The Butcher Who Wouldn't Count His Cows
A census enumerator demanded Louis Kirchan report exactly how many animals his packing house slaughtered each year. Kirchan said no such records existed. The federal government arrested him.
United States Deputy Marshal Baker, of Spokane, accompanied by A. M. Storch, supervisor of the census for this district, were in town last Friday and caused the arrest of Louis Kirchan, proprietor of the Central Market, for alleged refusal to answer questions propounded to him by Enumerator V. P. Brown.
Brown alleges that Kirchan, who operates a packing house business, refused to answer questions as required by the census schedule concerning the amount of business done annually by his institution. Mr. Kirchan claims that it is impossible for him to give exact answers to these questions, as accurate records of the number of animals slaughtered are not kept. On this point Kirchan and the enumerator split, with the result noted above.
Mr. Kirchan was taken before Justice Lone, where through his attorney, A. S. Sherlock, he secured a continuance until June 2, being released on bond in the sum of $300.
“Mr. Kirchan claims that it is impossible for him to give exact answers to these questions, as accurate records of the number of animals slaughtered are not kept.”
A small-town butcher was hauled before a federal marshal for failing to produce records he said he never kept — a census dispute that feels like a preview of every modern fight over regulatory paperwork and small-business compliance. The Central Market's packing house is long gone, but the question of what the government can compel a proprietor to count remains live.
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