The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-14
WOMEN
 AND THINGS
MEN

thought small boy could beat the world on asking questions. but since looking into the number Uncle Sam propounds when taking the census I find that the boy is but an amateur.
 But it was not always so, for start ing out in l790 with but four questions. all of them upon a single subject of in- quiry, population, the work expanded in a hundred years to such a remarka- ble extent that in 1890 there were 31 different subjects of inquiry carrying over 1s.6O0 questions.
 It isn't any new thing to kick against the census returns, as there was much disappointment over the showing made in 1790. The scope of the inquiries simply included families; the name of the head alone being set down. with the number of others included, and slaves as property item. the sex and color of free persons, the number of free white males of 1s and upward, number of free white females, and of all other free persons.
 One of the most interesting publica- tons ever issued by the government is that containing this list of the heads of families, it being of surpassing inter- est to the genealogists of the United States. The enumeration of the first census was committed to the marshals of the Is judicial districts. who em- ployed assistants as needed. It is in- deed a far cry from the marshals and their POO helpers, with their quil1s and saddlebags, who gathered and prepared the returns, to the 100000 with their electrical tabulating machinery. I They were further handicapped by not being furnished with form of schedule Each one used any blank sheets he chose. This custom contin- ued until 1sS0 But more than this. there was no central bureau to receive or supervise the returns, which were put together by the marshals and \ transmitted to the President. It is however true that penalty of $2oc was imposed for false returns or delay beyond certain time; and the same on l individuals for giving false informa- 1 tion or refusing any The returns in
 the north were given by towns and cities, and counties; in the south by counties only
 nf anyI Y a ni each district were to be posted in some public place therein. If you want tc get some idea of how the census busi- ness has grown in order to keep pace with the growth of the nation, it need only be said that if, at the twelfth cen sus, the tallies of age and sex and na- tivity and occupation had been made by hand, it would have required the time of 100 clerks nearly 12 years. The work | is now done by electrical machinery in cost, and with greater accuracy, and saved the government during the first year of it's installment $5,0oo,oo0.
 
 l It's a remarkable piece of machinery which does the tabulation. A separate card is devoted to each person in the United States, and on each of them is set the facts relating to the sex. age race birthplace, etc, and a machine | is used to punch holes through the sym l bols which tell the story of each indi- vidual Each machine has a capacity of about 1890 cards per day. I have never seen one of the census machine!
 at work, but have watched my cousin Frank Willis Barnett, operate simi
 lar patent to tabulate insurance data I thought the linotype was wonderful
 enough. but after seeing the things i did I felt real uncanny, for It seemed
 almost human, but much less liabl | to err.
 Just try and imagine the 90,o0o.0ol cards of the last census. saw state ment that they would make stack Il
 miles high if piled on one another Bu | these were the ones representing per
 sons living in the United States. l took 200, 0,000.000 of them to record th statistics relating to agriculture, jus a little pile if placed on one anothe l to reach as far as Springville is iron
 Birmingham. They told the story o the 100000 farms in America.
 I heard pastor say that the price o everything had rig" except preaching One thing is sure, and that is the cos of census taking has been rising. Tn
 one in 1,sO. which aroused the ire o Thomas Jefferson to such an exten that he unhesitatingly expressed his be lief that it was erroneous (for 1t no only pricked local pride, but wounds
 national vanity). and as Secretary o State notified the representatives of tn United States abroad that the return were far short of the truth. and he wa careful to supply many omissions i red ink cost only s44.0e0, while the on now being taken will no duoubt run be yond s30, 1000, 900.
 l Subsequent events indicate, however that the first census was, as a matte l of fact. very accurate one, and tha the trouble lay in the over-estimates o
 colonial populations which had bee
 that the second census. that of lS0( was specifically intrusted to the de
 partment of state. there being n
 change in methods, except that tn tSecretary was to instruct the marshal
 as to schedules and interrogatories
 Thomas Jefferson who seemed to knov everything, was joined by Timoth