Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-09-16
CENSUS FORGE GUT
Director Merriam and His Dep.
'uties Get Thru With /. Very
Difficult Job
TEARS AND TROUBLE IN PLENTY
Census Officials Unable to Reduce the
Force Without Numerous and Wig
orous Kicks From Congressman and
Constituents The Permanent Bu-
reau and the Work on Hand.
TEARS AND TROUBLE IN PLENTY

reau and the Work on Hand.
| Washington, Sept. 16.-From $500
clerks from every state in the union to
/ 72O is the cut down in the census
bureau. The process of reduction caused
Director Merriam and his assistants to
pelspire.
When Mr.. Mckinley called Governor
i Merriam to wrestle. with the twelfth
census he was asked if he intended to
put clerks under whip and spur, and
answered.: Not at all: that is. am
going to offer an inducement for them
to furnish the spur. am told that the
average department clerk is not so
much overpaid as underworked. shall
Investigate the report"
1 ventured to remark that the en-
4 ployes OF the government in Washing
ton were paid on an average about
i twice as much as was paid for the
same service anywhere else in the
1world.
In 1890 the census bureau was scat
tered thru more than thirty diffokent
buildings. That was a most extrava-
giant arrangement. am going to tear
4 down that old building under the sha-
dow of the capitol, that was the Balti-
more & Ohio depot in war times, and
l shall put up single story structure
on the lot that will shelter all of my
$500 busy clerks. Every one of the
clerks will be In sight Of his division
chief. This will be distinct advan-
ltage, for it will enable every clerk to
see that his chief does his duty and
doesn't waste the governments time
reading newspapers or novels or smok-
ing or lounging In the windows"
you propose that the clerks shall
watch their superior officer and keep
him up to the mark"
That's 1t. Nobody can get out OF
sight In my widespread caravansary.
NV predecessors seemed to have ig
nored the great principle of OPTICS"
When this purpose was announced
a good many officials in the city shook
their heads. but he put up the low.
fiat building. and 1t has been a tre-
mendous success, for the result is that
no clerk in Washington ever did SO
much work in as short time. The di.
rector paid good salaries and made
promotions depend strictly on eff
cheney.
The work of appointing the clerks
was simple. In the first place, politics
were ignored-party disregarded. AS a
basis for the corps. some hundreds of
experts We're called in who had val
liable experience in previous censuses.
The remaining appointments were dis
trituted TO the different states approx
inlately according to the population.
When the bill passed congress 1t was
agreed that the democrats should have
about one third and the republicans
This nearly agreed with the party d.
vision in congress and gave general
satisfaction.
But last July the work was nearly
finished, and the process of cutting
down the force began vigorously. Then
came the vociferous trouble.
1 On Sunday l dropped in on the ap-
pc,intment clerk, John w. Langley, a
kentuckian of strenuous business
habits. found him at home, stretched
out on a lounge, painting and perspiring
with the thermometer at s. degrees. He
slightly turned his head and extended a
languid greeting.
Natter" he echoed, in response to
my question. Matter enough. am
trying to renovate, rejuvenate. reha-
bilitate, or whatever you call it. Sleep
all day. In dry dock for repairs.
This is different from anything ]
ever tackled-this divorc1ng Of pretty
nearly 5000 men and wien from their
daily bread and butter. I guess 1t
would have used the governor entirely
UP IL he had stayed or deck. But he
fed when the worst was over.
1T surprised us to find out how diff
cult it was to make the necessary re-
auctions while Sucking close to justice.
The first thing the governor did was to
select fifty of the most skilled and eff
cient men and women among the clerks
and appoint them as basis of his per-
manent bureau, without regard to
backing, party or sex. Next, he re-
solved to reduce the clerks by congress
sional districts, as he had appointed
them. He thereupon requested each
congressman to select the clerk or
clerks to be dropped out of list Of eff
f1.cients which we furnished. Some of
them co-operated with us cordially. III
other cases the senator or congressman
would call on us and conversation
would ensue like this:
"'See here; you have slated Joe
Beverly to go. But Joe is brother of
the governor OF my state and my right
bower. He can't be let out
"tBut Joe is below the mark of our
minimum of efficiency
Flows that? On the TRIAL exami-
ration before appointment you passed
him in as all right
"'Certainly, he passed the non
Compel, but on the competitive he falls
| down..
Fails down? You must stand him
/ up. Fix him, some how You must
keep him. l can't spare him. Rather
you'd dismiss all my other clerks
| Another lawmaker would come in and
say: Look a-here! You have marked
Arabella Johnson for discharge as in
efficient. But you promoted her for eff
ficiency only twelve months ago.
"Of course, there was heartbreak-
ing scene every time few hundred
clerks were removed-weepif1g. faint
ing, arguing, hysterical pleading and
the presentation of vivid and all too ac-
curate pictures of poverty, hunger and
extreme wretchedness. 1t would have
moved heart of stone. and the director
hasn't any such heart. If he has in any
rare case veered from the path of i'm