Evening Star Newspaper, March 17, 1929, Page 91

. THE SUNDAY. STAR, WASHING Fire and Century of Matches Savages and Products of Culture Have Shared in Efforts to Induce Nature to Yield Heat and Light—Knowledge of Woodcraft Associated With Developmen Industry—Mythical Ideas of Past. BY DON GLASSMAN, NE hundred years ago, Johnnie | Walker, the English druggist, dipped wood s made fire water and said, * there be light,” and his “lucifer” lighted. For a century, the way has been lighted by Johnnie Walker's matches. And now comes the age of automatic lighters, alternating currents, buttons | and switches. Soon Walker's invention | will live only by its memory. | How celebrate the centennial of the | match? ~ Man, the supreme match-| maker, has married fire to all the ele- | ments and a million compounds. But | where is & man who can tell a story of the great romance of human races and fire? | We went to that fount of knowledge, the Smithsonian Institution, and asked for a “fireman.” some person who in playing with fire has suffered burns and come away with knowledge: some-* one who knows the history of fire and the benefits it has spawned on man. “A firrman?” they repeated. “We have the fire chief himself, Chief Pe- | de-ga-hi, who was blessed with this| title by the American Indians because | he knows more about its discovery and | kindling than any man living or dead. His real name is Dr. Walter Hough and official title, curator, department of anthropology. in the United States Natfonal Museum. Chief Pe-de-ga-hi came to the Smithsonian Instituticn 43 years ago as an assistant. His head is turned | silver but he remembers the day, he | sald, when his superior showed him a | drawer of weird implements, remark- | ing: “Now there's something. Indian | fire-making apparatus would make an interesting study for a young man Suppose you try it.” | “That's how I got interested in fire,” | Said Chief Pe-de-ga-hi. “But I found | that making fire like the Indians was not so easy as all that. I rubbed the sticks between my hands until they had no skin left. Finally, I learned the trick and I sat down to describe | it. being the first white man to set the | process forth in print. | “I've been burned many times since,” the fire chief added with a chuckle, | “but I've succeeded in making fire by every method known to man. | “An Apache Indian taught me more about fire-making and the adaptability of man than . all our inventions. Squatting on the ground and without B moving out of arm’s length, he made fire with nothing more than what na- | tur> gave. I brought him two rough | branches. They were too rough to twirl between the palms. He reached out for | two stones, made them into a sand-| wich and cleaned off the bark by draw- THE “FIRE CHIEF,” DR. WALTER HOU STUDENT OF F 1. HE HAS B RE FOR THE PAST 45 YEARS. Afl:cd-h(fii en}bert )lln the ;mm;i This | sure ?ruu x::nd a cy]h)drl{cal ;vxck. His | will smolder for three or four days. | smokeless burner gave forth dazzling .‘fihg'; branches between the hard| "The Osage Indians carried fire in | illumination. A glass chimney added to e ARG | fungus tinder from the inside of & hol- | beauty and utility. Better fuel came in i Mundsind moon T sb:"om W:Iflk\ low tree, inclosed in earth and p]ncgd\l!.’!fi with the discovery of camphine, . e SUCk | between the valves of a mussel shell. | whose flanie was bright but explosive. came £o hot that it sent up a faint | Wrapped and bound in a cord, the | Flat wicks came. and with them the wreath of smoke which he fanned With | shell was carried about for several days, | ingenious toothed wheels that raise the air from his puffed cheeks. | _ Fishermen of Concarneau carried & | Wick at will. ‘This is a remarkable operation, and | fire horn in their fishing boats. This is only a skilled fireman could imitate it.| 3 cow’s horn with & stopper on the but I felt much ashamed of my own | open end. Desiring a light, the fisher- talents, for I would have needed a|man removed the lid, blew his horn and penknife and a good deal more prepara- fanned enough flame to light his pipe. tion. | In Patagonia. the natives carried fire bt | on the march in earthenware pots hav- | public streets already were being lighted JITH his knowledge of wooderaft, | Ing holes in the base for ventilation. | by iuminating gas. | In 1821, Balt- | Ancient and modern Pueblos used the /more was the first American city to Dr. Hough can meke & fire out | 5low match, which was & bundle of |adopt this fluminant. 5 of netural substance in about seven |cecar bark. Many slow matches were| The great thinkers in solemn pow- £2conds, which is generally considered | found by excavators in a fire temple at | wow began to wonder whether there & world Pecord’ ‘Whedi hé depéribed his | M8 Verds: Colo. | could not be even a batter way of light- | * x k% | "THE new fuel age, begun in 1859 with | % "the discovery of coal oil at Titus | ville, Pa,, gave the lamp an ideal sburce of light. At last. the perfect lamp. | Many fancy models came out, but the Fire may have birth in nature either |ing than gas. Franklin, statesman- method in the official Boy Scout Man- | i the bowels of a volcano or through | philosopher, showed that lizhtning and the medium of lightning. But one ob- | electricity are one. Hence they rea. server saw fires started by the clash |soned that the phenomenon of ligh of boulders dislodged in an earthquake. | might be electrical also. Thomas Edi. In Burma, it is said forest fires start | son dreamed of harnessing electricity to Irom sparks thrown out by two boulders | & lamp, and he did. » rolling down a slope. When the ground | _As a firebug, man became civilized. is covered with dry leaves and grass, a | Without this aid to combustion, he spark soon grows into flame. | would still be in savagery. There is no ual he had no idea it would be taken | up as a game. That's what happened. | Boy Scouts all over the world engage | in competitive games of fire-making | n:fil thank Chief Pe-de-ga-hi for theis | skill. Ability to make fire is a distinguish- | ing characteristic of man. Conceivably, there is a moment in the history of | humanity when it knew nothing of the benefits of fire: but wherever scientists | find the remains of early man, they also uncover evidence of the fire, says | Dr. Hough. | The inscription in Washington's | Union Station tells the story: “Fire, greatest of discoveries, en- abling man to live in various climates, use many foods, and compel the forces | of nature to do his work. “Electricity, carrier of light and| power, devourer of time and space. | Bearer of human speech over land and | sea, greatest servant of man, itself unknown.” “Fire,” said Dr. Hough, “was the first | natural phenomenon striking man and the first natural force he consciouslv | used. We have had fire so long that we might ask ourselves whether it is human characteristic. Shall we alss| extend the use of fire to primates other | than man? It is evident that of all| animals the primates are the only species which could undertake the care | of fire.” Up and down the length and breadth of history, man carried fire as an ally. | On pure hypothesis, we assume that he | suffered through a period without fire. | but saw it appear from volcanoes and |- lightning strokes. Secondly, man made | use of fire from some natural source, | and thirdly, turned about and invented | | excellent but cost] A traveler in Cashmere remarked that | era of inveation, no epoch in discovery | high winds blowing through the forests | Or event in history that can be divorced caused such friction between branches |from fire and its uses, Fire, air, water that the trees ignited. and rock are the fundamental elements The coming of domestic cattle was a | Of alchemy. Around a campfire, man great event in the history of light, for | bullt a tent, camp, village, town, city cattle are made of the stuff candles are | and nation. There he was born, there made of. Man hungered a little for his | he worked, ate, fats, but found more convenence in the | thought. light of a candle than in the fireplace | There are no end of customs, legends, and torch. | rites and ceremonies erected about the When it was found that beef fat is Phenomenon of fire. too soft for candle tallow, the bee buz- | Fire signaling is a primitive but effec- zed out of a hollow tree and factory in a straw hive, producing | use has at one time or another ex- honey and wax. Wax candies made | tended all over the world. By day lights. As bees were | there are smoke signals, while by nigh considered sacred, wax candles came to | they are by bright fire. The fire-smoke have religious import and were espe- | code is now seen in the highly technical clally popular in the role of keeping |and elaborate radio language by which ghosts from the door, guarding against | Millions of words are sent and- received lightning and lighting the way for wed- | daily. ding processions. On his entrance into Aztec kingdom, ‘The Chinese got fat for candles by | Hernando Cortez was discovered from cultivating wax-secreting insects. The | the tops of hills Flaming beacons method is used by them to this day. Candleholders and candlesticks~ fol- | Of 100,000 assembled. lowed the candle. When the hot tallow | The Apaches signaled by night by ran the candle, somebody invented a | Setting fire to the stems of large plants. basin around the socket. Another in- | The Iroquois League demanded that vented a finger-holder, and still another | each messenger approaching a village a sliding lifter. | at night should light fire or carry King Alfred invented the clock can- | torch in order to warn of his peaceful dles and used the “lanthorn” to protect | intent. The American plains Indians the combustion of his clock. | perfected a speclalized system of inter- * X ¥ % rupted smoke and fire signals. Kadiak Island Eskimos employ a sys- slept, cooked and ' set up & | tive method of communication, and its | | gave the alarm to natives and an army | his own source for fire. LSE’VERAL hundred years ago, Venice, | All the Inventions in the Patent | the fluid city, first used strect lamps Office are not worth the simple dis- | to “render the darkness visible.”” These coveries of Stone Age men, namely, that | lanterns encased candles, and although | fire can be made, that it gives heat and | primitive, they are very beautiful in de- | light, and is contagious. Men whose sign, The lighting system of Venice apparatus was a club and laboratory a | has progressed much since the dark | primitive forest put the great questions | ages, although some of the first lan- to nature and after centuries of pains- | terns are still in use. taking research evolved the famous fire| Out of the torches, flambeaux and | drill, fire saw, bow and suitable tinder | candles came the beneficent lamp, | material. | which uses a wick bathed in a fluid. | Dr. Hough expresses the relation of , The first lamp is lost. Looking all over man and fire by saying that the hypo- | the world, Dr. Hough said, he has been tem that benefits marriage trousseaus. At each village there is a place where visitors stop to signal their approach. While waiting for a reply, they work on a lamp, which upon completion be- | comes the property of some village bride. * Kok ok BEACON signals are of tremendous importance to commerce. There are lighthouse beacons, observatory bea: TON. D. C. MARCH 17. 1 t (!{ Branch O{ i | \ \ i | ‘ | | torches when Invading a hyena's den. | They throw a felt cloak over the ani- | mal's head and slip a noose over the | forelegs. The Arabs thrust a gag down the hyena's throat, Heat to heal is common both now and in the past. Melancholia and epi- lepsy were thus treated very early in history. The Cherokees employed heat to cure toothache. The medicine man warmed his thumbs and pressed them | against the pain: else blew smoke into | the patient’s mouth. African and Aus- tralian savages inflict ornaments on their bodies with hot irons, & ko N war, the uses of fire are too abun- dant to recount. In fact, fire and | war are almost synonymous words. | Defenders of old castles used hot wa- | ter and boiling lead to repulse invaders. | About 1700, the Hopi Indians attacked | | the village of Awatobi. They entered an underground chamber through a | | mmtchway, threw out lighted wood and | red peppers in advance. Lives of ene- | mies were snuffed out. | | All civilized peoples have made use | | of incense in connection with religious | rites and ceremontes. In order to keep | | the fragrance clean, the incense was | lighted from a sacred fire. In religious vorship, smoke became a messenger to he unseen. A sweet savor pleased the | | divinity. ‘Thus, offering incense to the | | Creator had for its purpose satisfying | a demand and feeding as well. As the | incense disappeared, it indicated the | offering was consumed. The Iroquois used tobacco to petition | the life god. The peace pipe was | passed around to members of the elder | council, who blew smoke and opened communication with the spirit world by ‘;mmcnng attention of intangible be- | | ngs. Believing that fires grow old like men, the ancients evolved the idea of new fires. ‘They believed that an old fire became ineffective for the preservation of a family'’s welfare; hence it must | be given a new hold on life by re- kindling. | So widespread was the prevalling | notion of fire's age that it Is believed | this ided sprang from a center of | civilization before one of the epochal migrations. When an_ epidemlc was rampant | among the Iroquois it was customary | | for the chief shaman to order all the village fires extinguished and all ashes | removed. Such pestilence, they be- ieved, was sent as punishment for | fatlure to kindle the “new” fire. So | after the old fires died two logs of slippery elm provided substance for re- kindling. Among the Zunis the new fire is| kindled once a year by a priest of the |bow who has been struck by lightning. | The Hopls observe an elaborate cere- | mony also, In Mexico the rekindling involved a national ceremony. People | sat in their houses in awe and fear lest the priests be unable to grind out |a spark. And so on, in Africa, Japan, Formosa and all over Europe and Asia, | there are peculiar new-firing ceremo- | nles. | *xox | THE human race inherits a deserving fear of lightning. In the Glacial Age lightning is thought to have been | more common than now and no doubt | | caused the ruin of many people, so | that some would not eat an animal |struck by a bolt from heaven. The | Omaha remarked that when lightning strikes, “the thunderbird has lit on the | tree.” They conceived lightning as feeding on green wood and leaving a worm in_the root. The Cherokees belleved that when tree lived after being struck by light- | iing, it became endowed with strange properties. An ordinary Indian must not touch it for fear of having cracks | | come upon hands and feet. In training ball players, the medicine man burnt splinters of it into coal and gave them to the players as paint, so that they might strike their opponents with the force of a thunderbolt. Among some Africans lightning is a | | cat which lives in the clouds and | comes to earth when it is hungry. | The Parsee regarded lightning as the {purest form of fire. The Circassians threw veneration over a tree struck by lightning. | Koreans used lightning-struck wood as sword hilts and charms against evil fire spirits. Because spirits took refuge uncer trees and were killed by lightning, Deogle were advised against | |leaving their hats on their heads dur- ing a storm. "Another belief was that bad air was purified by lightning. The Japanese saw lightning as a| fierce animal which tore trees with its claws. But the wood of a lightning- struck tree iIs exceptionally powerful in curing toothache. Seeing lightning assoclated with | clouds, thunder and rain, primitive peoples thought it was the rainmake The Santa Barbara Indians, California, owned a rain-making charm stone, ov | which they prayed for rain to put out | fires in the mountains. The Apaches | burnt large tracts of forest under the delusion the fire would bring rain. As_source material for myths, fire has been highly productive, All over |the world a similar fore-origin story has sprung up. Among the Greeks, Prometheus stole fire from the gods, | while the Utes say Coyote stole it from an_old woman. people found fire, Thunder seized it and kept it for himself under the care of a little bird. The people stole the fire! back by strategy. A mouse crept Into Thunder's lodge, poured fire down a flute, into Dog’s ear and on Deer’s hock. They raced back pursued by Thunder. | Beaver and Eagle had a sister who | wept because she had no fire. Her brothers trained four years and jour- One myth recounts that after the " cons and beacons for special occasions. | neyed to the people who possessed fire. Before telegraph communication, fire | They put on the skins of a beaver and thetical age of man was the fireless | unable to seize it, aithough there should age. Secondly, man adopted fire, |be one. Thirdly, man developed fire and him-; Near the lamp's beginning are many self. Fourthly, man invented the fire- | curious methods of giving light. stick. " Pifthly, man nnerits the earth. | = Tn tropical America, the people make e lower animals as well as men use of large fireflies. Cage n perfo- = s have an appreciation of warmth. In |rated lanterns, these insects are said to | the approach of storms. Ships. trains his_globe-trotting, Von Humboldt, the | throw a good light. Hunters use them | 40 RITPLARES have complicated light German philosopher, remarked ' that | by night. Fashionable ladies tie theSIBDAIS to safeguard their journeys. ] : = Ao | At some moment in antiquity, all fe- m:ngra‘t“h?n’{.‘“"l“x-‘mxll};:;{:g:l?d flies in small gauze bags and fasten rocious animals acquired dreadful fear them tc ball dresses. Th> Javanese i 1 vt of fire. The animal trainer walks con- Eskimos enjoy the camp fire. | poured wax over the inside of a box and‘ fidently into a cage with a lion if he Man’s closest association with domes- | stuck fireflies to it. i tic animals came from his desire to| Scotchmen, frugai and thrifty, caught : has a hot Poker SUhARG. “A EATD fite keep warm. When stoves were un- |the strong-winged petrel bird and found | ¥ill cause the hungriest beast to cringe dreamed-of contraptions, he made & |he was made of animal butter. Ergo, | {rom attack. parlor out of a stable. By bringing | they stuck a twisted wick into his| While Insects are attracted by light, the pig into his living room, he turned | throat, and the bird became a lamp | they may be repulsed by smoke. Many on the heat. The family dog was used | which’ lasted until its fat was con. | Primitive tribes make use of the smoke - > 8 ke smudge. The Chuckchi catry small to warm the baby's cradle. “One good, | sumed. Tat milch cow,. remarks Dr. Hougn, Indian salmon fishers on the west | heaters attached to their wrists like S el 1o & b o const discovered the fish lamp. After | Watches, and nurse the smoulder with <lgsdiroedy | pulling pisces out of the ocean, he was | tny bits of dry woods. ~ The Lapps stuck in the cleft of a split stick, A {make a smudge with tree fungi. The HEN fire was still difficult to make, | yick'in'the mouth sucked out his body | Creek Indians made fire under their people preserved it by carrying it | fais and gave illumination. ! beds to drive out troublesome flies. about. If a man lost his red coal, it| " 5o fast has one invention followed! The Chinese kill mosquitoes with a might mean that a whole tribe or na- | the other, that some children must]!2mp shaped like a pitcher, having an tion might have to do without heat. O |siop twice to thiok what a lamp. is | opening on one side. A draft sucks an _expedition might have to be sent 0 | Today, they are found only in attics and | the insects inside where they are con- 8 voleano and some daring hero risk | muscums. sumed by a fie. his life for a tongue of flame. | The Aleuts of Alaska devise s| In hunting large specles, man also Thus, In anclent Rome, the Vestal | out of beach wtour k8 gevised 1amps | ontists the fite demon. . In Spring, the Virgins' were committed to the sacred | pioneer fashioned lamp reservoirs out;Plains Indians were wont to fire the duty of preserving the national fire. |of turnips. Some Japaneso invented a : Prairie. Sresh grass springs up. Across Severe penalties fell upon the heads of | lamp out of a clam shell. Others used | the river, a buffalo herd eyes the green any who left their stations unattended. | saucers and pots. Abcut three cen-|food and starts to swim an ice-swollen The same custom seems to have arisen | turies B. C. the Romans added & short ' river. Some of the animals would be- in ancient Mexico. Legends say these | spout to the saucer lamp and placed a |.come marooned on ice cakes and make national fires never died for centuries. | cover on it. This was the first lamp | €asy prey for the hunters. In ° ways of preserving fire, man | reservoir. The Romans made many: For the Consumnes Tribe in Cali- showed his strange ingenuity. Theterra cotta lamps, each giving the light | fornia, the annual grasshonoer hunt Cherokee Indians buried fire the | of about one candle. For special occa- ;| Was an important event. ith a ring ground and kept it indefinitely. Usu- sions. perfume was added to the oil. of fire, they drew a tightening net ally, the burning object was tindery' ~As the Roman Empirs crumbled, the about animals in a forest. When Jog: the customary burial place Was lamparas fell to the dust and 'were|brought within narrow confines, the under the council house. The Natchez buried in the rubbish. The Dark Ages!men and boys would kill the rabbits end Oreek Indians also used the fire | were so dark that people almost forgot ' and other furry creatures, while the cazhe. | about lamps and almost returned to the | squaws would find the grasshoppers un- Fire is carried on expeditions by |age of torches. able to fly with singed wings. The in- natives of the Matabut Islands, New In 1784, Argand, & Swiss engineer, |sccts would be gathered infto a large Guinea. They press the fibrous ripe | gave the lamp its reel dignity. He took ' basket thrown over the back. the smoking lamp and gave it oll pres- 1o Afghanistap the hypters carry i signals were sent at night. Early re- searches in the speed of light were made with the flash of lanterns from i distant hills. To this day, the Weather | Bureau uses lanterns for warning of in .husk into a coconut shell and place | eagle. Then Beaver tunneled below I'the fire house. He was shot, but | escaped out of his skin and carried off | the flame. | ‘The Lillcoet Indians relate a myth | i that tells of how Sea Gull owned day- | S | light and guarded it in & box. Raven | | induced him to open the box and Day- | | light escaped. Espying smoke to the | | south, Raven paddled to the house of | | fire people where he stole a baby. He traded the baby back for fire. Upon ‘Xenrnmg how to make fire out of dry | ! cottonwood roots, Raven sold fire to| | many families. Based on the belief that fire is divisible, -primitive folks frequently | ! spoke of fire gifts or fire loans. 'Thus ! grew the Hopi Indian custom of ask- {ing, “May I borrow a light?” or “May ! I have some of your fire?” It seemed {fire was the property of a particular jclass and could be lent out like any | household utensil. The formality of | borrowing fire was a ticklish negotia- | tion, and its theft was punishable by | | death, wl\ ONTAIGNE remarks on the custom | of borrowing fire with this | sentence: | “Wee may verie well be compared | iunto him, who having need of fire, | should goe fetch some at his neighbor’s ! chimney, where finding a good fire should stay there to warm himself, for- | getting to carry some home.” Among the American colonists, fire | borrowing Was customary, and an ap- propriate parable was persisted to this day when one arrives at some place in ! a great hurry. The Pennsylvanians ask: "'Dm you come for fire?” * K kW The process of cremation has per- sisted through many centuries. Em- braced by some people on account of its sanitary aspects and by others be- 'cnuse it hastened the departure of the 'dud into the spirit world; or crema- Radio to Give Census Reports Industrial and Social Progress to Be Shown When Federal Enumerators Report on Work. World Agricultural Canvass to Be Practically Simultaneous, With Joint Results Never Previously Achieved —50.000.000 Americans to Answer Queries. NERAL VIEW OF THE TABULATING THE NES IN THE BU ATIZENRY A BY C. MORAN. AME. please? Age? Occu- pation? How many in fam- 1ly? Their names? S More than 50,000,000 pe sons in the United States will soon be asked these and 24 other questions in connection with the fif. teenth decennial _population _census. preparations for which are now being made by the Census Bureau. of 100,000 house-to-house enumerators will be required to take the census, the results of which are expect- ed to show a population in excess of 120,000,000 persons. A world agricultural census, in which approximately 98 per cent of the agri- culture of the world will be represented will be taken practically stmultaneousiy by the International Institute of Agri- culture at Rome, under the direction of Leon M. Estabrook, former chairman of the United States Crop Reporting Board. The American population cen- ({8 An army isus and the world agricultural census REAU OF C NSUS. THE MACHINES A RATE OF 1000000 A DAY. RECORD FACTS CONCERNING | ppointed by the President and con- firmed by the Senate, each supervisor ing enumerators in his distriet. while the scope ensus had been expanded, especially following the Civil War, to produce a more com- prehensive picture of the vast industrial progress of the time. The earlier cen- uses dealt :with a mere counting of noses of each sex and the number of persons within each of certain broad age groupings. but by 1820 a limited cards a day. The original records will then be filed for future reference, ana tabulation of the census will proceed from the punch cards. These cards contain simply a number of holes, each hole in & position that gives some im- portant information. ds will be verified by means cal machines which auto- matically reject cards improperly or inconsistently punched. ‘Following this operation the cards will be sorted by ' give the number and size of farms in all countries, the area and production of important crops, and the number of each kind of live stock by age and sex classifications. In the Northern Hemisphere the census will be taken after the crops or 29 are harvested, probably in the early months of 1930. In the Southern Hemisphere, where seasens are reversed, the census will cover crop produc- tion of the year beginning July 1, 1929, pi number of industrial and occupational was included. By 1840 six schedules were in_use, reporis ants, slave inhabitants, mortality, agricultural production, industrial duction and soclal statistics. As late as 1836 1o regisier of births was kept in the city of New York, although the metropolis was already becoming an in- dustrial and shipping center of world importance. Tallying machines to calculate the Federal census data more rapidly came into use in 1870, and & Government ma- an electrical machine into main groups, and ending June 30, 1930, probably in as, for example, by sex, color or nativ- ity. several diffexr quired to bring together all cards wi holes in identical positions. This sort. ing_will be done at the rate of 300 cards a minute in each machine, or approximately 75,000 cards a day. Next the cards will be placed In clectrical tabulating machines, which ansfer the information to prinieq sheets, and which automatically add totals. These various sheets later will be turned over to a corps of stails- ticlans to calculate final totals. Then A GROUP OF MIMEOGRAPH OPERATORS WHO WILL BROADCAST THE CENSUS RESULTS. combined will constitute the largest sta- tistical enumeration made in world af- fairs, and will reflect statistically the profound changes which have occurred in social and economic affairs since the close of the World War. ‘The last decennial population census in the United States, taken in 1920, was completed in approximately two years. Since then, the refinement of machine methods of tabulating the returus of the field enumerators gives promise of com- pleting the 1930 census in less than two years. ‘The ultimate aim is ts te the work the same year the ¢ taken, which, in the case of the 1930 enumera tion, would be within nine.months after the work is begun on April 1. The In- ternational Institute expects to publish the results of the world agricultural cen- sus in 1931 or early in 1932, Although population censuses have been taken decennially In the United States siice 1790, the Census Bureau as such has participated in only two censuses to date, having been organ ized in 1902. The first census, in 1790, was taken by United States marshals. who made their returns to the President Each marshal employed as many as sistants as he deemed necessary. Th comple | H | | lem was continued until 1870, when | shals were displaced by super tlon was to remove the home of a dead man's spirit, or to destroy his ghost with the vigor of fire. Modern cremation persists mainly on its sani- tary qualities, but the legends of many centuries enter into the practice. Ernest Haeckel writes of an unusual cremation ceremony on the Island of Ceylon, where only priests may sharc the honor of being consumed by fire. He remarks: “ . . . the funeral pyre waserected near the principal temple. After the body had been carried amid solemn chanting through the village, a band of young Buddha priests hoisted it to the top of the pyre, which was about 30 feet high. The four corners were supported by cocoa. between hich was stretched & large white canopy. After dirges, prayers and ceremontes, the pyre whs lighted amidst & deafening roar of tom-toms. Several thousand people watched the flam with expectant interest, and when fire seized and devoured the white canopy. a loud jubilant cry rose from eve throat—the priest's soul had started its flight for heaven. Now they in- augurated more cheerful ceremoni Rice, cakes and palm wine were dis- tributed freely, and a merry carousal was kept up around the flaming pyre for most of the night. When Nimrod cast Abraham into the fire for reproving idolatry, Abraham came through the flames unhurt. Like- wise, Zoroaster was thrown on top of A flaming pyre of wood, naphtha and tion turnedl the spirit into incense and 80 made easy an ascent to heaven. Another important feason for crema- sulphur, yet “the devouring flames be- came as ‘water, in the midst of which slumbered the pearl of Zoroaster.” chine shop was established in Wash- ington, \where experiments were made to improve machine methods. In 1890 an electrical system of tabulation was used for the first time in compiling pop- ulatton statistics, as well as those of mortality, crime, pauperism and benev- olence. The machine shop was contin- ued by the Census Bureau for the pur- pose of keeping tabulating apparatus in repair. This shop now employs 19 mechanical engineers, | information con- LI | ™ schedules of the E population tained on the field enumerators for the 1930 census will be transferred to punch cards by means of special machines which en- able each operator to handle 2,000 ' LEON M. ESTABROOK, DIREC SUS. HE W CROP"AEPORTING BOARD, | "T'HE T, 'OR OF THE WORLD FORMERLY CHAIRMAN OF IHE the information will be mimeographed and broadcast over the land. Tentative plans are being made by Census Bureau ofiicials to arrange a Nation-wide radio hook-up for broad- casting the census results, in additi to the usual newspaper releases, thus for the first time putting the popula- tion on the air, P participation of the United tates in the world agricultura census will include farm acreage, value and tenure of each farm: the number and value of domestic animals, the quantity and value of live stock prod- ucts and the average yield and value of_craps The world agricultural census will AGRICULTURAL UNITED STATES < t sortings being re- | the early months of the Winter there. Discussing the scope of the world census, Mr. Estabrook said: “The purpose of a world agricultural and live stock census is to obtain more complete and comparable data regard- ing agriculture throughout the world, something that has never been done before and the need for which has been felt, especially since the war, by all statisi ns &nd economists. The preliminary work of organization of such a census was made possible by n allotment of funds from the Inter- national Education Board. a small allot- ment of funds, office space and clerical service by the instiiute at Rome, and the loan of a specialist the United States Department of Agriculture with a contribution to his expenses. “Of the 200 countries listed by the institute, only 60 have ever taken an agricultural census, and of these less than 40 have taken a census since 1900; of these 40 not more than 3 or by mere chance happened to take their i censuses in the same year. ‘The preliminary work of the world agricuitural census began in 1925 with a study of all agricultural censuses that have been taken since 1900. A program and relattviy simple standara form of census questionnaire were pre- pared and approved by the General As- sembly of the institute early in 1926, and copies were sent to all governments of the world, with a request for their peration.” r. Estabroock immediately began to it the capitals of #s many countries as could be reached before 1930, with a view to interviewing ministers of agriculture, directors of statistieal bureaus and other responsible officials, in order to explain the details and methods of the proposed census and win their co-operation and good will. During 1926 he visited all countries of Europe, and in the Winter of 1926-27 visited the northern countries of Africa, Palestine and Syria. In 1927 he visited Canada, United States, the principal islands of the West Indies, Panama, Hawaii, Japan, Formosa, Korea, North and South China, Indo-China, the Philippines, Borneo, Australia and New Zealand. In 1928 he visited the Celebes, the | Federated Malay States, Siam, Burma, India, Arabia, French Somaliland, Abyssinia, Zanzibar, Madagascar, Mo- zambique, Union of South Africa, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Peru in time to return to Rome for th: meeting of the General Assembly earls in_October. In addition to the countries visited, arrangements were made through the colonial _offices of Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal. Italy and Bel- gium to take the initiative in bringing about a census in the colonial and mandate territories under their juris- diction. In all countries .visited the respon- sible officials took great interest in the proposed census and promised the ut- most co-operation possible. The result to date is that the countries visited and | the colonies and mandate territories coutrolled by them censtitute approxi- mately 90 per cent of the surface of the dobe, 95 per cent of its population and probably 98 per cent of its agri- culfure, 1 * ok K X |"I*HE committee on production at the | diplomatic conference on economic statistics of the League of Nations at | Geneva last Summer indorsed the in- ! stitute census project and recommended | “general censuses of agriculture, of & scope similar to that proposed by the | International Institute of Agriculture, to be taken if possible in respect of the | closing vear of each decade, that is, in { respect of 1930, 1940, 1950, and so on, or for years as near as possible to these | dates.” | ‘The Census Bureau has become ! known as Uncle Sam's statistical clear- ing house. In addition to population censuses, weekly reports on deaths in 50 | citfes are made. monthly reports on au- | tomobile fatalities on streets and high- ways of principal cities, annual reports on births and deaths, marriage and | divorce, and a volume of other social and economic data. Information on | industréal activities ranges from the monthly _production of boots and shoes to the volume of wogl stocks held by manufacturers and dealers. | “The original records of the population | censuses running back to 1790 are kept in the bureau archives and are a refer- | ence source for genealogists and law- | yers seeking to establish family lineage. | Thus by diligent search a family tree in America may be constructed back to | Revolution days. and a Government | certificate of authenticity obtained. The | possible loss of these valuable records | through fire in the flimsy temporary | building in which they are kept has ibeen the frequent subject of congres- ,sional debate, but a situation which . will soon be remedied by the extensive | building project of the Government. | The proposal now is for a thoroughly fireproof archives building where these and other Government records of his- | torical value may be preserved. There ! would be housed. in these archives, also, | a complete pictorial record in motien- picture film of the World War, both oo Jand and sea, taken by Army and Navy aces fiying over the scenes of batwe, -\