Evening star., 1919-12-28
TAKERS OF CENSUS
. SOON TO Be ON JOB
Ninety Thousand Persons
/ Enrolled for Service, to
! Begin Work Friday.

Friday morning 10000 persons en-
rolled in the great army of census
takers will start throughout the
United States in the taking of the
1920 decennial census, the greatest
peace time activity undertaken by
the government.
This great aggregation of expert
census takers will within two weeks
find out the name, age, address. oc-
cupation and many other details con-
cerning the life of the estimated 1o6.-
100000 persons who make up the pop
ulation of the United States. Every
person in the country will be included
in the questions asked by the census
enumerators, and ii is essential. the
officials point out. that the answers be
ready for the enumerator when he
calls in order that the census figures
may be tabulated.
$1,000 EnumeratOrs Enrolled.
Actual compilation of the census
will be accomplished by the releasing
OF $1,000 expert enumeratorS charged
with the duty of obtaining facts con-
Cerning every person in the United
States. They are backed up by the
hundreds of local census supervisors
and tabulatorS, and these in turn are
answerable to the central office in
Washington. housed during the census
taking period in the old aircraft pro-
duction building at Az street and
Missouri avenue. Every individual in
the District of Columbia will be asked
the same questions by enumeratorS and
will be required to give answers to the
questions asked.
In order that there may be no failure
to respond correctly to questions and
no misapprehension that the census
will be used for other purposes, the
census bureau has been carrying on
quietly for the past year a process of
education. in which officials have re-
peatedly pointed out that information
received by enumerators will be used
for census purposes only.
The job of taking the decennial
census in the District of Columbia is
held by officials to be one of the
easiest parts of the immense task.
They claim that persons living in the
the working of government machinery
and will answer all questions cheer
fully and without question. Difficulty
is anticipated in other sections. chief
ly those in rural districts.
District Workers Selected.
The full quota of enumerators in
the District of Columbia was reached
more than a month ago by means of
competitive examination in which
hundreds of persons took the test.
Out of those who passed the exami-
nation Director Robert E. Mattingly
took 3S7 of the most competent as
shown by their examination papers.
The District will be apportioned be-
tween these enumerators and they are
expected to complete their task in
fourteend avs. They will receive
cents for every name enumerated, the
highest rate that can be paid under
the act authorizing the census.
Actual tabulation and compilation
OF the returns will take much longer
than the enumeration itself. When the
taking of the District census is COM
pleted the return. will be sent in to
the central office. just as if Washing
ton were somewhere in California in
stead of the heart of the government
whence the census system radiates
The Office of the census for the Dis
trict of Columbia is located in the
same building as that of the main
census office
Questions Submitted.
Believing that an accurate and COM
plete census is as vital to every per-
son in the District of Columbia, Di-
rector Mattingly has urged every per-
son in the District to be ready to
answer the following questions:
Sex; color or race; age at last birth
day; whether single, married, Wild
owed :-or divorced; birthplace of per-
SON enumerated and birthplaces of
father and mother, giving names of
both country and province if foreign
corn; occupation, specifying trade or
profession, also industry in which
employeo; whether attending school;
whether able to read; whether able
to write; whether able to speak Eng
lish; whether home is owned or
rented, and if owned, whether home
is free of incumbrance or is mort
gagged.
Persons of foreign birth will be
asked questions concerning these ad-
ditional points: Year of immigration
to the United States; whether nat
uralized. and. if SO, the year of nat
uralization; mother tongue or native
language.