The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1909-11-18

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Pindell, Jr., appointment clerk.
Washington. ID. c.. Nov. 1G.-Old
Doctor United States census will make
his thirteenth diagnosis of the condi-
ton of Uncle Sam ana his family next
April 10. lie began it in 1890 and has
been repeating il every ten years
since. Uncle Sam has footed the bills
to date amounting to about $4,000. 600
our thirteenth investigation will cost
about $13,000.000. So that when old
Doctor United States Census finishes
his current work there will have been
spent about $6O,OOO,OOO for this pur-
pose since 1890.
The twelfth census cost about 3d.
100000. and as Uncle Sans landed
possessions have increased since then
and his family gained about Is. 600. 600
more members than belonged to il in
1900, 1t would be considered no more
than fair If the present diagnosis were
to call for the spending of about 3d.
100000, which would be the sum if
the rate of increase of expense at
each census up to the Twelfth were to
be maintained for the thirteenth
census expert has estimated that
of the thirteen millions the headquar-
ters office force will earn $4,000. 900:
the enumerators $4,500,O00 the super
visors 100000, and the special agents
100000. The administrative cost will
be 100000; the stationery $500. 900:
rent $125,000; tabulating machines
$4,000; cards for tabuatlon processes.
100000; printing $4,000 Alaska. $751;
0OO Porto Rico 100000. Total. $12.-
$3.50 900.
If that is all the expense it - cheap
The late Gen. Francis A. Walker, who
was census authority greater than
any other living or dead. once wrote
that "the people of the United States
can well afford to pay for the very
best census they can get" He penned
this remark in connection with a
frank confession OF his own short
sightedness in Understanding the
cost of the tenth census.
It's the old story: When you are i'll
get the best doctor you can afford.
The comparative cheapnoss with
which the thirteenth census will be
taken will be largely due to Director
Il. Dana Durand's economical meth
DDS, To the Introduction of semi-auto-
matte electric card-punchng. tabu-
lating, and sorting machines. and to
the inheritance of wisdom from the
experience gained by the permanent
census bureau. During the term of
the latter, which now is in a sort Of
state of suspended animation pending
the taking of the decennial census.
the methods of inquiry tabulation and
compilation have been greatly inn
proved both in accuracy and i'm econ
omy. Millions will be saved.
Mr.. Durand is responsible for many
of the new methods to increase sta
tistical accuracy at every step of the
census taking and to decrease the per
capita cost of the enumeration The
card punching, tabulating and sorting
machinery is the invention of n GEN.
sus mechanical expert and the patent
rights belong to Uncle Sam. The ma
chimes are novel i'm plan and design.
are of greater speed and efficiency
than those they superseded. and can
be built and operated at a large say
ing Of money as compared with pre-
vious expenditures for this purpose.
Other money saving features are the
elimination of the vital-statistics in
quiry from the work of the decennial
census. ms it belongs to the perman-
ent branch of the United States CEN
sus; the reduction in the number of