Daily Arizona silver belt., 1910-02-15
Superintendent Towle Pre- pairing to Ascertain
 Exact Numbers
WILL BE OF VALUE
 TO STOCK RAISERS
All Information Gained to Be Held Strictly Conf
 dential by Officers

For the purpose of securing an ab- solutely correct enumeration of the live stock in the United States, and partic ularly in this part of the country, the census bureau is making extraordinary preparations for taking the live stock census. 1t is the plan of the bureau to ascertain the exact number and value of live stock on ranges on April l5, and as the result, is is making a special effort to educate stock raisers regarding the provisions of the census laws, in order that the exact number of cattle, as far as the stock man him. self knows, may be given to the enum- orators.
 Fearful that for one reason or an. other the livestock raisers may be de. tered from freely stating the number and value of their holdings, the census bureau is eXerting unusual efforts to assure the ranchmen and farmers that their interests, whether personal or cor porate, cannot possibly be affected in any way by their frank and full dis closure of their livestock possessions The information gathered by the cen sus office IS held strictly confidential not only in respect to the fact that under no circumstances is it ever imparted to any one not connected with the census office, but in respect to its ever being given to any other branch of the gov ernment.
 "Speaking for the census bureau, :" said Census Supervisor Towle, yester day, ''I can give as positive assurance of the confidential treatment of the in- formation called for by the livestock questions in the general agricultural schedule as I could if a confidence were to be imposed on me personally and pri- vately.
 ,"The census bureau is concerned only in the collection and publication of sta tistical facts. The spirit of every act of congress providing for the various decennial censuses has been, and is, that the information as to individuals, firms, and corporations is to be given indi- vidual Secrecy. It is as much 'privi. legged information as that imparted by a client to a lawyer, by patient to a physician, by a dying man to minis ter. It can not even be imparted to another branch of the federal govern ment, no matter how much the infor- nation may be desired.
 "No court ever has or ever will ig nore this immunity from personal or business involvement bestowed in return for information required by the United States census inquiries. To do other wise would impair, if not wholly de- stroy, the scientific efficiency of the census work.
 t'So far as the livestock census is con cerned, the bureau, following fair, inn partial, and unbiased methods, quickly separates the person, firm or corporation from the facts furnished, and private or corporate identity in connection with the census data remains forever sealed and sacred in the great safes of the census office.
 "The thirteenth census act is more specific than that for the twelfth census with respect to penalties upon super visors, enumerators or other employees who disclose information which they se- cure, or who make false returns. While there is no evidence that employees of the census bureau in the past have been guilty of improper disclosure of infor- mation-except, possibly in a very few eases-these more specific provisions for penalties are highly advantageous.
 |" Although the census law requires persons interrogated to furnish the in 1 formation required in the duly author. ized schedules, reliance for prompt and accurate returns must rest largely upon the good will of those making the re turns. Manufacturers, farmers and oth. CTS who will not freely disclose the needed information unless they feel as sured that it will be treated in strict confidence The census bureau exists solely for the collection of general sta tistics, and is not, and should not be an instrument for disclosing the affairs of individual persons, firms or corpora i tions.
 "Returns made by the census bureau are in no case published in such way as to identify the business operations of individual persons or concerns, nol are they disclosed to any persons aside from the employees of the bureau itself mot even to other departments of the government or to other bureaus of the | department of commerce and labor.