Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-01-11
Returns to Be Tabulated by Ad-
ding Machines Where They
Are Serviceable
NO ELECTRICAL COMPUTATION
Machines Would Cost Moro Then the
Expense of Taking the Census
Entire Work at State House to Be
Handled by Secretary of Executive
Council and His Assistant.
Special to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Mones. Jan. II. = Electrical
computing machines will not be used
in tabulating the census returns in this
cost more than the taking of the CEN
sus will cost. The federal government
uses the machines, but they are in use
there all the time while in Iowa they
would be in use but a few months
once in ten years The census returns
here will be tabulated by adding ma
chimes where they are serviceable. The
returns will be coming in to the exec
utive council as fast as the returns
for precinct or township are COM
pleted. These will be examined by
the secretary of the executive coun-
ell and returned for correction If de-
ficient. 1t is not expected that Pro-
fessor Patterson of the state univer-
sity will be able to appear here till
after the close of his school work in
June. He will act as the expert stat
the state house will be handled by the
secretary and his assistants. This is
made possible by the fact that the card
system has been adopted by the exec
utive council The big sheets on
which the census returns We're taken
by the enumerators formerly had to
be gone over and copied. Now card
is made out for each individual and
these cards are just as they will be
filed away. The electrical tabulating
machines used in Washington in a
general way work by punching holes
in sheets of paper and the needle drops
thru one of these holes and comnu-
nicates with small cup of mercury
completing the circuit and registering
in the tabulating machine one count
For instance, if a man is white hole
is punched at the proper place In
sheet of paper and If he is a married
man another hole is punched at an
other place and so on. After the sheet
is properly punched 1t is run thru
the machine and everything is reg
istered. That method, however, reg
listers simply once for the various mat
ters on which the census is taken. II
will not register the number OF acres
in a. mans farm. Twenty years ago
the legislature at the request OF tne
old soldiers took the military census
and published 1t in a separate volume
of considerable proportions. This year
again the legislature provided for the
taking of such a census but has not
provided for publishing 1t. The VOL
ume this time would undoubtedly not
be so large as formerly for the rea-
son that the number of men VINO nave
seen service has been considerably oe-
creased thru the agency OF time.
Recent utterances of the governor
show that he is preparing to take a
stand in favor of state wide primaries.
II night he said Gin favor of primaries
for Polk county is the only county now
h.,,,no nr,naries. An investigation
.hows that Of the forty-fve states IN
the union, thirty-six have primary laws
and nine only have not. OF the thirty
six that have such laws. seventeen nave
ontional laws. Iowa's law Is man.
da tory for all counties having popu-
latfon of $4,000 or over This affects
polk county only. The law is optional
in all other counties. Very many have
adopted the primary law, but many
have not. Kansas has no primary law
but the incoming legislature is pledged
to give one The other states with no
primary laws are: Colorado, North
Dakota, South Dakota, pennsylvania
Utah Vermont, West Virginia and Vlr-
ginia.
The bond of Howard Tedford, the
state binder was approved by the gov
ernor Yesterday. Mr.. Tedford filed
with the governor certificate from his
physician to the effect that he had been
threatened with pneumonia and was
unable to come to Des Mo1nes ana at
tend to the matter. 1t is learned that
some of the radically anti-standpat
element wanted to see the authority or
the law exercised and another state
binder appointed by the governor as the
law authorized. This, however, the
governor refused to entertain. Even
had Mr.. Tedford been unable to qualify
it is believed the governor would nave
appointed him to succeed himself TO
the office to which he was elected by
the legislature.
Press dispatches state that the presi-
dent has retired w. L. Alexander as
a brigadier general General Alexan-
der was formerly Lucas county man
and was adjutant general Of the state
from 1878 to 1889. He was veteran
Of the civil war; and later fought in the
Spanish American war as volunteer
as some of the regular officers were al
lowed to do. General Alexander in the
volunteer service enlisted as a first
lieutenant of the Thirtieth Iowa infan-
try Sept. 23, 1852. He was promot-
ed to captain October l, 1853 and was
honorably mustered out July 81, 1865.
He was commissioned a captain I'm the
regular army Oct. 4, 1889, being oom-
mtssioned while he was adjutant gen.
eral Of the state. In 1896 he became a
major and In Dec. 1900, became lieuten-