Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1869-11-24
The Next CenSuS,

lut Next Ce0SuSs
Next year, 1870, will mark another de-
cennial period in our national history,
and sometime during next summer the
remuneration Of the people will be taken,
and a large and varied amount of valua-
BILE statistics showing the social and
material condition of the United States,
will be gathered. Quite recently, our
representative in Congress. General
GARFIELD, read \ paper before the
American Social Science Association, in
New York, prepared by him, and en-
bOdying the results of his close study of
the subject. given in his charge, as chair
man of the Census Committee, by the
House. He takes strong ground in OPP
position to the old method of taking
the census by question and answer, and
favors the system of plainly printed
schedules, 10 be left with each household,
and collected by the census takers, whose
duty it is to see that they are properly
and in~telligently filed. General GAR
FIELDS remarks on this head are Of gen
eral interest:
"To remedy these defects of method.
the law should be so amended that the
work shall be supervised, and the emu
meration made by persons chosen for
their special fitness for such work, and in
no way connected with the national con-
stabulary, OF with the assessment or col
lection Of taxes.
THE districts should be much smaller
than they now are-sOs small that one man
may intelligently arrange the work. des-
ignate census takers, of whose qualifica-
tons and fitness he may easily lave full
knowledge, and personally supervise
and verify all the work within the juris-
diction.
1.-The Congressional District seems to
be the most convenient ant appropriate
unit of classification for the State; and
each Territory may properly, as under
the present law, constitute a district.
Separate schedules, at least for the
household, the farm, and the manufac-
turing and commercial establishments,
should be distributed a month or a fort
night before the day to which the emu
meratiOn relates, SO that the people may
be familiarized with the inquiries made,
and that, so far as possible, without the
aid of the II taker, the blanks may
be filed UP. This will insure greater
correctness, and will greatly reduce the
time required for the enumeration. BY
the use of these schedules, and an organi-
cation such as has been suggested, it is
believed that the enumeration may actu-
ally be completed in one month from the
lSt of June. 1t should be puEinto the
law, and into the official oath of all Off
GERS and employees of the Bureau, that
the returns are confidential; that the
business Of no citizen shall be made pub
lie; that the returns of money values
shall not III any way be made the basis
of taxation, nor be used as evidence in
the Courts.
THE provisions of the law should be
printed on the schedule; and the Presi-
dent should be required to issue his
proclamation, calling upon all the people
to aid in making the returns as full and
accurate as possible.
"a sufficient clerical force should be
employed at Washington to tabulate,
condense and arrange the whole for pub
LEGATION in n year, or at the furtheSt
two years, after the returns are made"
1.-THE work Of taking the census should
no longer be committed to the charge of
the United States Marshals.
These officers belong to the Judicial
Department Of the Government are not
chosen with a view to their fitness for
census taking, or any statistical inquiry;
and, whether so qualified or not, the
greatly increased duties devolved upon
them, by the revenue laws and other leg
islation, since the last ensus was taken,
make it more difficult now b ever be-
fore for them to dothis work
and do it well and in the popular mind
they are so associated with arrests and
seizures, that their census visits will ere
ate uneasiness and suspicious"
at has been strongly urged that the
enumeration should be made in a single
day, and the example of England is cited
to show that it is practicable. The enqui-
ries made in the British census are very
few in number, and almost exclusively
confined to facts Of population. Gen
eral statistics are not provided for i'll
their ensus
again, the small extent of territory
to be traversed, and the density of popu-
latiOn make it possible to carry out a
plan there that would provo a disastrous
failure here with oar vast areas and
sparse population. The censuS is Il on
ly instrument of general statistics, and
must be more elaborate than that Of 9TH
er countries having permanent statistic
bureaus; and as our enumeration is not
ofthe actual but of the legal population, a
larger time, say one month, can be safely
allowed
There is a highly interesting table Of
civil disabilities given. 1t is derived
from a careful examination of the latest
constitutional provisions ofall the States:
Exclusion from the privilege of vo-
ting otherwise than on account of rebel
lion or other crime may be stated in nine
general classes, as follows:
States:
:. On account OF residence on lands Ofthe
United
On account OF residence less than re-
quired in United States.-------..2
On account Of residence I'm State. less