The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1930-04-03
FEDERAL CENSUS
NOW BEING TAKEN
No Person Can Be Harmed in
Any Way by Furnishing
Desired Information
FACTS ARE ESSENTIAL
Uncle Sans Needs the InfOr-
nation Cleaned for His
National Housekeeping

count OF the lnIldUlldhlS VI shS
United States. But it does more
than merely count the people; 1t
collects information or facts about
them and about their homes and
farms. The taking of a census ev-
ery ten years is required by the
Constitution of the United States.
The first one was taken in 1870, one
hundred and forty years ago, when
George Washington was President.
Fourteen census in all have been
taken since this country became an
independent Nation, and the fif-
teenth will begin on April 2, 1880,
on which date over 100000 men
and women will start out on a
house-to-house canvass that will
cover every home in the United
States.
Some time in April, therefore, an
enumerator or census taker will
call at your home. He will carry a
portfolio containing schedules"
These are large sheets of paper on
which are printed the census ques-
lions.
In his proclamation calling for
the 1880 Census, President Hoover
stated: mo person can be harmed
in any way gy furnishing the in
formation required. The census
has nothing to do with taxation,
with military or jury service, with
compulsory school attendance, with
the regulation of immigration, or
with the enforcement of any ma
tional, State, or local law or or
dinance. There need be no fear
that any disclosure will be made
regarding any individual person or
his affairs. For the due protection
of the rights and interests of the
persons furnishing information
every employee of the Census Bur-
eau is prohibited, under heavy pen
atty, from disclosing any informa-
ton which may thus come to his
knowledge"
These are the principal questions
which apply to everybody: Age;
birthplace of father and of mother;
martial status, i. e., whether single,
married, widowed, or divorced; oc-
cuparion and industry; whether at
tending school; whether able to
read and write; whether home is
rented or owned; value of home If
owned or monthly rental if rented;
whether there is a radio in the
home; and whether person enumer-
ated is a veteran of the United
States military or naval forces.
Persons who usually work at a
gainful occupation but who were
not at work on the day before the
census was taken will be asked
whether they have a job and are
merely laid off temporarily, or
whether they have no job at all.
Those who have a job will be
asked the cause of their temporary
unemployment, how many days
they worked last week, and wheth-
er they lose days pay by not be-
ing at work. Those who have no
job will be asked how many weeks
they have been out of work, and
the reason for their unemploy-
ment.
All persons born in foreign
country will be asked: Year of i'm
migration to the United States;
whether naturalized; and the Ian
guage spoken in the home in the
country where born, i. e., the native
language or mother tongue.
Every farmer will be asked the,
following questions about himself
and his farm: Does he own his
farm: does he own his farm or
rent it; how many acres in his
farm; total value of the farm, and
if the implements and machinery;
whether the farm is mortgaged,
and if so, the amount of the mort
gage; taxes paid or payable in
1929; expenses for feed, fertilizer,
labor, and electric light and pow
er during the year 1929; the guam
tity of commercial fertilizer used in
1929; number of cows, horses, hogs,
sheep, chickens, and other animals
on the farm on April l., 1880; value
of farm products in 1929; quantity
of livestock products in 1929; guam
tity and acreage of each crop
grown during the year 1929; wheth-
er the farmhouse has a telephone,
electric light plant, running water;
and how many automobiles, trac-
tors. and gas engines there are on
the farm.
The schedules on which the an
swers to the census questions are
written will be sent to Washington.
There the answers will be copied
on cards, not by writing, but by
punching holes in the card, just as
a conductor punches the date on a
ticket There will be a card for
every man, woman, and child in the
United States. These cards, which
are about the size of postal cards,
will be run through counting ma
chimes, operated by electricity. One
of these machines can count about
400 cards in a minute or about
$4,000 in an hour, if there are no
stops; but more than that, it can
count several things at once.
For instance, if cards for the pu-
pills in this school were run through
the machine, it would count the
number of boys and the number of
girls in the school, how many of
each sex were 10 years old, II years
old, IL years old, and so on for each
year of age, how many were born
in this country and how many
abroad, and a dozen other facts
all counted at the same time and
while the cards ran through the