New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1910-03-16
WRONG VIEWS OF THE CENSUS
No Harm Can Come to Any Person
Who Answers the Questions.

Washington, D. c., March, 2. 1910.
Letters from the census supervisors
to the United States Census Bureau
show the erroneous apprehension of a
considerable element of the population
that their answers to the enumerators'
questions in the next census, beginning
April Is, this year, will cause in
creased taxation, legal acknowledgements,
or injurious consequences to their
persons and property.
In order to quiet such unfounded
fears, which would, unless removed,
materially affect the accuracy of the
census, the bureau has prepared an
official statement relative to the de-
cennial census, it's origin, purpose,
and uses. -.-.
This statement should furnish COM
plete assurance to those concerned
that inform alton given theenumerators
is held by the Census Bureau in the
strictest confidence with reference to
the identity of the informants, as re-
quired by the policy of the bureau
and commanded by the law Of the
United States.
The bureau earnestly hopes that
clergymen, priests, physicians, school
teachers, employers and other public
spirited citizens who come in contact
with large numbers of people, will
cooperate with the bureau by telling
persons who are believed to entertain
erroneous opinions of the census the
real facts and urging them 10 give full
replies to the enumerators. Teachers
are particularly requested to speak of
the census to the school children and
ask them to tell their parents about it.
The statement issued by the bureau
explains that the Constitution requires
a census of the population to be taken
every ten years in order to reappor-
ton state representation in the Ma
tional House of Representatives. 1t
is the means also to ascertain the in
crease in the population, agriculture,
industries, and resources of the nation
since the last census.
1t is emphatically declared, by the
statement, that the information sought
from the people of the United States is
used solely for general statistical pur-
poses. 1t will neither be published
nor used in any other way to disclose
facts regarding any individual or
enterprise. The census, it goes on to
say, is not, never has been, and can
not be employed to obtain information
that can be used in any way in the
assessment Of property for purposes
of taxation or the collection of taxes,
either national, state, or local; or for
deportation proceedings, extradition
measures, army or navy CONSUMPTION,
internai-revenue Investigations, COM
pulsory school attendance, child-labor
law prosecutions, quarantine regula-
tions, or in any way to affect the life,
liberty, or property of any person.
It points out that replies to the emu
merators are and must be held by the
Census Bureau in strict and absolute
confidence. All the bureau officials,
supervisors, supervisors clerks, emu
merators, and interpreters, before
entering upon their duties, are Obliged
to take a solemn oath not to dislose
any information they may obtain,
except to the Census Bureau, and a
violation of the United States law in
regard to this oath means 81, 900 fine
or Imprisonment for two years, or
both, in the direction of the court.