THE WAR CENSUS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2604, 28 October 1915, Page 3

THE WAR CENSUS

MORE ABOUT THE QUESTIONS AND HOW TO ANSWER The work of taking the National Register has now been fairly begun, and already the Government Statistician has received, packages of completed schedules from as . far away, as G'h'ristohurch. He has received/ ' however, only some 2000 in all. In the course of the next day or two he expects to receive many thousands more, and by the beginning of next week a. staff of thirty or forty officers will be ongaged in the examination and classification of the cards. Mr. Fraser said yesterday that the questions were being answered, fairly satisfactorily,\but- some few had volunteered information for which they were not asked, others had omitted to supply information, chiefly about dependants, and a small number had given allegedly "funny" answers. A frequent omission made in filling in tho .card is for the signatory to leave blank tho space for the name of the town or county in .which he resides. . Fortunately this omission is not serious, because the space can usually be filled in by a clerk from the address given in another part of the card. • Some men have given too wide a meaning to the term "physical infirmity," and when asked to state whether they are suffering from any physical defect have filled in such entries as ■ "varicose veins." The question bearing on this, point is meant only to refer to blindness; deafness, lameness, loss of a limb, or some-: thing of this sort, because, obviously, men so afflicted must be classified as unfit. Those, who liavo such defects as varicose veins merely will be classified as fb. Another mistake that has been made is that men above the age of 45 years have answered the questions addressed .to >men of military age. Still other men who have expressed their willingness to serve as soldiers ' have also answered the questions about civilian service. These latter questions •are intended only for those men who for reasons can not volunteer for active service. ■ ■ ■ ■

No .individual register is to be compiled ;from these cards, so that no useful object can be served by a mail -giving information about his own case for which lie is not asked. The information supplied will be used only for the compilation of statistics. In all there will be. 21 classes into which men will be divided according to age, nationality, capacity to serve,' and .willingness to serve. . .It is understood that fit men of military age willing to serve will be divided into five classes: Unmarried men without dependants, unmarried men with dependants, widowers with dependants, married men with a wife living, but no other dependants, married mon with wife and . other dependants. '