The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-10-19
DURAND MAKES
SOME CHANGES
DIRECTOR or CENSUS HAS NEW
PLANS EoR @SFlNG
MANUFACTURES.

WASHINGTON, b. c.. oct. 1s.-u.
s.. Census Director Durand announces
two VERY material changes in the
schednle for manufactures to be car
ried BY the special agents employed
IN collecting the dltta for u Thlr-
teenth Census.
A the censuses OF 1900 and 1906
Ytated. the Ehrec3jr, Ghe man1tac-
lures schedule called for the average
number Of men, the average number
Of women, and the average number OF
children under 16, employed during
each month In each establishment.
Could this question have been answer
ed accurately, it would undoubtedly
have furnished information or mucn
value and of greater value than that
wShich we are now proposing to Sc
c,Ire. TO answer thta inteTrogatory
with strict accuracy would, however.
require the special agent or the man
.ufacturer, filling out tle schedule. to
90 In detail through every payroll OF
.the year, usually either so or 2G In
number, counting the number OF men,
women and children separately on
each-the segregation of those under
liz involving peculiar difficulty, par
tfcnlarly in the case of the earlier pay
rolls of the year-anl averaging tine
count for each month. To do this,
would, in my Judgment, have required
several times as long as to fill out all
+Ha remafnder Of the manufactures
schedule except only the question on
classified wages.
GAS a matter Of fact practt4lly
none of the returns at the preceding
censuses were, I am convinced. based
on actual snnIyses of Inc <pay.rolls.
They were in nearly all $ mere
estimates made more or less otlnand
by the manufacturer or his bookkeep-
ers. and there IS every reason to ne.
lieye that these estimates were often
wide of the mark.
"The schedule as 1t has been re-
viseh for the present census calls Tor
tae number of men, women and chill
dren employed; during one SPECIFIC
week only, .aDl for the total number
enlpfoyed, without distinction OF age.
or sex, on the first payroll of eaci
month. The relative extent to which
women and children are employed
will be ascertaine& approximately
from the figures for the selected week;
and although that week will not, per.
haps. in some Industries be typical OF
tha year az a whole, the accuracy of
the figures will more than COMPENSATE
for tie apparent sacrifice in the
amount of information obtained.
"SYe have nlso deemed 1t wise to
cut out the question with regard to
classified wages to which I have jus.
referred, and which appeared in the
census schedules of 1900 and 1903.
These schedules called for the nltfn-
Der of employees during a selected
week, classified according to- their
earnings, and also separating men.
women and children under 1G. This
i~nterrogatory. if correctly answered,
woulI furnish fnformatton of great
value. We have become convinced,
however. that for many establish
ments correct-answers can not be OBJ
tanned by any amount OF effort, and
that for other establishments the
answers would involve expense and
delay precluded by the limitations of
our appropriations and requirements
as to the date of publishing the re-
suits. Strictly speaking. tlis inquiry
falls within the fieldlof the Bureau of
Labor rather than that OF the Census
Bureau. 1t may be, however, that at
another census, in order to take adj
vantage of the fact that census agents
are to visit every manufacturing es-
adjustment, we shall ask the author
.ity of Congress to provide a separate
schedule covering classified wages
and an extra appropriation to get 1t
properly. filled from actual pay-rolls,
It would not be essential that statts-
tics OF classified wages be secured
from every establishment. II such
returns could be secured for even so
per cent. of the establishment, they
would be Of great interest, and the
agents should be specifically instruct
ed to accept no estimates.
'Srhe reason for these two changes
in the Manufactures schedule Is found
not only in the difficulty in answering
the former inquiries properly, but In
the fact that they tend to ipjure tle
accuracy of the replies to all the 9TH
err interrogatorles in the schedule
The schedule OF manufactures hither-
to has been overloaded. The special
agents and manufacturers were prac.
Iticailya forced in many cases to make
estimates in replying to these two in
terrogatories, and this practice tempt
ed them to regard estimates as sufh-
Client also in replying to other inter-
rogatnries in the schedule. The In
tellectual integrity of the special
agents was undermined by attempting
to require of them work which they
knew could not be done accurately
within the time which they were al.
lowed.
81 have dweIt thus at considerable
length on the efforts which the Cen.
sus Bureau is making to increase the
accuracy OF its statistics. because that
lis the most important thing which we
are undertaking."
GARCIA TO ADDRESS MAYORS.
ELGIN. Ill. Oct. 1a.@General Car.