The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-16
THE NEXT CENSUS.

T's National House of Representatives is
busily engaged in the discussion of the new
Census bill AS il entrusts the duty of
making the enumeration to new class of
officials, and contemplates new method of
obtaining information from the public,
great diversity of opinion exists in regard to
some Of its provisions, and it is matter of
doubt whether Congress will not, after all,
be compelled to fall back, substantially, upon
tho old plan. AS questions of patronage and
thefuture distribution of political power are
involved in the controversy, the subject ex-
cites the deepest attention of the members,
and they are all on the alert to promote their
real or supposed interests as well as the
national welfare. In former years the census
was taken by Deputy Marshsls,
appointed by the Marshals of
tho United States Courts, and under
select all the subordinate agents for the East
ern district of Pennsylvania. But the new
bill provides that a district superintendent
shall be appointed in each Congressional dis
trict, and these superintendents are to ap-
point sufficient number of enumerato ors to
complete the allotted work within one month,
from the LIST of June to the 1st of July, 1870;
and as the Congressman of each Republican
district will have in most instances direct
voice in the appointment of the superin-
tendents, they will have better chance of
serving their friends under the new system
than the old. A few days ago General Butler
moved to amend this feature by imposing the
whole duty of making enumerations upon the
Assessors of Internal Revenue, but his
amendment was rejected on the ground that
the people would be more apt to withhold
information respecting business affairs
from such officials than from
others who had no connection
with the internal revenue system. Judge
Kelley was more fortunate in securing
change in one of the provisions of the bill
which might have affected injuriously the
interests of few of the politicians of this
city. As originally reported, it authorized
the Secretary of the Interior to appoint but
one superintendent in large cities if he
thought the efficiency of the service would
be promoted instead of one for each of the
Congressional districts of such cities, but on
motion of the Representative of the Fourth
district. this section was stricken out.
One of the inevitable results of the appor-
tionment which will be based on the new
census is great increase of the Congressional
representation of the Western States, and
corresponding decrease in the relative infu-
ence Of the Atlantic seaboard. In the natural
order of events this change will not be Off
cially perfected before the elections of 1872,
but the Western m sn bers are so anxious to
hasten the recognition of their increased
power, that they yesterday sustained an
amendment offered by Mr.. Bingham, of Ohio,
which provided that the census should be
taken before the 1st of September of the pre-
sent year, and this proposition was only de-
feated by majority of 7, the vote standing
yeas, 60, to nays, 76.
II is matter of great Importance that the
census should be accurate; that the statistics
should embrace full statement of every
element of natural wealth as we'll as popula-
tion; and that the returns should be rapidly
prepared for publication. Every intelligent
citizen will be anxious to learn how far the
progress of the nation has been affected by
the war, and what is the true relation between
its resources and the national debt. There
are also hundreds of incidental ques-
tions of no small Importance, con-
nected with education, health, religion,
crime, manufactures, mines, commerce, agri-
culture, and many other subjects upon which
much Light could be thrown by census re-
port. Heretofore, in spite of the large cleri-
cal force employed by the Government, there
has been great delay in printing some of the
statistics, and some of the most valuable in
formation has been presented in such con-
fused state that its practical value was almost
totally destroyed. While Congress is in a
reformstory mood, it should guard against
q repetition of these evils.