The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1908-12-01
O|JTLINE:
CENSUS
DIRECTOR s
REPORT

The Dlrec of the Census has Just
issued his suaual report 10 the Sec
retary of Commerce and Labor. AFTER
reviewing the work OF the past ye~f
and describing the current work OF The
bureau. the director proceeds TO the
immensely important subject OF the
next census OF the United States. the
census Of 1910.
Estlmated Cost Of Thirteenth Census.
In regard TO its cost he says 81 esii-
mate that the cost Of the Thirteenth
Census, including the cost Of conduct.
Ing the four annual inv Istigatlons and
the two biennial reports that the Cen.
sus Office Is required to make simul
tsneously with the taking Of that cen.
sus. will be s1f,1l7.000. The lump sum
appropriation 20 be provided In the az
preparation act for the next fiscal yeal
should be not less than Sl4.0OO.00O.
Excluding the cost Of the tour an
nual investigate ms and the two bien.
nial reports, the probable cost OF the
census proper Is estimated at $l2,S3o,-
600. The cost OF the last census. tlLt
of 1900 was s12.520000. In othe
words the director is planning to take
the census OF 1910 at an increase ir
cost Of My 100000 over the censu
OF 1900. and this IN spite OF the eroi
nous growth / nthe population durin
the past decade, growth largely col
trinuted by foreign born people VIII
4 not speak English, a class which J.
IL very expensive and very difficult
snumerate
II the work can be accomplished tc
this sum. Il will be the first time IN th
history of the nation that census ha
been taken and complied at prscticall'
the same cost as the prior enumeration
Formerly the increase In tine cost O
the census from decade to decade ha
been about so per cent aud on thi
basis the cost Of the Thirteenth Censu
proper, exclusive OF the four annnf
and tie two biennial reports. would b.
&f8.750.000 nearly $6.0O0,OO0 more thai
TIE director estimates the actual SOS
Will bes
Among the reas1n ms which the dires
tor assigns for his belief that this enoi
nous saving can be made he p.uce
first the existence Of the permanen
census office. He says 'The fact this
The 5iiiee is now organized az the higf
eat nciat OF efficiency, that no tim
s'p BE- lost IN getting ready in testing
aptitude OF green clerks. and Ia de
veloplng new systems, means fully
million dollars saving IN the orgahlza
ton Of the Thirteenth Census
Another important means OF bring
ing about this saving is the fact that
the bureau win build and own the
necessary tabulating apparatus instead
OF renting II as heretofore. On July J
1906. the apparatus which had beer
used In tabulating the census of l90
and which was owned and operated by
private company was withdrawn
from the bureau of the Census because
the company and the director could no.
agree on the rental 60 be paid for III
use OF these mechanisms. The with
drawal Of the machines compelled tn
director % ask Congress for an appro
nriaticn for experimental work In de
veloping new mechanisms to be owned
controlled. and operated by the Gov
ernmont. Tie results OF this expert
mental work nave exceeded all exi.ec
tations. The new mechanisms invent
ed are novel In plan and design, are Of
EftdltT rpStN tiN NtAiNiNhNy NheA NHf'N
the ysupersede, and can be built ana
operated at saving In money as com
pared with previous expenditures fof
this purpose.
Several OF the new tabulating ma
chimes were tried out in the tabulation
OF the Cuban census. a work completed
bv the Bureau OF the Census for the
Cuban government during the past
year In connection with the tabulat
ing OF This census the experiment was
tried Of paying the operators OF tabu'
iatlng machinery 10y piecework. The
results were SO satisfactory that pro
vision has been introduced into the
new census bin whereby all operators
of tabulatlng machinery al future cen
suses can be paid by piecework. This
too win result in great saving TO the
Government.
The savings due TO the different
causes VIII be almost equal . the total
amount expended for the maintenance
OF tho entire Census bureau between
the tw1 censuses. To realize The full
signincance of this statement, account
must be taken of the fact that during
the Interval between the censuses the
office has completed various branches
OF statistical work ne,sf before under
taken. which have inY1lved an eNpend
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