Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-11-14
Is Now About Half Printed and
Will Appear Much Earlier
Than 1 895 Census Did
TOTAL COST WILL BE $4,000.
Ten Years Ago the Council Worked
Without Restrictions as to Cost.
State has Saved Considerable by
the Card Method and Has Pur.
chased Material at Commercial Rate.

will appear on time and much ahead
of that Of ten years ago. In 1895 the
census volume did not appear till the
spring Of the following year. In some
of the newspapers there have been
statements that the census work this
year Is to cost more than that of ten
years ago. This is untrue. The legis-
lature for the census report Of this
year appropriated $4,000 and the ex-
ecutive council has borrowed $1,000
more. The total cost will be about
$4,000. Ten years ago the executive
council worked without restrictions.
The council then worked under the old
law under which they were allowed to
draw warrants for anything they
wanted to. Under the present law the
council cannot buy anything without
an appropriation except furniture, coal
or supplies. The warrants were al
lowed by the legislature when it came
together and 1t is difficult now to as
certain what the census work ten
years ago cost but it cost something
like twice what that of this year will
cost.
There has been practically no waste
in the getting out of this years CEN
sus with the exception OF the popula-
tion and farm statistics cards that
were printed as a reserve supply. It
was decided that there should be
printed supply to have on hand in
case those sent out didn't prove suf-
ficient or in case so many Of them
were lost or spoiled that more we're
needed. The reserve supply was not
called on to any great extent and
lot OF the cards are still on hand. It
took a. car load of postal card paper
to print all the cards for the census
on. There were 5000, 900 stof the pop
ulation cards. In printing these the
state got them at the commercial rate
instead Of the legal rate and SO saved
considerable. The legal rate was $l.OO
a thousand for the printing, but as the
cards we're small and forty or fifty
could be printed at one impression on
one large sheet Of paper and then cut
up State Printer Murphy consented to
do the printing for $1.00 thousand
for the large sheets and In that way
the cost was but two or three cents
thousand to the state. It Is possible that
something might have been saved In
the farm statistics cards by using
books, but the saving would have been
in the cost of tabr,lating the statistics
The farm statistics cards have not
been such great SUCCESS, and 1t Is
believed now THAT greater success and
less expense could have been had by
rising blank sheets and later binding
them. The saving In the population
cards was made in the taoulating. The
cards could be thrown In piles for cer-
tain Information and then counted
much more quickly than by any other
method. For instance all the married
were put in one pile, the unmarried
in another, the divorced In another,
and SO on, and these piles then count
ed. The work was very much more
rapid than IL the information was re-
corded in books. With the farm sta
tistbcs the opposite was the case. The
cards could not be sorted into piles
and counted. Had the Information
been on BLANKS with the number OF
acres one man had under cultivation
set down directly under that on an
other man in the same township the
column could have been added up
much more rapidly than with fhe In
formation on separate CARDS.
There are strong Indications that
Des Moines will make an effort to get
the commission system adopted A
large number of the business men OF
the city seem to be in favor OF 1t with
out much meditation on the subject.
They realiz. that a commission OF
three men can be just as corrupt as
council of aldermen and a board u
public works, but argue that the Nf-
ference will come in having commits
sion of high salaried men instead OF
cheap politician aldermen. They argue
that a commission should be paid $3,-
600 a year for each member II not
more. The present aldermen get $3.50
and make up the difference by getting
contracts from the city. Five out OF
nine aldermen are contractors. They
argue that commission for Des
Moines Will work the same as tfe
board Of control has for the state In
stftutions, giving better management
1t is surprising what large number
there are who are in favor of the idea
LEFT BRIDE At ALTAR.
LaPorte Man Has Been Missing Since