The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-07-27
THE TAKING OF A CENSUS.
queer Experiences of the Enumerat-
Ors In Farming Districts.

The census enumeratcrs who secured
the statistics for the 50JG,000 farm SEIZED
uIes sometimes found themselves con-
fronted with almost insurmountabIe diff
hcu!ties in connection with their work.
In many instances the farmers were re
luctant to give any statistics as to their
crops, the value OF their farms or their
property. This reluctance was often due
to the fact that the farmers had been i'm
pressed with the idea that the information
was to be used in making up the tax lists
When the farmer had that idea in his
head it was next TO Impossible to make
him change his views, and 10 secure re
liable figures under such conditions was
out OF the question Others went to the
opposite extreme. believing that the fig
uTes Tor individual farms would be pub
Iished and the information disseminated
throughout the neighborbood. These men
wished 10 make a good showing for their
farms and would return figures out of all
proportion.
One Indiana farmer. who. it IS to be in
ferred, had a good farm to sell, made re-
turn that from his ifty-acre farm he had
raised I,0o0 bushels Of wheat. 500 bushels
of oats, S tons of hay. fa9 bushels Of pota-
toes, $50 bushels OF apples, 1258 bushels
u Gti4l anu u UlaSlltGS u lDfNdlbGS- Al dl-
dition to garden truck He had fed 10
head Of cattle and horses during that
year. Another Indiana man had the
champion chicken He reported to the
bureau that he had obtained 1,c00 eggs
during the year. In his schedule he said
he had one hen. When the discrepancy
was noticed he was asked by the bureau
to explain It, and replied that ne had had
other chickens during the year, but could
not tell how many
In reply to some questions by the bu-
reau an Ohio woman wrote as follows:
Dear Mr.. Census Director: I am
ashamed to tell you how little We raised
last year, you see Ny Old Man is not
much good I have been Married three
times The fust drunk himself to deth
and the second run away about ) years
ago. Jim, he's Ny Old Man now. amt any
good nohow and I'd like to get rid of him.
Last year the calves got into our garden
50 much there wasn't any garden truck
and Jim he forgot t. manure the wheat
so IT wasn't much and guess We didn't
get morn or hundred bushels of corn
and the appls was all mOldy and Totton-
This place belongs to me and I just told
Jim / was ashamed to tell You how poor
off We was and if l had to writ again
like this I would fire him of the place
No more, from yours truly, Amanda
T"
1t was in the mountainous regions Of
the South that the enumerators had the
most trouble Government to a MAORI
ty Of the Tennessee mountaineers is syn
Onymous with revenue officers ard
they often displayed an otherwise unac-
cOuntgbIe Teticence- An enumeTator in
Georgia district writes as follows
ale --=r--
in time. 1t takes more time to explain
what want to a nountaineer than to get
the information came near being sho5
yesterday. William Jackson-they call
him Bug Juice Bills an old moon
sinner and he mas a scrap Of land and
cabin up on the ridge I wanted TO get
JacksOns figures. but 1 was afraid he
might take II unkindly. SO 1 sent him
word by a neigbbor that would be along
the next day. ! cautioned the man to ex-
plain to Jackson that / had nothing to do
with the revenue service. and that he
need not fear ne. The next day I headed
for his cabin and found him seated before
the door with a long doUble-barreled fife
across his knee
d" Evening. stranger he said
a. Good day, Mr. Jackson, said I. I am
n census enUmerator, and I want to ask
you some questions about you and your
family
wal he replied. shooting out a
stream Of tobacco Juice, 'whut is it you
uns wants ter kno-T
4 explained very quickly and briefly the
information I desired and unfortunately
wound up by saying as d jest and with
the intention Of putting him in a good
humor:
&c You know. Mr.. Jackson. the Govern
ment is interested in you and your fam
Ivy
IN a moment ! was staring into the
open end Of d wicked-IoOking gun. behind
which the old man stood glazing at ne.
Tn GuvFnment,' he snarled; the
Guvrnmcnt is interested in we'uns. is ft2
Wal, we'uns amt Interested in the
Guvrnment nur any of you uns that ber-
long to il. Now. you uns listen ter me and
git right Outer'n here. And don't YOU 'uuS
come back no more, either he shouted
after me. for l was hundred yards away
by this time and still going. I don't know
Yet how many young 'uns 'Bug-Juice
Bill has. and I don't care II I never ind
out"
An enthusiastic amateur farmer who
lives in Chicago obtained Il farming
schedule and wrote to the bureau that al
though he hadn't much ground he thought
he was entitled to be recorded as horny
handed son Of toll He said he had about
his house a yard containing about quar-
ter of an acre OF ground and. being inter
eSted in agriculture. ne had turned il into
a garden. He procured the best seeds
from the Department Of agriculture and
had considerable success in a small
way" He had raised during 1893 3
bushels OF potatoes lG head Of cabbage. a
bushei Of tomatoes bushels Of peas
a peck of cuTTauts. 16 quarts Of raSpber-
ries 81 ears Of corn. and a peck of beans
4 ounce tree gave him ; quarts of
ounces and he also procured IL pounds Of
era pes and q buShel and a half Of apples.
He wrote that he had fitted up some bee
hives in the garnet OF MS house and from
them had Iakeu y pounds Of money In
his cellar he cultivated mushrooms. md
he estimated he had raised about th1 ce
quarts Of these in the past year The
amateur farmer was recorded. as the bu-
rcau thought he was doing nicely.
Perhaps the most pathetic letter which
came to the agricultural division was one
from an Old Vermont farmer who wanted
to enlist the services of the bureau in
finding his only son Part Of is letter
read.
Il understand that in taking the census
YOU TAX. the names Of every man. WOm-
an. and child in the whole country II
occurred to mother and me that your men
must find SOmewheTeS. our Tom and II
they have you would know it Our boy
went away nineteen years ago and we
haven't heard on him sence.
u guess I'm to blame for il all I work
ed him too hard and We often had words
ing to he his own master, and / guess he
has. for off he went and never come back
Mother and me Is getting old, and she's
almost blind Nothing VIII satisfy her
except Tom. and ] don't know how to get
him home He used to be fond OF the
'F'ireSide Companion ard l put ad-
yertisement in il two or three times ask
ing for his address, but ] never heard.