Replacing Austin: A Study of Leadership Change at the U.S. Census Bureau

• Activity Number: 157
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 1, 2011 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Government Statistics
• Author(s): William Seltzer*+
• Companies: Fordham University
• Keywords: Census history ; confidentiality ; ethics ; patronage ; sampling ; statistical administration

Abstract

Shortly after his first inauguration in 1933 President Roosevelt nominated William Austin to be Director of the Census Bureau. Austin, a Mississippi Democrat, was then an old Census hand having been first appointed to the Bureau in 1900. During the run up to the 1940 Population Census Austin evidently lost the confidence of the President due to his opposition to efforts by the FBI and the military intelligence agencies to gain access to confidential census information and to Austin's unwillingness to follow political guidance on patronage appointments. The patronage issue was particularly sensitive as the President grappled for control of the Democratic Party in anticipation of the 1940 elections. After Roosevelt won his third term, Austin was forced out as Director. His replacement was JC Capt a New Deal political functionary from Texas characterized in one internal memorandum as having "no professional background or standing in his profession." The paper describes these events in detail, discusses their possible impact on subsequent Bureau actions, and considers their relevance to the current legislative effort to reform of the appointment process of the Census Bureau Director.