Uncle Sam Calling, Uncle Sam Calling....

Uncle Sam calling on you and the whole nation for the greatest census in American history. (footsteps)  An army on the march, but, not an army of destruction.  It's an American army of construction, 120,000 strong,  marching one by one during the month of April to millions of city homes and country farms, calling on you at your door, and yours and yours, to gather vital information that enables you to know your nation.  One-half as large as the  standing army of the United States.  This is the peacetime army of census takers.  You can know your country only,  if your country,  knows you.

Moderator: Hello everyone.  Here we are again with another program in our series of broadcasts entitled "Uncle Sam Calling,"  the story of the 1940 census.  With us today is our Census Taker whom you remember from last time, the extremely well informed gentlemen who wants more information from us this April.  Also our good friend Mr. John Dawson, a retired farmer who has seen six decennial census

Farmer: Nine more and I'd have seen them all, young man.

Census Taker: Well, I'll bet you've never seen one like we're going to have this year Mr. Dawson.  In fact I'm sure you haven't, for its to be the biggest and most complete so far.

Farmer: Ha... Bigger and better censuses Mr. Census Taker??

Moderator: Well wait a minute you two, I have another guest I'd like to introduce, and then we can get the program underway.  Gentlemen, here is Mrs. Virginia Boswell, a young, and need I say, attractive homemaker.

Homemaker: How do you do.

Chorus... How do you do, Mrs. Boswell.

Census Taker: It's a real pleasure having a lady on the program.

Homemaker: Really, the pleasure is all mine. In fact I feel quite honored acting as a sort of representative for millions of American women.  I understand that the 16th decennial census will be the greatest fact finding survey ever undertaken, and we women are great ones for facts, you know.

Census Taker: Well, Uncle Sam oughta satisfy your practical nature this year Mrs. Boswell. He's going to outdo himself in 1940, and already his reputation for being the world's leading census taker is international, you know.

Farmer: Well, he oughta be pretty good, been taking census for 150 years.

Homemaker: Let's see, I'm trying to remember my school civics.  The decennial census was provided for in the United States Constitution, wasn't it?

Census Taker: That's right, Mrs. Boswell.

Homemaker: Do you by any chance know the exact words?

Census Taker: Well, here's the part about the census.  The Constitution says that the actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States and within every subsequent term of ten years in such manner as they shall by law direct.

Farmer: Well, back in those days I reckon census taking was fairly simple, just counting the number of people.

Census Taker: Yes, it must have been Mr. Dawson.  But life itself was more simple in those days.  The country has grown up since then and become more complex.

Farmer: Well I won't argue with you there, cause it sure has. My gosh the changes I've seen in my time.  Lot of  young people can't  get work, and lot of other people too old to work. Even in my  day I've seen plenty of changes come over the country.  No new land to develop, and folks leaving the farm to go to the city.  Used to be a "farming age", but it's a "machine age" now.

Census Taker: And to get acquainted with this complex country of ours, to analyze its many economic and social problems Mr. Dawson,  we must get facts about how it operates. That's why this year's census activities include,  not only population, agriculture and housing, but also business and manufacturing, mines and quarries.

Homemaker: Oh but this sounds like hard work for a housewife.  I don't know anything about mines and quarries and things, and  I'm sure most other housewives don't either.

Census Taker: You won't need to worry about things like that Mrs. Boswell.  The Census covering those fields has been underway since January 2nd.  It won't effect housewives in the least. You're classified only under the population and housing census, or the agricultural census if you live on a farm.

Homemaker: How long will the census questions take?  I mean how much time will be required to answer the questions.

Census Taker: Well roughly speaking,  about 15 minutes for your general or population census, then the housing census, being taken for the first time in history, will require maybe another 10 minutes.

Homemaker: In that case, maybe I should invite the census taker to come in, and sit down.

Census Taker: Yes, I think you should, not only for the census taker's  convenience, but for your own comfort as well.

Homemaker: How should I recognize him and know that he is bona fide?  Will he carry credentials?

Census Taker: Yes, we all do.  If you want to see them, the census taker will show you his identification papers given to him as a representative of Uncle Sam.

Moderator: By the way, I'd like to interrupt a moment.  I hear that the census taker has been instructed always to be be polite and considerate.  In fact, he is even given a handbook of etiquette to study.  Is that true?

Census Taker: Yes it's true.  You see this sort of thing has been going on for so many years, that the census bureau has learned that most people want to do their part toward the common good, if you just approach them in a reasonable way,  so we explain what census means.  It's a lot better than acting hard boiled.

Homemaker: You say there are to be 120,000 of these census takers all together?

Census Taker: About that number. ... and they'll complete the census in one month, that's what the law requires.

Homemaker: Starting April 1st, isn't  that the date?

Census Taker: Yes, that's right.

Farmer: Now there's one thing I think folks oughta be reminded of, and that is, the law requires folks to answer those census questions.

Census Taker: That's very true, but we like to say it another way. There are two sides to it, as there are to any reasonable proposition. The law requires you to answer our questions but it also requires us to keep the answers confidential and provides much heavier penalties for us, if we violate our oath, than it does for you.

Homemaker: Oh I see.  I heard somewhere that the talk about keeping the answers secret didn't mean anything.

Census Taker: Well it means $1000 fine or two years in prison or both, for any census taker who violates his oath of office.  I call that something.

Homemaker: Goodness, I should think so.

Census Taker: There's another angle to it, that's just common sense.  This is such a big job, it has to be done so fast, that we don't have time to get interested in anybody's personal affairs. Our reports are shipped right off to Washington, registered mail.  When they get there, an individual doesn't mean any more than one snowflake in a blizzard.  You're only a statistic.

Farmer: Now  I hate to be persistent about this small matter,  but just what does the law say about not answering census questions or giving false answers.

Census Taker: Well, a person can be fined $100, or put in jail for 60 days if he refuses to answer, and they raise the ante to $500 or a year in jail, for the giving of intentionally false information. But those penalties are used very  very seldom.  It's been part of census law for over 100 years, just in case.  But the Census Bureau's long experience proves, that virtually every American will answer the census questions without hesitation and truthfully.

Homemaker: Well I for one, believe it a duty and a privilege to be of service to the government.

Farmer:   Well, I wouldn't say that about everything.  One good thing about this country is that you can stand up and holler when you don't like something, government or no government. But you couldn't draw much of a crowd kicking about the census.

Moderator: (mumbling)

Farmer: What's that?

Moderator: I was only thinking aloud.  You can know your country only if, your country knows you.

Farmer: ....There's a heap of truth in those words, young man.

Homemaker: Well I have to run in a minute.  Still have my tomorrow's  marketing to do, but may I ask another question first.

Census Taker: Anything you wish Mrs. Boswell.  After all you and Mr. Dawson represent about 132 million Americans.

Homemaker: It's about the new questions to be asked.  What are they?

Census Taker: Included in the housing schedule will be an entirely new set of questions about twenty.  You see, many people want to know how the American people are living.

Homemaker: And what happens when we find out?

Census Taker: Well, I'm sure you've heard many people say that one of the biggest steps towards prosperity would be a big revival of homebuilding.   All of us have heard people say it. But it hasn't happened.

Homemaker: I still don't understand.  The census takers aren't going to build any houses are they?

Census Taker: No, but they are going to supply the builders with a complete picture of how many houses there are of each kind, how old they are, what conveniences they contain,  and how nearly their paid for.  Then business and industry will know where its safe to go ahead.

Homemaker: And I guess you'll want to know how many people can read and write.  How many illiterate people there are.

Census Taker: No, no that's one question we won't ask.  Most people can read and write nowadays, but we will want to know the highest grade of school you completed, and where you lived five years ago.

Homemaker: Why should the government want to know that?

Census Taker: Because a lot of people have been pushed around in recent years by force of necessity, by drought, and by losing their jobs in the city and going back to the country, or by losing out in the country and going to the city.   Uncle Sam wants the picture of how big these shifts in population have been. To find out, we have to learn where the people lived before.

Farmer: Well, most of those people were just trying to find work to do.  You outta ask about people out of work and how long they've been out of work.

Census Taker: We're going to.  We'll ask whether each worker has a private job or an emergency public job or just hunting a job.  About a dozen questions in this general field will provide more facts about the working population than we ever had before.

Moderator: It's just as I said.  Uncle Sam is going to paint a statistical picture of America that will miss no important details.

Census Taker: Well, I guess that about covers the ground for today.

Moderator: Yes, I guess it does.  Especially if Mrs. Boswell has to get that marketing done.

Homemaker: Oh I do, but it's been terribly interesting.

Farmer: Yes, interesting to me too, and I've been through six of these national roll calls.  First one 60 years ago.

Moderator: Well, thank you Mrs. Boswell for joining us today, and thank you again Mr. Dawson.

Chorus: Oh not at all... Goodbye.... Goodbye Mrs. Boswell

Moderator: Oh, by the way, we are going to have more of these programs and we may want both of you with us again, Mrs. Boswell and Mr. Dawson.

Chours: Any time.... Any time at'all.

Uncle Sam Calling is produced by the United States Office of Education in collaboration with the United States Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce.  Your station announcer will tell you when you will hear the next broadcast of Uncle Sam Calling.