Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1869-12-20
TAXING THE CENSUS.

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In the national House of Representa-
,ives, week before last, there was a good
deal of work done on the bill to provide
for taking the ninth census. The COM
in charge Of it seem to be making
a strong effort to get it through before
the holidays, She soons q good bill is
passed the better it will be for the value
of the work to be done. Still, 1t is too
important a subject to be rushed through
in hot haste. In some respects the bill
now before the House 10 au improvement
on its predecessors. Instead Of dividing
the territory of the United States into
Marshals' districts, which were too
large, it proposes to take the Con-
gressional districts as the units OF terri
tory. Each Congressional district is 10
have a District Superintendent Of The
Census, acting under the direction Of
the General Superintendent, and the
ultimate supervision of tho Secretary
of the Interior. The districts are to be
subdivided into convenient parts, aud
each of these is to have an "enumsrator"
to take the census and collect the statis-
tics for his part, the whole Of his work
to be done within one month from the
LIST day of June next. This is q better
plan than the old one of turning the
census over to the United States Mar
shals, who frequently made a political
or monsy-making job out Of it, BY farm
ing the work out, and caring little for
accuracy or the fitness Of subordinats'.
The District Supsriutendsnts are to DO
paid So a day, limited to the time actu-
ally employed, not to exceed 60 days
after July LIST, 1870; and the enumsrstors
are to be paid 81 a day, limited to the
tims actually employed, not to exceed
10 days after the above date.
The schedules are seven in number,
viz lst, the population or family sche-
dule I'd, mortality statistics; Sd, agri-
cultural statistics ! 4th, manufacturing,
mechanical and miaing statistiesi 9th,
fisheries and she'll fish statistics; 9th,
mercantile or trading statistics, etc. flor
stores, commission houses, etc.,; It'll,
social statistics, embracing education,
libraries, churches, disease, crime, and
the statistics Of charitable, sanitary,
r~eforma,ory and penal institutions.
Besides the information called for in
these schedules, tho Superintendent Of
the Census is required to obtain a great
mass OF statistics from the railroads,
canals, the vessel owners in the coast.
wise trade, the owners of newspapers,
magazines aud periodicals., and from
the authorities Of States and municipal
corporations. This part Of the bill and
the specifications in tho schedules seem
to have been mado up hurriedly. 1t
may do some good to point out a few
e%xamplse. Among the items OF iniorma-
ton to be procured from the State and
municipal authorities is tho amount and
rate of taxation. This will be of but
little use unless the rate is accompanied
by the system ef assessment or valuation
Of property. Thus, in some places,
property is assessed at its full cash
value, in others but sevensy-6re or fifty
per cent, running down as low in some
cases a, twenty-five per cent. It varies
10 almost every separate locality. Thus
u high rate Of taxation may be levied on
q low rate of valuation, and rice versa :
n heavy rate Of taxation be q light bur-
don upon property, and a low rate be
very b%urdensome. II all depends on
the system or basis Of valuation, aud
this is not provided for in the bill.