Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-02-15
Census Bureau Making Extraor-
binary Preparations for Forth
coming Inventory.
INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL.
No Information Given Can Affect PrI-
vate or Corporate Interests of
Owners of Live Stock.
Especial to the News.)

Especial to the Ncws)
Washington, D. c.. Feb. Is, 1910.-The
United States census bureau is making
extraordinary preparations to ascertain
the approximately exact number and
value OF live stock on the ranges in the
United States on April Is next, the date
OF the live stock inventory, as required
by the act of Congress providing for
the thirteenth decennial census.
fearful that for one reason or an
other the live stock raiSers may be
deferred from freely stating the num-
bcr and value OF their holdings. tho
census bureau is eNerting unusual eff
forts to assure the ranchmen and farm
crs, especially OF the western range
states, that their interests whether
personal or corporate, cannot possibly
be affected in any way by their frank
and full disclosure of their live stock
possessions. The information gathered
by tho census office Is held strictly con-
1dential not only In respect to the fact
that under no circumstances Is IT ever
impaired to any one not connected with
the census office, but In respect to Its
ever being given to any other branch of
the government.
I'm behalf OF the census bureau" to-
day said Asst Director William F.
Willougtby. II can give as positive as
surance of the confidential treatment
of Information called for by the live
stock questions in the general agrlcul-
tural schedule as / could If confidence
were to be imposed upon mo personally
and privately The census bureau Is
concerned only In the collection and
publication of statistical facts. The
spirit of every act OF Congress provid-
Ing for the various decennial censuses
has been. and is, that the information
as to individuals, firms, and corpora
tions Is to be given inviolable secrecy.
1t Is as much privileged information
as that impaired by a client to a law
yer. by a patient to a physician, by a
dying man to a minister 1t cannot even
be impaired to another branch of the
federal government. no matter how
much the information may be desired
No court ever has or ever Will Ignore
this immunity from personal or busi-
ness involvement bestowed in return
for Information required by United
States census inquiries. To do other
wise would impair. If not wholly de-
stroy, the scientific efficiency of the
census work So far as the live stock
census is concerned, the bureau, follow
ing fair. impartial, and unbiased meth
DDS, quickly separates the person, firm,
or corporation from the facts furnished,
and private or corporate identity In
connection with any census data re-
mains forever sealed and sacred in the
great safes OF the census office"
THE DIRECTORS REPORT.
In his annual report for 1909 to Sec
rotary Nagel. OF the department of
commerce and labor, Census Director
Durand stated:
THE thirteenth census act is more
specific than that for the twelfth cen
sus with respect to penalties upon su-
pervisor5. enumeratorS. or other en-
ployes who disclose information which
they secure. or who make false returns.
While there Is no evidence that en-
ployeS of the census bureau have been
guilty of improper disclosure of infor-
matlon-eXcept, possibly in a very few
cases-these more specific provisions
for penalties are highly advantageous.
Although the census law requires per-
sons interroRated to furnish the in
formation called for on the duly au-
thorized schedules. reliance for prompt
and accurate returns must rest largely
upon the good will OF those making
the returns Manufacturers. farmers.
and others Will not freely disclose the
needed information unless they feel
assured that II will be treated In strict
confidence. The census bureau exists
solely for the collection of general sta
tistlcs. and Is not and should not be.
an instrument for disclosing the affairs
OF individual persons. firms or cor
porations. Returns made by the CEN
sus bureau are in no case published
In such a way as to Identify tho busl-
ness operations of individual persons or
concerns nor arc they disclosed to any
person aside from employees of the
bureau itself-not even to other de-
partments of the government or to
other bureaus OF the department of
commerce and labor"