National Resources Committee 



was sketched. Although the Bureau of the Census 

 cannot profit by pressure-group support as can some 

 statistical organizations it has cordial relationships 

 with its i>ublic and private consumers. In some cases — 

 notably in the field of agricultural statistics — the Bu- 

 reau has obtained not only technical help but also 

 outright financial subsidy. These instances are ex- 

 ceptional. There has been some ground for hope that 

 the Bureau might find for itself in the field of indus- 

 try and trade a place analogous to that of the Bureau 

 of Agricultural Economics in agriculture and the Bu- 

 reau of Labor Statistics in labor. Such a development 

 might be important for the obtaining of adequate 

 financial support. Some of the difficulties of attaining 

 such an objective were studied, particularly with re- 

 spect to the competitive position of other Government 

 agencies and with respect to the Bureau's lack of a 

 permanent field staff. A different type of consumer re- 

 lationship was exemplified by the field of vital statis- 

 tics, the collection of which by State boards of health 

 is subsidized by the Bureau of the Census. These 

 State collecting agencies are also among the principal 

 consumers of vital statistics. The generation of ex- 

 perience with vital statistics provides an illuminating 

 example of the difficulties attending the development 

 of a decentralized reporting system. 



Part III analyzed problems of personnel. The con- 

 ditions described in part I had led by 1933 to a serious 

 situation in the Bureau, through the loss of most of its 

 professionally trained men. There has been a states- 

 manlike process of rebuilding on the part of the pres- 

 ent Director. Any agency, unless it is acquiring ne\v 

 functions, finds it difficult to place professionally qual- 

 ified men into key positions, because vacancies are rare 

 and it is difficult to remove a less qualified man on 

 civil service, and because the requisite combination of 

 administrative ability and professional preparation is 

 not easy to secure at the salaries paid by the Govern- 



ment. With respect to junior professional personnel, 

 entrance salaries are high, possibly too high, but op- 

 portunities for promotion are not attractive to the bet- 

 ter men. Like any of the older agencies, the Bureau of 

 the Census faces the problem of an overloading of its 

 clerical force with elderly people. One-third of the 

 clerical employees of the Bureau are over 55 years of 

 age. A special problem in this organization is the 

 large ratio of temporary to permanent employees. It 

 is, in part, inevitable, due to the fluctuating character 

 of census work. The implications of this situation are 

 far-reaching, since the political nature of temporary 

 appointments at each decennial census has frequently 

 in the past been used to justify the selection of a Di- 

 rector on grounds other than professional competence. 

 Part IV considered questions relating to the role of 

 an agency like the Bureau of the Census in conducting 

 analytical research. It was recognized that the pri- 

 mary function of the Bureau was the production of 

 the raw data. It was conceded that the Bureau had 

 the obligation of conducting research to determine the 

 validity of these data and to experiment with ways 

 of improvement. The question of the responsibility of 

 such a Bureau for research of an interpretative char- 

 acter was reviewed at length and arguments pro and 

 con presented. It was the conclusion of the writer that 

 more, rather than less, of the interpi-etative type of 

 research should be expected from an agency with such 

 close access to the original data. The research work 

 of the Bureau of the Census was reviewed in some 

 detail. It was evident that lack of funds and lack of 

 professionally qualified personnel have greatly handi- 

 capped the organization, even in carrying ovit research 

 which it regards as essential for determining the va- 

 lidity of some of the basic data. The Bureau is awake 

 to the needs, but, with insufficient funds for the cur- 

 rent routine operations, can attain only a fraction of 

 the desired objectives. 



APPENDIX A 

 LIST OF INQUIRIES COVERED BY THE PERMANENT CENSUS 



IPrepared by Dr. Joseph A. Hill) 



Decennial Inquiries listed in the Permanent Census 

 Act of 1902 : 



Special classes, including insane, feeble-minded, deaf, dumb, 

 and blind.'' 



Crime, ijjiuperism, and benevolence, including prisoners, 

 paupers, juvenile delinquents, and inmates of benevolent and 

 reformatory institutions.'^ 



Social statistics of cities.*" 



w With ■the proviso that the statistics be limited to institutions con- 

 taining such classes. 



'» The pej-manent Bureau has never collected any statistics under that 

 title or heading. Presumably it was expected to cover the same sub- 



Public indebtedness, valuation, taxation, and expenditures. 



Religious bodies. 



Electric light and power, telephone, and telegraph business. 



Transportation by water, express business, and street rail- 

 ways. 



Mines, mining, quarries, and minerals, and the production and 

 value thereof; together with the number, average daily wage, 

 average working time, and aggregate earnings of men em- 

 ployed. 



Jects as were covered under the same title in the censuses of 1880 and 

 tsno (see History and Oron-th of the United States Ccn«us, by Wright 

 and Hunt, pp. 796 and S02) ; and the Bureau has in some years in- 

 cluded such sHhieots (designated as general statistics) in the annual 

 compilation of tiiiancinl statistics of cities. 



