Word: censuses
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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Riggers' Figures. First step in solving any problem is to find out what the problem is. Last autumn, Franklin Roosevelt appointed President John D. Biggers of Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Co. to make the first census of U. S. unemployment. Mr. Biggers went to work at $1 a year, with a $5,000,000 appropriation and the aid of the Post Office Department. Last November, 81,000,000 unemployment blanks were distributed by letter-carriers to 32,000,000 U. S. homes. As the returns came in, a separate door-to-door census checked them in 1,864 areas...
Last week, Mr. Biggers' figures were complete enough to be presented to the President. Total number of people who had voluntarily returned questionnaires listing themselves as unemployed and willing to work was 7,822,912. Door-to-door census covering 1,950,000 persons indicated, however, that this was only about 72% of the people who, when ferreted out and interviewed, classed themselves as unemployed. On this basis total unemployed population of the U. S. would be 10,870,000. Said Mr. Biggers: "We do not claim provable accuracy for any one figure. The true number of those...
...completely analyzed, Mr. Biggers' figures showed that of the questionnaire total, 2,000,000 considered unemployed were actually at work on relief jobs. Nearly 6,000,000 were men, nearly 2,000,000 women. Difficulty of interpreting the census-beyond weeding out cards from people who had misunderstood them even more completely than the 20% who, according to a Gallup Poll, thought their replies would bring them jobs-was where to draw the line between regular workers and housewives, sons of families, dependents, retired workers who work only at intervals. Mr. Biggers proposed that his census be further checked...
Main inaccuracy of the census was obviously the fact that, while it included the first month of Recession, unemployment has grown more acute in the last month. Current unofficial estimates of the total number of workers who have lost their jobs since September average 2,000,000. In Detroit last week, in the biggest mass layoff of Recession, President William S. Knudsen of General Motors announced that 30.000 of the company's 235,000 employes would be laid off as of January 3 and that employes who remained on the payroll would operate on a threeday, 24-hr, week...
British editors, rallying to potent Sir Kingsley Wood, rebuked Humorist Herbert for "misrepresentations," "distortion" and "questionable levity." He replied with a letter to the London Times, arguing: "If more plain language were used, there would be less bad legislation. It shocks no one to [have the Government census taker] say 'Other issue and marriage condition of father and mother where the father of the child is a person other than present or a former spouse?' But what this means in plain language is: 1) 'Have you had any other illegitimate children?' 2) 'Are you married...