The Huttig news., 1910-10-29
Curiosity

"A great mistake has been made by the government in the way the census Is taken" remarked the mature Miss Horkins. There should have been a separate list for each person, so that it could have been filled out and im- mediately placed in a sealed en- velope."
 What difference does it maker" asked her hostess.
 If you lived at our boarding house you'd think it made a difference" re- turned Miss Horkins very positively. The enumerator, after finding how many there were in the house, left four horrid papers, each one with spaces sufficient for large family, and it was extremely awkward"
 q don't see why 1t should have been awkward" observed her friend My husband attended to it for our family, but l could have done it myself just as well. It Is simple"
 Tt Is all right in your own home, but in place like our boarding house. where everybody can read what the
  claiming your affairs from the house. tops. Everybody was anxious to see what the others confessed. The land lady put the blanks on the table in the library. with pen and ink beside them. I was determined to wait un til every one else had finished, take one of the papers to my room, fill 1t out and hand it to the enumerator my self. But had yet to realize my land lady's powers of strategy.
 T was, very much surprised at some of the things I read on that sheet of paper. Mrs. Larkin's husband is her third. If you please. and MT Jones Is a divorced man, though he has passed himself off for bachelor Dear old Mrs. Blake. who doesn't care who knows her family history or her age had used the wrong line all the way down, so 1t read that she had been married 40 times instead of 40 years. MT. Empson had filled out his own space, but his wife had insisted upon doing her own. and that was the fun niest of all" Miss Horkins laughed merrily.
 What was there so amusing about it?"
 Tn comparing her statement of her age with that her husband had given as the number of years they had been married, I found her wedding day must have been somewhere around her fifth birthday"
 But how about the landlady's strat- egy?"
 T am coming to that. had just finished writing out my own state ment when there was tap at my door. There was the landlady, who said as mild as milk: Pardon me, Miss Hor- kins, but I must have that list when you are through with 1t. had for gotten all about Nora, and as the poor girl can't write I must do it for her.
 That does seem as if she had planned it."
 My dear, 1t was clever"
 "Of course. you handed over the record?"
 Not I! I said: If you send Nora to me will write it for her. as have my pen and ink all ready
 "I could not think of giving you so much trouble,' she returned.
 It is not trouble at all, my dear Mrs. Blenks,' insisted. You are such a busy woman I should enjoy helping you, even in so small natter
 
 You are so kind she insisted, but l have nothing to do at the moment and l will take the paper, If you please.'
 T was growing desperate. but for tunately Nora came upstairs just then -she Is the second girl, you know and I called her Here. Nora, said I want to do some writing for you. l think Mrs. Blenks would have wait ed and taken the paper with her after all, If some one had not asked for her downstairs, and she left the room con stderably nonplused, for I think she realized that the paper would not get out of my clutches until 1t reached the hands of the government official"
 Did you succeed in your en- deavors?"
 T did. I rarely fail in what un- dertake. A few minutes after she left the room Mrs. Blenks called out: Miss Horkins. the enumerator is here. Send the paper down by Nora as soon as possible
 Tt was no small task to get through with Nora, can tell you. She seemed to think she was asked to sign away her rights to goodness knows what-and as she said she could read print had to give her the record to look over for herself. She is very high-tempered, and her ire was reused by what she read: Of all the impident questions.' she exclaimed. 'Askin' If I'm a Chinese or a mulatto. and If I can spake English! Sure. what else wud I spake? And all th's from Prisident Taft, for here's his ietther on the outside! And him crazy to know the age of livery man. woman and child in the whole counthry MT. Bryan niver would have done such a 1