Evening star., 1940-02-28
Defense Of Census
Query on Incomes
Attacked by Tobey
Hopkins 'Dissembline,'
Senotor Says; BoiIey
Defends Questions
CONTINUED From First Page.)

their wives, and $50 the news gets
around"
Senator Bailey, Democrat, Of
North Carolina, a frequent New Deal
critic, defended the questions as
necessary to help solve national so-
cial problems. He is on the subcom-
mittee with Senators White, Repub-
lican, Of Maine, acting chairman;
Maloney, Democrat, of Connecticut;
Pepper, Democrat, of Florida, and
johnson, Republican, Of California.
William L. Austin, director Of the
census, and DR.. Willard L. Thorp,
economic adviser to the Secretary
Of Commerce, waited to defend the
questions.
In statements presented to the
subcommittee before the start of to-
days hearing, Senator Tobey ac-
cused the Census Bureau of "prying
into personal affairs" and Census
Director Austin replied that the
questions we're requested "by rep
resentative cross-section" of the
people themselves. The questions
ask the amount of income received
In salary and wages and the amount
In excess of $50 received from other
sources.
Asked BY People.
Senator Tobey said:
"Never before in the history of
this country have the people been
forced to reveal to locally appointed
census enumerators, under the pop
ulation schedule, the amount of
their incomes, and this is admitted
by the statement of the Census
Bureau ITSELF"
Mr.. Austin said:
Questions pertaining to financial
status have appeared recurrently
In State and Federal censuses for
more than 100 years.
II should like to point out that
the income questions on the popu-
lation schedule do not represent a
startling break from precedent.
They have been requested by
representative cross-section of the
American people and included in a
number of studies conducted in this
country and in other democratic
nations: they have been cleared with
representatives of business, industry,
labor, science and government; they
have been tested in special census
conducted by the bureau; and they
have, as precedent, not only the
censuses of 1850, 1860 and 1870, in
which much more comprehensive
financial information was asked, but
also the act of Congress passed as
recently as 1887 providing for the
national census of unemployment.
Confidence in Bureau.
''On the basis of its record, the
Bureau of the Census possesses the
confidence of the American people,
and actual experience assures us
that the questions to be asked in
the 1910 census contain nothing that
will shake that confidence"
Senator Tobey declared that indi-
viduals would be required to answer
the income questions whether your
neighbor, who happens to be the
enumerator, is a creditor or an en-
emy Of yours; or whether you have
good reason to feel that your pri-
vate affairs may be quietly revealed
to others in your neighborhood."
Even though there is prohi-
bition against the revelation of data
by census takers, Senator Tobey
said he saw grounds for apprehen-
sion that politicians might take
political advantage of the financial
plight of the individual citizen"
These census questions demand
ing you to divulge your income man
1festly violate constitutional right"
the Senator said. They constitute
an unwarranted prying into personal
affairs, they open up personal in
formation to people in your own
community. who have been politi-
cally appointed enumerators, and
they are an invasion of the natural
right Of privacy of every citizen"
After Senator Tobey quoted DEM
ocrats Hugo Black (now Supreme
Court justice) and Senator Walsh
of Massachusetts, in criticism of the
political appointee system of census
taking, Representative Dondero, Re-
publican, of Michigan expressed the
view that the Census Bureau has no
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If L