New-York tribune., 1901-11-10
PERMANENT CENSUS WORK.
THE MASSACHUSETTS PERMANENT bo-
PEAT SAID TO BE AN ECONOMICAL
INSTITUTION-POLIT OP-
POSITION AT WASH
INGTON.

INGTON.
Boston Nov. (SpeciaD.-The expectation tha'
President Roosevelt will favor a permanent Sei'u
| Bureau when he sends his first message 10 tlie new
| c.. c.IIs attention to the fact that Massa-
cbusetts is the only State in the Union where the
census office is permanent iootifs. anu ~
IN. experirnent here has been abundantly JuSliiie
nv its success. 1t has the same chiel as 'he 90 %
1,ureau of Statistics of Labor, the same oii'e
,orcs ond the same quarters in the State House
Rut the census work is kept entirely ulstiict ii'h
the work of the bureau Material for the ouie
| is naturally gathered by some schednies VI ~
.a,sus such as the numbers of the working peo-
| n,s tn. nature of their employment, ana so on
| but the census statistics are one prah'I "a wa"
and the statistics of labor are another.
Regarding the practicability ana ao'isao's "
making the national Census Bureau periha"T,'. ~,
Chief Horace G. wadlin of the Massachusetts ou
reau SAYS that there are considerations OF
| o,a aoooony in favor of It. 'There Is hot INC
slightest objection TO making the bureau d pei
manent Office he says. Tor the argument ~
| efficiency expense and service to the pupic 10 "
| in favor Of the change The only thing "hch can
be said against 1t is that II there Is a chahee l"
the administration somebody might get some po
litcal advantage by the filling OF the ne" onCee
The national Census Bureau is OUTSIDE ol tiIe ~ hn
| Service system, and when new census 10 10
/ taken there are many Offices to be hiieu Du'
| tho nr.sert census in Chief Wadl!ns opinion mas
been taken efficiently as could be expec'eo oi q
bof, which IS not under the Civil Service law IL
tho bureau were to be made permanent it would De
reasonable to suppose that a large poruoh VI '''o
prcsent force would be retained In once
IF this were done the government would nave III
its service when new census Is 10 NC ' "
| trained body of statisticians who "ouu ho' oe
uuired to learn their work new from the oeeii'
as is now necessary when each new census lorce Is
| -. =. .,,orL There would be no need of retaining
the enumerators in the chiefs opinion FOR they are
the field men, and expert service is not reque VI
| them compared with what is demanded OIL tue
| mon IN the office They could be engaged when
,bs,, uere needed 1t is that some politicians
| .s in the recent Maryland case. have USED these
enumerators as a means of building up poHticai
machine but the places are not so oesiraoie 'id'
the occupants feel when they come 10 iedEo ,
service (whatever they may feel When they e"'e
IN that they are under any obligation to the man
! ,,o s.orrsd tbeno the places In Massachusetts
about eighteen hundred enumerators were seiec'eu
by the bureau, and there was no cohPia'h' Va
political influence. At any rate the piaces ~
he divided more or less between the two poiucai
nartes and the political side OF the matter CAR
not be very important, as the tenure Is SHUT
II the bureau were made permanent Depart
ment of the government then II "ouio oe pu'
under the Civil Service laws and all the ioICe
cept the enumerators would oe proush' utiu't 49,
merit system Chief Wadlin speaks strongly ,o'
~. odvartape Of having trained statisticians In
Tho service of the government at all times 1t no"
REQUIRES six eight years TO digest TOT pu''iIa
ton the statistics which are gathered oE one
census Two or four years or thereaoou'' thtre
fore before the following census Is to oe 'ahet tt
tba entire office force is dismissed. and All theI
valuable capital (Which Is just as @ @Nauao e. S vai,i
able as captap is thrown away Ihe men i'm " mo
nfu dr,,nIstratnrs who have had the laying out OF
the work according to system, VINO hItH" ~ ~.
,etbods Of classification and the details which are
wsn,eJ and the best way OF collecting them. are
set aside and new men are ensesea, VINO No. II
is wa.teful and otherwise injurious TO the people
In Massachusetts the office force Is not RePt ] a.
nresent II is reduced to ts minimum. The girls
wso h marx maTf 'ha Nave snfcent to occupy time
but when the census returns are waluhE @ =, roucb
larger then each one OF these experienced girls IN
the ofice becomes the foreman se o, a, tneir ex
perience and begins with wholly inex2e.a I,e,s
This is more economical and far more satisfactory
statistical results than it. G1md @ ,{ss Ross6g AND 0f take
on a wholly new one when the pressure returns
1t would be possible FOR permanent censns m tge 1H
it's force perhaps it is utilized in Massachusetnts rs
That Is e1nd qGrhS be me f 4orce would work on stats
tics OF population and the Ike. which are wanted
purposes; but after that rush is ended there Is
great deal of valuable census material C0ncefIe h b
lished as possible. which might be aa tanu-
Statistics relating to sociological facts need not
necessarily be issued as soon as the figure, OF OF
population but they invaluable for the good OF
the country Statistics relating to industrial prop
lens could be collected by the enumerators ana oe
digested by the small permanent force III the ou-
reau In stnicient time meet the needs or the
x---
OF trained men the Office, When the time TOT
~new census approached they could lay out alI tne
neid work knowing what had been done before
and could prepare better schedules than would
probably be prepared by director and assistants
wholly new to the service. The United states law
provides the main features of the reports
sh0ll be published within two years from the TAX
ina OF the census: but there is no reason why spe
caI reports could not be made later in heids OF
scientific and industrial development. Statistics or
the churches and religious denominations, such
matters the debts of the farming people (which
was covered census), the debts of cities.
statistics regarding land and water transporta-
tion and so on. are mentioned subjects which
would properly fall within the scope OF a perma-
nent Census Bureau. but which would not come
under the law for publication within two years
after taking of the census was completed
Other topics would up constantly, and there
Is no doubt the mind of the Massachusetts chief
that plenty of important work would be found Tor
the bureau during all of the ten years between the
taking of the national censuses.