New Britain herald., 1918-01-26
STATE CENSUS AS
 FACTOR IN THE WAR
Has Assisted in Registration,
 Draft and IsOlatiDg Aliens


 l time. in information secured at the of | fices in Hartford where the census re- sults are kept and where the cards are 1 sorted freOuently when new calls for 1 information from them are received. l Although much of what has been done with the census is withheld, and will | not be told until after the war, the 1 details given make it evident that this inventory of the states resources for war in men and materials has been one of the states most effective war accomplishments, that it furnished the federal government with much vital information, including the identity or enemy aliens, and that the experience gained in taking it was used as a basis for planning the details of the nation wide registration of men from 2l to 5l years of age on June 5.
 The task of taking the Connecticut census was undertaken within three days of the diplomatic break With Ger many and completed a few days pe- fore the declaration of war. Connect icut was the first state in the Ohloh to take such a census, but several oIll- CT states have since seen the adVan- tages of the move and have followed it's example, Although the census was completed before the United StateS had entered the war, it is still proving it's value and will probably not outllVe it's usefulness until some time after the war is over. Originally compiled as military census, it has demonstrated it's worth in meeting many war proo- 1ems also, that are not strictly of military nature though related to the successful conduct of the war. Aroused Patriotism.
 The first result of the census was in arousing a spirit of patriotic en- thusiasm and preparedness in the state which paved the way for the war 1 tasks confronting it's people in Aprll | and May. When every man in Con- necticut was asked to describe the ways in which he might be able to | help his government each one realized l at once that the war was to become a personal matter with him and that 1t meant more than cheers and flag waving The sober side of the war was brought home to every citizen 1 quickly and thoroughly.
 Assistance in Draft. Among the more tangible results of 1 the census few have been more marked than the aid it furnished the federal government in perfecting the elaborate machinery of the selective 1 draft act. Primarily the census has helped most by providing a check on all draft registrants in Connecticut. Not only has it enabled the govern ment to detect slackers who. gave one | al ge to the census takers and another 1 to draft officials, but it doubtless pre- vented many slackers from attempt ing to evade registration who knew l that their ages, as given in the mili- tary census, were on file in state i office.
 Just before registration day list of | all the men of draft age within it's l jurisdiction was sent to every town | in Connecticut This list of prospec- ! tive draftees served a double purpose | -post cards were sent to the men | just before registration day warning | them to register, and the lists were compared afterwards with the regis tratiOn lists to see whether any who | should have registered had failed to
 do so.
 The federal government, in plan
 ming for it's registration, made use of the experience in the Connecticut military census.
 When plans for the federal draft registration were taken up, men | identified with the Connecticut cen- sus were called to Washington, worked out the whole plan with gov
 ernment officials, and made many l important suggestions which were
 adopted. One of the statisticians in
 charge of tabulating the Connecticut
 census has been commissioned in the
 army and is working in Washington
 in connection with the tabulation of
 the federal census.
 Knew Alien Residents.
 Connecticut, with one of the largest
 alien populations of any state, was
 able as soon as the war started to
 learn how many of it's residents were
 aliens, which were subjects of allied
 nations, which were subjects of Ger
 many and the other Central Pow
 CTS, which were neutral and which
 of the aliens had taken out their
 first citizenship papers. The census
 further disclosed how these aliens
 were distributed and in which cen
 ters for example, there were a large
 number of enemy aliens.
 When the need became evident fol putting lists of enemy aliens in off
 Clal hands, It was pOSSlDle Tor Con
 nccticut because of the military cen sus, to aid the nation by furnishing to the proper authorities, list classi fled by towns of all men in the state included in the provisions of tn, proclamation.
 In addition, lists of Canadians ant subjects of Great Britain have beer furnished to the Canadian and Brit ish governments for the use of thei recruiting commissions, and simila lists of enemy, friendly or neutra
 aliens can be furnished in the futur
 to any authorities who need them.
 Complete lists of aliens classified
 hu nationalitAL have been prepare,