. Mr. NORTH. The same: yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. As they receive in the Office? Mr. NORTH. Except that they have a per diem of $3 for expenses. The CHAIRMAN. And what has been the average appropriation for your Office, including appropriations for the work? Mr. NORTH. Since the Twelfth Census, you mean? The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Mr. NORTH. It has been something over $1,200,000, or about that, a year. I expected to bring with me to-day a complete financial statement of the appropriation for the Census Office since it was organized. The disbursing officer is preparing that statement, and he told me this morning that he doubted if it would be done this morning, but I will submit it to the committee at the next session, or hand it to the clerk of the committee and have it included in this hearing, if you desire. It is a very complete and a very well differentiated and detailed statement of all these expenditures. Mr. ROBINSON. This bill under consideration contemplates the carrying of the regular expenses of the Bureau and of those incidental to the Thirteenth Census all in one? Mr. NORTH. In one appropriation, yes sir. Mr. ROBINSON. Let me ask you this. What length of time did it take to complete the Twelfth Census? Mr. NORTH. It took exactly this length of time which this section 2 provides. Mr. ROBINSON. Do you figure that the work can again be done within the same length of time? Mr. NORTH. Yes. Mr. ROBINSON. The efficiency of the office force has been kept up to that degree and while other work is required you still think you will be able to do it within that period of time? Mr. NORTH. I do, sir; and I think the bill was intended to require that it should be done. If that is not clear in the bill, it ought to be put there. That clause did appear in the Twelfth Census act. The CHAIRMAN. I think it ought to be made clear. Mr. ROBINSON. That is the reason I asked that question. The CHAIRMAN. What annual investigations are you required to make by law? Mr. NORTH. Three. In the first place, the bimonthly report of the amount of cotton ginned, which goes on through the ginning season. The second report required by the permanent Census act is the annual report on mortality, the vital statistics of the registration areas, which cover now very nearly one-half of the total population of the country. The third report is one not provided for in the permanent census act but transferred to the Census Office by the Secretary from the Bureau of Labor, and that is the annual reports on the financial and other statistics of cities, covering 157 cities which have a population of 30,000 or more, and which is made annually. The CHAIRMAN. What other periodical investigations does the law require you to make? Mr. NORTH. Those are the three annual reports required, to these should be added the Official Register, which is biennial. The CHAIRMAN. Those are the only ones? Mr. NORTH. All the other investigations we are required to make are decennial, with two exceptions at present. One exception is the quinquennial census of manufactures and the other exception is the quinquennial census of the electrical industries. All the rest of them are annual or decennial. The CHAIRMAN. Aside from these annual inquiries required by law, the other investigations can be made in what is known as the interdecennial interim. Mr. NORTH. Both the annual and the two quinquennial investigations which this bill provides for. The CHAIRMAN. Of course you contemplate the continuation of these annual inquiries during the decennial census period? Mr. NORTH. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. That is included in the appropriation? Mr. NORTH. That is covered by the bill. This $14.000.000 appropriation which is named in the bill is intended to include the cost of carrying on those three annual reports for three years, as well as for the expenses of the Thirteenth Census. It will probably cost to make those three annual reports for three years about $1,000,000. The cotton report alone costs us about $220,000 a year. Mr. HAY. What was the cost, Mr. North, of the three years of the Twelfth Census? Mr. NORTH. It was about $12,000,000. Mr. HAY. So that $14,000,000 is a very conservative estimate? Mr. NORTH. The $14,000,000 contemplates a decennial census, which, in my judgment, ought to cost at least $1,000,000 less than the Twelfth Census did, which will not be wholly due to the fact that there exists a permanent Census Office, but will be largely due to that fact and to certain changes which are indicated in this bill, if they are enacted in the legislation. One of those changes is the omission of the fourth of the great decennial reports, that on vital statistics, and it is believed in the Office, and all of the statisticians whom I have consulted agree to the proposition, that the annual report on vital statistics which we are now making is sufficient to justify the omission of that report from the decennial census. The experts in the study of mortality statistics have long been of the opinion that the returns of mortality obtained by enumerators in their rounds of the people are so inaccurate that they are really not worth what they cost. And that is the reason why in section 1 of this bill the words "of deaths," which are in brackets on the right hand side, have been omitted. Of course, the omission of that inquiry from the field work and from the tabulation will result in a large saving of money. Just how much, I am not prepared to say. I have, however, a memorandum covering the reasons why it is deemed wise to omit them, which has been prepared by the chief statistician in charge of vital statistics, and which I would like to have included in my statement. The CHAIRMAN. Giving the reasons for it? Mr. NORTH. Yes. Hon. S. N. D. NORTH, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR, Director of the Census. SIR: In accordance with your direction, I have carefully considered the question of necessary legislation relative to vital statistics for the approaching census, and submit herewith certain data in connection therewith. The subject assumes a somewhat different aspect from that existing prior to any previous census, from the fact that the permanent census law now in force provides for annual returns from the entire registration area. This law is fairly satisfactory and should on no account be interfered with by any legislation under the Thirteenth Census act; some minor amendments in this section might be made if perfectly convenient to do so, but no risk of any serious modification in this law should be incurred. As to provisions in the Thirteenth Census act proper, I believe that the time has come to finally cease the necessarily futile effort to secure births and deaths by enumeration. The registration area should comprise nearly twothirds of the total population of the country in 1910. To collect from one-half to two-thirds of the deaths that occur in the nonregistration area once in ten years, and for an odd year (census year) having no convenient relation to the calendar years employed in the census and State annual reports, is largely labor thrown away. The results are worthless for comparison with accurate returns based upon proper registration of deaths, and are apt to be used for misleading comparisons. Owing to the extremely variable degree of inaccuracy attaching to enumerators' returns of deaths in different localities, they are not even trustworthy as a check upon the accuracy of registration records. They should not be used to supplement registration records. The method of enumerating vital statistics is wrong, and serves as a bad example to the States that are now considering the adoption of registration laws. From now on the chief efforts of the census should be devoted to the extension of the registration area; the improvement of the quality of the returns of deaths therefrom, especially with reference to statement of cause of death and occupation of decedents; the promotion of uniformity and comparability between the census, State, and municipal reports; and the maintenance of the annual mortality reports as a useful means for these purposes, in addition to their usefulness in the prompt presentation of the mortality statistics. I would accordingly recommend : 1. That no change be made in the permanent census act relating to vital statistics unless a general revision of this act is to be made, in which case I would recommend some modification of section S. 2. That all reference to vital statistics be left out of the draft of the bill for the taking of the Thirteenth Census. Very respectfully, CRESSY L. WILBUR, Mr. NORTH. Another great saving which this bill proposes comes from the omission of the household or neighborhood industries from the manufacturing census, in accordance with the provision of the permanent Census act, confining the manufacturing canvass to factories practically. The collection of the statistics of these minor household industries, like dressmaking and horseshoeing, and little repair tailor shops, and that sort of thing, is very expensive, and it is utterly valueless, and it was therefore omitted from the quinquennial census of manufactures; and to the best of my knowledge and belief there has not been a complaint received by the office by reason of their omission. It is therefore proposed that the law should be modified in that direction also, and there will be another very large saving there. The CHAIRMAN. What are the reasons for the enactment of legislation for the 13th decennial census at this session of Congress? Mr. NORTH. I have covered that in this memorandum I have brought with me, to a degree of elaboration which it is not necessary for me to put upon the Committee now, but which I would like to have in the printed report. The CHAIRMAN. It is in your memorandum there; you can put it in the report of the hearing to be printed. Mr. NORTH. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. You might briefly state the reasons. Mr. HAY. If there is no objection, I wish Mr. North would summarize it. Mr. NORTH. I will summarize it in a few words. The legislation for the previous census has always been delayed by one cause or another until the very end of the short session of Congress, and it has had a narrow call on at least two occasions. The bill for the Twelfth Census, I think, passed finally on the night of the 3d of March, the Congress adjourning the next day. Another bill—I think the bill for the census of 1880-passed on the night of the 3d of March, and that allowed the Director of the Census only a year and two months to make all the preparations required for that census, and it was not time enough, of course. The force of the argument for early legislation would perhaps seem to be somewhat impaired by the fact that there now exists a permanent Census Office; but I do not think it is. Instead of being impaired, I think it is strengthened; because while we have begun already preparations for the Thirteenth Census, by reason of the fact that there is a permanent census office, we ought to have every facility necessary to enable us to take all the advantage possible of that fact. That is, every possible advantage ought to be given us, and if we know by the time this session of Congress has adjourned, exactly the provisions of the law under which the Thirteenth Census is to be taken, we can make our plans and preparations and arrangements far more intelligently and systematically and satisfactorily than if we have to wait until another year to know what the minor details of the bill are to be. Mr. HALE. And there is no reason for putting it off? Mr. NORTH. No reason whatever. The passage of this bill at this session of Congress does not involve the expenditure of a dollar of money, as compared with waiting for another session. Mr. HALE. In other words, it might save money? The bill contains a provision for the appropriation of $14,000,000, but that appropriation does not become available until the 1st day of July, next preceding the Census, 1909, and it is not necessary, of course, that the appropriation itself shall be voted at this session of Congress. Mr. GODWIN. It will take three years from the 1st of July, 1909? Mr. NORTH. Yes, and that is the time when the $14,000,000 will become available under the provisions of this bill. As I say, it is not necessary that that section shall be enacted with the rest of the bill. There will probably be some objection to it. Mr. ROBINSON. You mean the appropriation section? Mr. NORTH. Yes. But it was put in there so that it might be enacted if Congress saw fit to do so, and secondly, for the purpose of indicating in a definite way about how much money will be required, merely as a matter of information. The CHAIRMAN. Now, under the provisions of this bill, you would not be authorized to make any temporary appointments preparatory for the Thirteenth Census, until after July 1, 1909, anyway ? Mr. NORTH. No; and there is no necessity for it. The CHAIRMAN. Among the general features of this bill, Mr. North, is one making it a permanent law, so that legislation will not be required for the decennial censuses in the future. Do you think that is a wise and prudent provision? Mr. NORTH. That is what has always been done, Mr. Chairman. Every census bill that has ever been passed in this country, and I think there is no exception to it, has been a law to provide for the taking of such and such a census, " and subsequent censuses." That was the title of the Twelfth Census act, and it is undoubtedly a fact that the Thirteenth Census can be taken under the Twelfth Census act, if for any reason legislation should fail-unless it was the appropriation that failed. The only reasons there are, in my mind, for a complete new act have been, first, in order to fit the permanent and the temporary organizations into each other; and second, to make changes like the two I have just indicated in the law, so the census itself may be somewhat cheapened and somewhat improved. The CHAIRMAN. If this bill should become a law, in the future, when a decennial period, as defined in the bill, should arrive, the Office would resolve itself into a temporary concern to take the decennial census and then after three years it would resolve itself back into a permanent Census Office and continue to work automatically in that manner under this law, unless, of course, in the future Congress should make changes in matter of detail and administration in relation to the subjects of inquiry? Mr. NORTH. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. It would work automatically in that way? The CHAIRMAN. Now, respecting the Mr. NORTH. There are certain of these changes which I can continue to enumerate if the committee desires it. Mr. HAY. Referring to the question of appropriation, which is one that will probably cause some conflict of opinion, I wanted to ask why you had this lump sum appropriation provided for. You know there is a prejudice in Congress now against appropriations of that kind, and if you could give some reasons why the appropriation should be provided for in that way, we would be glad to hear them. Mr. NORTH. Mr. Hay, I deem it practically impossible to conduct the Census Office during the decennial period with two distinct appropriations. There has always to be the lump sum appropriation for the decennial census, it is the only way you can do it. If in addition to that lump sum appropriation there continue to be annual appropriations for the permanent census proper, we should be in all sorts of difficulties to segregate the expenses as between those two appropriations. Mr. HAY. That is what I wanted to bring out. |