Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1920-01-08
Census Now Under Way.
Supposed To Be Finished In
Two Weeks. $4,000 Persons
Employed.

The taking of the fourteenth decennial
census of the United States was begun
Friday morning of last week. This GEN.
sIs is the first to be taken in the winter
: time. the object being to obtain data
of date January l. 1920. The army of
IS, 900 men and women is supposed to
complete the job in two weeks time.
In Frederick county, Maryland, emu
merators are scarce, seven districts be-
ing open on Monday of this week. A
number of democrats were offered jobs,
but refused the work, and it was then
offered to republicans in this district, but
so far these people figure that there is
very small pay for the work. considering
the cold weather, proba BILE snow and bad
roads, and thus the refusal. In all prob
ability some person out of the district
will secure the job.
The questions to be answered are many
and husband and wife should begin to
calculate how much butter was made,
sold and used, how many pounds of milk
was produced, sold and used, how many
eggs were produced, chickens raised, sold
and consumed, how many head of cattle
are ON the farm, how many calves you
sold and are raising and value of same.
what crops were raised and value of the
same.
Questions WILDE asked regarding your
sex, color or race, age at last birthday.
whether single, married, widowed or d.
vorced, birthplace of yourself, and father
and mother, & living names of both coun-
try and province if foreign born, occupa-
ton, specifying trade or profession. also
industry in which employee d, whether at
tending school, whether able to read and
write, whether hume is owned or rented,
a. whether your home is free of encum-
brance.
Where The Data Goes.
The CELSIUS taker who comes to you is
the personal point of contact which starts
the operation of vast machine. After
you more or less begrudgngly supply
him with the desired information he for
wards his records througha census super
visor to Il central office in Washington.
There in one of the big emergency war
buildings the data on the large schedule
is transferred to small cards by means of
mechanical punch, which makes holes
on the cards to indicate the particular
facts to be recorded. Until this census
this machine, designed with n lever work
ing in an arc, had been operated by hand.
This year the holes will be indicated, the
cards punched and the complete record
made in one operation by means of new
electrical device
Automatically assorted by another ma
chine the cards are then shot into tabu-
lators. These remarkable electrical con-
trivances are capable of handling 425
cards minute. By an ingenious ar
rangement pin box is brought down
over each card Those needles, which
meet an untouched space, are repr ssed
Those which pass though the holes from
electric contacts and register on a series
of diaIs which record the desired infor-
nation.
The data is then taken by the statisti-
cal experts of the Government and pre-
pared for publication with speed that
astounds the rest of the world. Most of
the countries have tried to emulate US,
but none has been able to approach the
efficiency of Uncle Sans system.
The count is expected to show popu-
lation of from l07, 900 600 to ll2, 900, 900.
as compared with SO, 900 600 in 1910.
Four thousand clerks will be engaged
in the tabulation work.