The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1901-03-22

A special dispatch to the Bal.
timore San, from Washington,
dated March 10Th says:
Stephen A. Abel a policeman
of the Washington force and
formerly a census enumerator in
st. Mary's County, Maryland,
was arrested here this afternoon
on charge of having enumerat.
ed, as "alive and active resi-
dents" in the one hundred and
eleventh enumerating district
seven different persons "whO
were dead at the time of the
last enumera ion.n 7 h e
warrant was sworn out by Chas.
f. Sloane, chief clerk Of the Geo
graphical Division of the Census
Bureau.
Abel admits having entered
several dead persons, claims that
he understood the law to intend
such enumeration, and states
that his course in this matter was
advised by Representative Mudd,
Enoch b. Abel, Clerk of the
Circuit Court in that district,
and Joseph FL. Ching, Republi
can attorney practicing at Leon
ardStown. Abel was appointed
to the Washington police force
September 4 last, on the recon-
mendation of Mr.. Mudd.
The charge is set forth in the
warrant as follows: THAT on
June 20, 1900, Stephen A. Abel,
a census enumerator in District
III of the thirtieth supervisors
district in the State of Maryland,
did willfully, knowingly and IN
lawfully make certain false Ger
tificate and certain false return
to the Director of the said census
by setting out in said return that
seven different persons were alive
and active residents of said dis
trict. whereas in truth and in
fact the said seven persons were
dead at the time Of the making
of the said enumeration. i"
Abel was arrested at No.
Police Station shortly before
O'Clock this afternoon. He was
taken to police headquarters and
held pending his efforts to OBJ
tain release on bail. About six
O'Clock Representative Mudd
called and held a conference
with the accused.
The prisoner made the follow.
ing statement of the case to a
reporter of the Sun:
"Last June | was appointed an
enumeration in the eastern part of
the Third enumerating district
on the recommendation of Mr..
Mudd. When | went to work
it was with the understanding
that | was to set down all men
who had died within a year-al,
though | was to use my own dis
erection and put down the men
, who died since the census before
if | thought best Those were
my instructions from Mr.. Mudd,
Mr.. Ching and Mr.. Abel. They
are all Republicans, and | am
Republican and | worked with
the Republican crowd.
"Well, | found lot Of men
who were doubtful. Alfred Dill.
ow, of LeOnardStown, was one.
He died 20 or 80 days before |
took the census, but | had to use
my own Judgment, and | put him
down. Then French Thompson,
of st. Mary's County, had just re.
moved to Washington to work in
the Riggs House, and | set him
down. There were a lot of PEG.
pie who were all mixed up, who
died or moved away or lived
somewhere else and had property
in st. Mary's County, and | had
to use my own judgment. | put
! them down, because | understood,
the law directed me to use my
own Judgment.
"My recollection is that the
| other 6numeratOrS were uSino
their judgment in the same way.
They were Edward Tennyson,
Charles Guyther, Dan Bowls,
Wilson Graves and Il. johnson.
Cotton. Mr.. Cotton finished his
work in IL days. He knew his
district so well that he just sat
down and filled out his blanks
You had to do something like
that or catch the people a
running. When they saw you
coming they would skip to the
woods. My people lived pretty
nearly all of them in Brooks
Swamp, and were the worst kind
OF ignorant. They were so mix.
ed about, working first in one
place and then somewhere else
that | could not tell what to do.
l was at the work about a month.
and turned in about 225 farm
schedules. My pay was 500 and