Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-16
SECRETS NOT IN PERIL
Sensational Stories Regarding
Divorce Statistics.
Mr.. R0SSITER EXPLAINS
Statement by Acting Director Of the
Census.
TRUSTED employees UTILIZED
Facts and Figures Obtained Are Used
Only in Bulk or Combination
Names Disregarded.
TRUSTED EMPLOYEES UTILIZED

the census is sometimes amused and some
times irritated by the scare stories that
are being published all over the country to
the general effect that all sorts of scandals
and family skeletons are about to be un-
earthed by the employees of the census
bureau, who have been sent this summer to
twenty Of the largest cities for the purpose
of securing statistics on the divorce cases
Of the past twenty years.
Il have been answering questions for
newspaper men ever since this matter
started" he said to Star reporter this
morning land have tried to explain that
there is absolutely nothing sensational in
the work. 1t is merely routine matter
with US, and the public will never be any
the wiser as to individual cases when we
have finished. We wouldn't think of giving
out any information in that way. In fact,
our records will not even contain the names
OF the divorced persons when they are COM
plete. 1t Is block statistics that the gov
eminent Is after and nothing else.
Usual Methods Employed.
There have been more untruths and col
ored statements printed in regard to this
work than 1 have seen for some time. For
census agents will have interviews with
divorced persons and ask them all sorts Of
personal questions. Nothing of this kind
Will be done. We are simply sending a
corps Of men and women clerks from out
offices In this city, as we do continually in
collecting various kinds of statistics, and
they are being installed In the court houses
of twenty of the large cities, where, under
the direction of man of the bureau, they
will go through the divorce records of the
past twenty years hurriedly and in busi-
nesslike manner, and take out certain cold
facts, which will never have any personal
significance to the bureau or the public.
1T is estimated that between thirty and
fifty thousand cases are recorded for this
twenty-year period in each of the cities of
New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, and
that one million are recorded in.the~ entire
country for this period. Is it likely that
sort of thing daily, will remember or will
even look at names as they run through
the records? OF course not. unless, perhaps
they happen to be personally interested in
are sworn to secrecy and would lose their
positions If they gave out to any one what
they had read"
Cause Of the Wild Reports.
Mr.. Rossiter said he supposed the fact
that number of young women are being
sent out on this work was the basis for
some of the stories, as the idea Of a woman
delving into the secrets Of divorce case
might in itself be considered as sensational
Coupled with this he also believes that the
erroneous impression that has gone forth
to the effect that these clerks are special
agents, secured in a haphazard manner, Is
partly responsible for the wild stories on
the subject. AS matter of fact he said,
there are no special agents on the work,
but every one Of the, 100 clerks that have
already been sent out are trusted employees
of the census Office in this city-statisti-
clans and copyists whose work is always
conducted In a perfectly businesslike man.
ner. This, he declared, is true of the men
and women alike. Every group of clerks
Is under the direction Of a man who super
vises the work and keeps a record of every
thing accomplished by the individual clerk
He went on to explain that there will be
nothing different in the collection of these
statistics from the collection of divorce
statistics twenty years ago, when there was
no sensational Outcry about 1t.
Facts Strictly Confidential.
"Why every bit of the work we have to
do in the census office is strictly confden-
tial. and to us and the public entirely i'm
personal" he continued. Certainly 1t Is
known that the government agents secure
from the big manufacturing concerns and
other business houses of the country all
sorts of information which the newspapers
would be only too glad to get hold Of
Does any one think we would make that
public? Net for minute. The entire sue
cess or this once depenQS on our absolute
secrecy in regard to everything of this ma
ture that we do. No one ever raised a cry
against these operations, and yet they are
just as important to those concerned as d.
vorce suits"
He declared it Is only when figures and
Information thus obtained are combined so
that the individual record is entirely lost
to sight that the bureau ever thinks OF
making them public.
In fact" he said, eff there is only one
business house in a state that would come
under a given classification we refuse to
carry out the classification and thus give
away the secrets of this house. We COM
bne the figures in some other way, so that
there can be no possible way to find out
anything about this concern"
1t will take about year to complete the
collection of the divorce statistics through
out the country. The present work is mere
ly preliminary, and later every county in
every state in the Union will be visited and
the court records gone over. At present
there are thirty clerks from the Office In
Chicago, twenty in New York, ten in Phila-
delphia, twelve in Boston, four in Balti-
more etc. This city Is to be left until near
the last, because it is right at home and
always accessible.