New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-05-07
VOLUNTEER CENSUS TAKERS.

The Democrats having succeeded tc
some extent in interfering with the Re
turning Board now propose to institute
parallel census bureau, with the view,
no doubt, to produce series of statistics
as the basis for future political wrangles
and possible compromise or adjustment
by which few more of the hungry tribe
will be safely moored into comfortable
berths at the public expense. We have
had for the past four or five months what
are known as the election returns as found
by the Returning Board, and the .'true
returns" as found by ''the people, as
two or three score of ward politicians
throughout the State call themselves.
The next thing in this line will be dual
census returns. The State Registrar and
MS assistants are slowly collecting the
facts for legal count of the population,
while the Democratic parish committee
have taken some steps to send detectives
around with instructions to find a differ
ent result.
How thM is to be done does not clearly
appear. Nor have we heard where the
money is to come from to defray the ex-
penses. The merchants resolutely refuse
to be bled any further for the purpose of
keeping up political irritation and buying
good positions for persons who have
nothing but cheek in the way of qualifca-
lions. We are not so deep in the secrets
of the Democratic parish committee as to
know wherein they expect the ''true re-
turns" to differ from the official count,
which is equivalent to an admission that
we do not know which column of the |
census blanks is to be attacked. Whether |
the Democracy is acting in the interest of
those who have constitutional antipathy |
for disclosing their ages, or whether there
is to be another tussle on the color line |
is matter of equal doubt and importance.
1t may after all be but harmless piece of |
on the part of the Demo-
cratic committee, acquired by long habit
If meddling in the affairs of others at the
expense of their own. But we suspect
hey mean to attempt to make a case
which will come up next winter.
The best way to head off any scheme of
is for the State Registrar and
lis assistants to take extraordinary care
L the discharge of their duties. They
hould not depend too much upon re-
Giving correct answers on their blanks
rom heads of households. They should
o to every house and patiently and dill
emily elicit all the necessary information
Or the purposes of the law. A gentle
lanly exterior and an intelligent head
ombined with industry and determina- +
ION to discharge very simple duty Will ,
/ nearly every case prove sufficient. i
Numbers is the basis and the only basis q
f political power in this State. It is to a
ome extent the interest of every person c
! a ward to have all the available I
rength brought out. No one, anywhere, /.
neither Democrat, Republican or neither,
|
ct which a fair count of the people
ould bring out. We have confidence in :,
e interest if not the ability of our census D
hcers to discharge their duties properly.
heir findings will, as sworn testimony,
} entitled to more weight than the I'M ST
icial compilations of partisans sent out o
: the Democratic committee, for the h
lrpose, undoubtedly, of confirming an as
med condition of affairs. If our citi IF
rs will render all the assistance and II Il
ord all the information required by the
nsus officers, they will have earned an
emption from further annoyance on the
bject, and may without being subject to ct
e imputation Of churlishness, politely G
ow the satellites of the Democratic COM
ttee the door in case they shall call