The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-04
STRANGE FINDS
BY CENSUS MEN
EnumeratOrS Encounter Queer
People; Have Wonderful
Experiences.
WOMEN GUARD THEIR AGE
WITH DESPERATE SECRECY
One District CanvaSser Tells
of Curious Things That
Fell TO Him.

Doubtless there will be more col.
umns written about things connected
with tho taking of the thirteenth con
sus than on any topic or event that
has come to public attention for many
years, Every enumerator will have un-
told numbers of experiences These
he Will unfold 10 his friends from time
10 time, and they Will make interesting
stories. One of the cnumerators in
Salt Lake talked with a representative
of The Tribune Tuesday, and the fol
lowing. in substance, was the burden
Of his remarks;
Generally. when would 70 to door
and ring and, after having told my mis-
sion to the person who answered. l would
be Invited In, given chair and some
lines a good table 10 write on and told
10 so ahead with my questions. Some
OF tho people who had been reading all
That the newspapers had TO say about
The census were greatly surprised at the
small number OF questions, remarkinS
that they thought they would be pumped
dry with every kind OF question that
man could make up. Others, who had
read little or nothing concerning the CEN
sus, were almost taken off their feet by
tho lot OF foolish questions and personal,
too, that you have no right In asking.
but the majority Of people by far were
kind and helped i'm every way 10 give all
the information in a correct way. Some
even would get down the big family Bible
and give with absolute precision the
year month, day and sometimes even
the hour Of birth OF the children. 9th
crs. of course, aS we expected. would
look at us if TO say. i won t. Then
we would have 10 use all our tact 10
get the right age from the woman or
girl as the case might be. one girl. |
thinking that the name and age would |
go in tho city directory. said she was but |
is, but after i; was explained to her that |
the census had nothing Ia do wl,h the
directory, she said her age could be put |
dCwn 10.
Women sidestep'' Age Question.
AT one place "A young woman WAS sit
ling on the porch when ] called her
mother In the house by an open window,
Taking the name Of the mother first, |
asked her how old she was. She plainly
and firmly said. Thirty Her daughter,
although having heard. said, How old
old you say mother? This time she
However l left blank space for her
nSe, resolving 20 get this. answer last.
Her daughter gave her age at 80. AMI
after getting all the information needed,
stepped up 10 the window and said:
Madam, there seems to be slight mis-
take somewhere In your asc. Gould you
this time she most firmly and positivcV
said, Yes can, but won't But after
] talked TO her for a few minutes, show
Ing her the necessity of IT. she came
I through with an age we'll beyond So.
One woman declared she would no5
s!Vc her age or even her name 10 oc
published 10 the world She, too. after
being told how secret all information was
kept, told all that was needed.
No Race Suicide.
''Of course, we occasionally ran across
some peculiar name. AT one place. where
the young couples only child was a boy
of months, born about the time the
airshlp craze was raging over Europe
and the east. carried the notable Chris
tan name OF Air Ship.
There certainly was no race suicide In
some Of the families we visited. l be
lieve 1 enumerated seven sets OF twins
in my district. Others ! spoke to went
surprise at one place where l was asking
a young woman how many children her
mother, who was living with her, had
had. when she said 'twenty-two.' / could
ba IDLY believe my cars, thinking a. first
shc had given the years of her mothers
marriage. But she finally convinced me
most OF them twins and triplets.
All. however, were born in England. She
said their neghbor in England had
tweDty-one living children. 1 left the
house thinking that there was something
in the world big anyway,
The Servant Girl.
AT one place. after having received
all the information from the head OF the
told me he would send the girl In herself :
and she would give it She came in her
self. Yes, should think she did. And
with her all The ire and blaze that she
firmly In the doorway. and said. with
anger and scorn in her Irish brogue,
What do yc want av me- Y asked her
name first and got It Then l touched
of the bomb by asking her age. She
blazcd up In n fury and screamed out
Me name is Mary O'Hara an / tell me :
age 10 no want and stamped out of the
room, the head OF the house bravey fol-
lowing her up 10 the Kitchen and from
the weight and quality OF the words |
heard coming from that place L was glad
| had good-sized wall between us.
The man soon came back and said she |
refused 10 tell | could tell that through
the sizzling sentences ] had cnught ErOm | !
The Kitchen. | then told the man ifat
there was a law that would force her 10 :
tell under penalty OF 500 fine. Fortified
with this law. he again brnvcly stormcd
her In her fortress. Her first refusal was |
tame compared 10 this one. Her words
fnirly burned through the intervening F,
wall. and she had gained her second wind.
40 that she kept ii up until he had 10 :,
retreat in utter defeat, saying. as a sort |
IF an apology. that they were not going
10 keep her long. He finally persuaded
me 10 return In the evening. when she :
would be in a better humor. When
called that evening her anger had hut | ,
born in ireland. and then. asking her
warily how old she when she came |
TO the United States and in what year | :
VIC finally deducted how old she was but ,
of course never told her had II or
svcn wanted IT,
1T was surprising 10 see how many :
people, came from Pennsylvania. This
state had by far more people from there
.han from amy other state. =
Another curious fact was that | met
three persons who had been cnumerators
respectively, ten, thirty and forty years | /
ago"