Evening star., 1940-02-28

It is true that what a person earns
or receives in the way of income is
his own private affair, but there is no
reason why he should not divulge the
secret to an honest Government
which will merely use the results for
statistical analysis. AS a matter of
fact, virtually every piece of infor-
nation being sought by the census
takers could have been obtained by
the Bureau of Internal Revenue
under existing income tax laws, but
the Treasury has long since found
it uneconomical to check up on low
income groups.
The fact that a decennial census
Is being taken affords an opportu-
nifty for the Treasury to get
through another department of the
Government whatever information
1t may need. There has long been a
belief that Federal income tax re-
turns are not being filed by hun
dreds of thousands, if not millions of
persons who, at least, actually
should be filling out the income tax
blanks and reporting their annual
income.
Local Records Unnecessary.
AS for the argument that local
politicians will get hold of the in
formation, this can easily be over
come. The census takers can be in
structed to put every citizens an
swer in an envelope addressed to the
Census Bureau In Washington,
where 1t can be examined and, if
not properly filled out, further in
formation can be sought. But the
local employees of the census need
not really make records at all. In
fact, 1t is doubtful whether census
employees need necessarily be as
signed to their own neighborhoods.
Practically all the objections that
have been raised to the possibility
that the information may leak out
can be overcome in actual admins
tration of the census taking law.
A lot Of information is needed to
determine the economic condition
of the American people. It has been
stated by the President, for instance,
that one-third of the population is
ill-clad, ill-housed and ill-nourished
Nobody can prove or disprove that
declaration, nor can anyone in off,
cialdom tell exactly how many of the
people in that condition are Negroes
or whites and how many are in the
South or In the North, how many in
the cities and how many In rural
areas.
Industry Seeks Data.
The so-called bathtub census is de-
sired by industry, as is much infor-
nation Of an industrial or business
character. Just what kind of q
market does the United States repre-
sent for the future? Statements are
being made every day that America
is finished" that there are no more
frontiers. and yet better distribu-
zion of purchasing power might re-
suit in an increased demand for
certain products and necessities OF
life.
At the bottom of all reasoning on
our economic status is accurate sta
tistical data. The census once every
10 years has in the past been valu-
able. but at no time has it been more
important to find out the details OF
American economic life than 1t Is
today. The Census Bureau always
has handled confidential information
satisfactorily. Despite the fact that
census employees have been con-
sidered beneficiaries Of political
patronage, the administrative side OF
the census operation has for many
years been an efficient agency OF
government. The difficulty Is not
that the Census Bureau will not keeu
a secret, but that the committees OF
Congress every now and then call fol