and 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 approximately 1000 of
| these sheets.
1T is difficult for any one not fa-
miiar with census work to form any
| idea of the vast amount of material
| to be handled in all the divisions of
| the Office. The number of boxes con-
| tanning schedules sent to the emu
| merators in advance of taking the
| census was $500 and their total
| weight was estimated at 800 tons.
| All of this material is returned to
| Washington, where is has to be sort
| ed 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 pop
ulation must be counted and deliv-
/ cred to the chief statisticians for
mortality, agriculture and manufac-
lures, and their receipts taken for
| the same
| Next follows the examination in
| detail of schedules. Every 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 rendered
| by him. Every possible effort will be
made to pay the enumerators at the
| earliest practicable date.
"When the population of the cities
has been learned the results will be
posted on a bulletin board in the hall
of the census department. Any fig
ures but those given out by the CEN
sus officials are guesswork and the
department is in no way responsible
| for them"