The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1910-02-15
OF
THE

washington, Feb. 15.-The United
States Census Bureau is making ex-
the approximately exact number and
vaiue of live stock on the ranges in
the United States on April Is next,
the date of the livestock inventory.
as required by the act of Congress
providing for the Thirteenth Decen-
NAL Census.
Fearful that for reason or anoth-
| er the livestock Iaisers may be de-
TERED from freely stating the number
and value of their holdings, the Cen
sus Bureau is exerting unusual efforts
to assur the ranchnen n farmers.
| especially of the western range states
hat their interests, whether personal
or corporate, can not possibly be at
fected in any way by their frank and
full disclosure of their livestock pos
! sessions. The information gathered
| by the Census Office is held strictly
confidential not only in respect to tae
act that under no circumstances is it
ever impaired to any N not connect
ed with the census Office, but in re-
spect to its ever being given to any
other branch of the Government.
Assurance OF Secrecy.
I'm behalf of the Census Bureau"
to-day said Assistant Director Will
liam F. Willoughby. Il can give as
positive assurance of the confidential
treatment of information called for
by the livestock question in the gen.
eral agricultural schedule as | could
IL a confidence were to be imposed
! upon me personally and privately.
The Census Bureau is concerned only
n the collection and publication of
statistical facts. The spirit of every
act of Congress providing for the va
rious decennial censuses has been,
and is, That the information as to in
dividuals. firms and corporations is
to be given inviolable secrecy 1t is
rs much privileged information as
that impaired by a client to a lawyer,
by a patient to a physician, by a dy-
ing man to a minister. II can not ev-
en- be impaired to another branch of
the Federal Government, no matter
how much the information may be de
sired. No court ever has or ever will
ignore this Immunity from personal
or business Involvement bestowed III
return for information required by
United States ensus inquiries. To
do otherwise would impair, if not
wholly destroy. the scientific efficien-
cy OF the census work. So far as the
live stock census is concerned, the
bureau, following fair impartial, and
unbiased methods, quickly separates
the person. firm. or corporation from
Il thn facts fYrn,fcnad aud p~fx.afn mr.
corporate identity in connection with
any census data remains forever seal
I'd and sacred in the great safes of
The Census Office"
The Directors Report.
In his annual report for 1909 to Sec
rotary NageI, of the Department of
Commerce and Labor, census Direc-
tor Durand stated:
The thirteenth census act is more
specific IAN that for the Twelfth
Census with respect to penalties up
on supervisors. enumerators or other
employees who disclose information
which they secure or who make false
returns. While there is no evidence
that employees of the Census Bureau
in the past nave been guilty of impro-
per disclosure of infornation-ex-
cept, possibly in a very few cases
these more specific provisions for
penalties are hignly advantageous.
Although the census law requires
persons Interrogated to furnish the
Information called for on the duly au
thorized schedules. reliance for
prompt and accurate returns must
rest largely upon the good will OF
those making h returns. Manufac-
turers. farmers, and others will not
freely disclose the needed inforna-
ton unless they feel assured "a it
will be treated in strict confidence.
The Census Bureau exists solely for
the collection of general statistics,
and is not, and should not be an in
strrImelt for disclosing the affairs OF
individual persons, firms, or corpora
tions. Returns made by the Census
Bureau are in no case published in
such a a as to identify the business
operations Of individual persons or
concerns, nor are they disclosed to any
person aside from employees of the
bureau itself-not even to other de-
partnents of the Government or to
other bureaus of the Department OF
Commerce and Labor"