Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-02-20
From The battle-ground of Thought.

onulpresence. The pursuit of vrlI.
is eager The pace ls hectic Cu.
government is fun OF Ignorance AMI
waste Men boast and wealthy wor,o,
choose sterility. Many other short
comings might be conceded. but WHOM
the historian says that our President
differs from his countrymen by virtue
Of his Interest In general ideas. the
italian is mistaken. rerrero's boot
shows dislike OF the Germans. enthus,
iasm for the French. His type OF mind
demands intellectual product In com.
Portable packages labeled neatly ana
with taste. His history OF Rome IL
the application OF certain ideas affec.
tionately cherished to the unfoIdlng
destinies Of nations. He never tires
Of "hreat argument about 70 and
about" Such a mind may be as use-
ful as another It would be rldlculous.
however To charge the English, for
example, because they are less given to
careful intellectual ARRANGEMENT than
the French, with having fewer or less
fertile general thoughts. The country
OF Bacon, Newton and Darwin intaf-
ests Mr.. Ferrero less than the country
Of Pasteur and Descartes; Moliere ana
even Racine seem to him greater Fan
than Shakespeare; for all we know Dc
may prefer Alfred de Musset to Schu-
Ter and the Concourt brothers TO George
Eliot, but his preference should not
be explained by French superiority Iu
general thought The United States
intellectually, has accomplished uttle
IN these ideal fields, perhaps from alb
sence Of genius. perhaps from lack OF
leisure and cultivation. To general
IDEAS however, in the sense IN which
President Roosevelt is fertile In them
the average American is devoted. Give
him a cargo Of them, in form for
which he Is prepared and he will
swallow them as catfish swallows
worms Part OF the Presidents Don
ularity Is due TO his fertility In such
ideas expressed IN a manner under
stood by the majority.-Conier's for
February 6.
Simpler Although the population
Census may have increased Is 10
Taking. 20 per cent since the cen
sus OF 1900 entaillng a pro-
portiOnate increase IN the volume II
work required, IL is the belief Of the
officials that they win be able TO COM
plete the coming census at a cost but
little II any, IN excess Of the last CEN
sus," says the March Popular Mechau-
les In an illustrated article. This
economical miracle will be made pos
sible through the Introduction Of re-
markable machines for the saving OF
time and labor. IL is expected that
by the aid Of these new machines a
force Of clerks no larger than that
employed 10 years ago will be able 10
turn out one-fourth and perhaps ono
half as much more work as was ac-
complished I'm 1900
Mechanical mathcmaticlans OF one
kind or another have been used In tho
United States census office since 1870,
but the system OF electric tabulation
which viii be employed for this CEN
sus will be 80 far in advance Of all
predecessors I'm the matter OF machine
cry employed, as to mark a new era
The census will be compiled by tho
card index system, with a card for
every man, woman, and child In the
country, but Il will differ from the
card index systems found In the aver
age office IN that the Information will
be recorded by punching holes I'm the
cards instead OF records with pens or
typewriters. The positions OF the holes
on each card win indicate facts rela-
tive to the individual whose biography
tho card holds" The article further
explains how the holes are punched
and counted as required for the various
statistics.