The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-04-18
PUZZLED THE CENSUS MAN

PUZZLED THE CENSUS MAN
Young Woinnn's Struggle to Fill omttDs
Schedule.
The young woman who boarded IL
Z the house was the only member of the
FAMILY at home when the census man
came. He had called in the morning
without finding any one, and had left
, several blanks to be filled out. The
D young woman was wrestling with one
OF the blanks when the bell rang, and
she greeted the mild-mannered census
taker with effusion.
you've come just in. time to save
! my tottering reason she said, cordial
ly.
? Hey" said the census man, who
evidently wasn't used to being treated
5 with airy friyolity.
Tive been trying to fill this thing
? out truthfully, and it's so hard to be
scrupulously truthful. Now about my
: color. You see I'm III transition
I stage between my winter color and my
summer color. NY freckles aren't
, very bad yet: but guess brown and
I lemon color would hit me oil all
right.
She looked very serious and sally
> puzzled. and the census man, whose
sense of humor wasn't his strong point.
{ fastened to explain.
ooh, you don't need to do that, I'd
- just call you white" he said.
mo would you? That's good OF
you,' she murmured, gratefully; but
there's something else that bothered
I ne. l don't know the year OF my
birth.
The census man looked weary
Gould you guess at your age, he
4 asked apologetically.
ooh, yes, I'm SO, but l cant sub
{ tract"
! You don't look it, said the man
? politely.
> "Well, I don't know. l may look as
( if could subtract, but I'm sure con't
i look as if could divide
II Have you got profession, ma ann
: They say being charming IS a wo-
{: mans profession. You might put that
i down.
He shook his head with uncompii
p mentary decision.
Don't you do anything else?''
ooh, paint poor pictures between
times she admitted.
I Are you single, maam?"
Z do you suppose I'd make profess
sion of being charming il | weren't
; single?"
4 He admitted the force of the logic
y Now about the lady of the house
! miss?"
: "She's out"
"Yes, but you can tell me all have
: to know"
( "shes awfully white; but don't
know how old she is"
"Can you guess?"
Q ooh yes can guess. Thirty -tive's 8
= good respectable uncompromising sort
i Of an age. Call her 35.''
Where was she born?"
Z 4 don't know. She's lived in Wash
ington and Denver and Boston and
i Columbus, Ohio and Jersey City. You
can take your choice
Z sYou don't know in which Of them
she was born?"
) mo know where she'd rather
: have 3asn born than anywhere where. else"
y "Where9'
= "Nirgin,a. ,ne iust pointediy does
M Virginia
SIT 70 put NJ down III 7v5Tr:
"That'n be reel comfort to her
u said the ooarder
whats you1 servants name?'
p "Her> first names Norah.'
! Don't you know the ast?'
u mo- and She's gone out. What DC
you think her name ought to beafter
q Norah? Murphy would be all right
= wouldn't it?"
"a "Why, yes. guess I'll put it Muir
ply. don't want to come back again
= you see. l amt making much out Of
. my district. Tie families are SC
J SMALL
= He looked distinctly abused: ant
. Z the boarder promptly annlogized.
Ell 'tI'm awfully sorry thers lint NOR
of U.S." she said humbly.
ooh, it can't be helped" he sighed
. + "Now, my cousin, he's over in til
- tenement district, seventy and eight
folks in one house; and, if they ain
~ in, you can put Them in. Folks wi
believe anything about tenemen
% house. I told my cousin 1 wasn't dc
in very we'll, that there was only pr
3H yate houses and furnished room place
in my district: and he says VIII.
6 furnished rooms is cinch. 70
couldn't do better except in tenement
~ Mix up German and Irish Names b
y says, and scatter hem around in thos
{ + furnished rooms and nobody can jun
y on you But they did get jumped 0
- once for that sort Of business and
- guess I'll just get what I can on th
3 square There's so many maiden la7die
n and widows running these boardii
. and room places though, and they'l
so touchy about their ages. wish l
had tenement district"
"I wish you had" said the boarde
with deep sympathy.
p. m. you've been real pleasant and hell
pm. full. There amt many that's as hell
~ full as you"
''In such a good cause, I couldn
ana conscientiously be anything else" sa
scept the boarder, loftily. It's privilege