Evening star., 1950-04-01


statistical operation of all time
started today.
The Nationwide count marks
the elimination of 10 years Of
planning by the staff of the
Census Bureau at Suiuand, Md.
But the effectiveness of that
planning, in the last analysis. de-
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Trumon Greets Census Toker Todoy.
Pose A-3
Pictures OF District Census-toke
OF Work. Pose A-22
pendS on the training of the
$4,000 'draftees" of the Bureau
citizens who have signed up for
the job of counting the country's
estimated Isl million people.
These takers yesterday
completed a training period of
four days.
And the success Of the opera
ton depends on the cooperation
of the public. into whose homes
the census takers will come.
Peel Asks Cooperation.
Yesterday, Census Director Roy
" Peel asked for the Nations
"whole-hearted assistance. The
census. he said. amounts to q
democratic self-appraisal of the
Nations people and their social
and economic characteristics.
That appraisal, he said. will be
as accurate and complete as pub
lie cooperation makes it possible
to be"
Failing public cooperation. OF
course, the census has the backing
of the law to get the information
it needs. It's authority stems
from the first article of tthe Con-
stitution, which names the To-
year count as the basis for de-
cidirg the Congressional repre-
sentation of the various States.
To this basic governmental need
has been added the demands OF
American business and demo-
cratic government for accurate
statistical data on the economic
and social conditions Of different
areas of the country.
$50o Fine Possible.
For refusing to answer ques-
ton Of the census -taker. q citizen
makes himself liable to a $500
fine and so days in Jail. But no
census-taker is going to brandish
a club. The instructions are first
to exhaust every means OF peace
full persuasion. If that fails. the
case will be referred to the CEN
tral bureau.
Once again, Census officials en-
phasize that individual informa-
tion supplied census takers will
be kept in confidence and will be
published only in anonymous sta
tistical tables"
The operation has some inter-
esting statistics of its own. 1t
will require a total of something
like 270 million separate forms,
one for each individual. one for
each of the As million homes and
at least eight for each OF more
than 6 million farms
If the processing of these forms
were done by hand, it would take
500 people As years to do it. The
enumeratorS will travel about rs
million miles, some Of them using
dog sleds, canoes and roWboats
The cost to the taxpayer will be
about $50 million-twice what 1t
was in 1910
Like Military Operation.
The chain of command is set
up like a military operation. It
starts with DR.. Peel who works
under the Secretary of Commerce.
The director. who was appointed
to his position in February. is in
the unenviable position Of a gen.
eral taking over on the eve Of
battle. But the strategy Of the
census was planned well before
hand under a veteran. Philip M.
Hauser. whose job as acting di-
rector ended with DR.. Peel's ap-
pointment.
From the Suitland headquar-
ters. the chain OF command passes
through II area Offices in the
United States and its territories,
(See CENSUS. Page A-3)