The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-02-21


taken that every unnumbered house or dwelling had
fixed number put upon II before the schedules Were
sent out Every means was taken through the press
and by means of special publications 10 apprize the
people OF what was wanted and instructin2 them how
tn facilitate the work. The householders schedules
were delivered in person by the enunerators who
were to take them up. Every separate occupier re-
ceivcd schedule arranged so as to record the name
day. age. rank. profession or occupation, conJueai
relation. relation to the head Of the family and birth
place of every who abode III any house on tho
night of Sunday, I'd OF April: 1871. There
were special blanks for blind. deaf and
dumb, &c. There were 6,5Oo,OO0 OF these
schedules. weighing forty-one tons. In addition
to schedules and enumeration books there were
sent from the central Office 10 different printed
forms OF instructions and circulars The houseless
population enumerated by the police, the navy
by the admiralty. the merchant seansn by the Gus
toms bureau. and the army through the feid mar
shals office. The tenacity of the Welsh tongue was
shown by the return of II 1916 schedules filed out in
that language The exercised in taking this emu
meration may be inferred the fact that the emu
merators instructed to consider house ~ COM
prising all the space within the external and party
walls OF a building. whether occupied oy one or
several families they were also instructed to make
exact record OF each house and the number OF
schedules left. With the help Of the police they
were return all persons not that night dwelling
i'll houses, but sleeping In barns Sheds caravans OF
tents or in the open air Special schedules were
printed for the enumeration OF persons in public
institutions board vessels, or in charge OF boats
and barges employed in inland navigation. Persons
travelling during the night of Sunday, April 2, were
20 be included in the schedules of the hotel the
house which they arrived on the morning or Mon
day. Persons engaged III work away from nome
during the night of Sunday were to be included in
the schedule left at the house where they usually
resided The why unusual number of
persons were present absent at any given places
were to be reported. The expedition with which the
enormous mass of information was assorted and
compiled may be known from the fact that the alb
stract showing the population OF Great Britain was
laid before Parliament in print on the 10th OF june,
only eleven weeks from the day for collecting the
schedules.
The census of Ireland at the same time taken
by 1856 members OF the royal constabulary aided in
cities by the local police In Scotland there were
1916 local registrars and s.342 enumerators. The
cost of this imperial census was. in England,
IS SIS. 7Ad. for each 1000 of populations in Scot
land, Is Is. 4d.; in ireland. Ct Is. I'd.
THE CENSUS THE UNITED STATES.
Census work began with us with the beginning of
this government. In order to secure proper APP
portfonlnent Of representatives in the lower house
of Congress a census is taken every tenth year. At
first it nothing more than enumeration of the
people, classifying slave and free Additions and
improvements were made until the schedules Of
1870 comprised questions as to name age. SEX color
conjuga condition place OF birth and place OF birth
of father and mother. To these were added particu
lars to schools, libraries, newspapers churches.
disease and mortality pauperism and crime school,
military and citizenship ages areas OF farms fami-
lies and dwellings; the blind. deaf and dumb insane
and dotic occupations of the people, wealth, taxa
ton and public indebtedness and the amount and
value Of the products of agriculture and msnufac-
lures. The questions were certainly comprehensive
enough. but the mode of taking the slow.
cumbrous and unsatisfactory. 1t was two years and
six months after the beginning Of the work when the
compilation known as the Compendium was sent
t. Congress. In the Introduction to this compend-
jun General Walker, superintendent of the ninth
census. says:-'rhere Is no reason however, why,
with such notifications of existing would in
that the material should come originally to the
Census Once in proper shape tor tabulaton. the
tire compilation should not be concluded within
year from the date OF the first receipt of re-
turns Il is not possible for who has
had such painful occasion as the present super
intendent observe the workings of the law
antiuuated and barbarous. The machinery 1t pro-
vides is unfit for in the census OF the United
States in this day Of advanced statistical science as
the smooth bore muzzle loading Queens arm OF the
Revolution would be for service against the repeating
rife Of present time 1t ought not to be possible
that another census should be taken this law;
such thing ought not to be seriously proposed
The country has suffered more than enough already
discredit and of loss account OF the wretched
iusuciency and inappropriateness Of tho provisions
Of this i'll constructed and outgrown statute"
1t is to be hoped and presumed that the present
Congress will heed to the facts SO sharply stated
and provide remedies. The true way however. is to
follow as nearly circumstances will permit the
English plan Of distributing the schedules few days
before Census Day., and take them up on that one
day as far as possible
The present system Of sending man around with
q huge book to ask the necessary questions and
write down each is too slow for the age. Let
the people have the schedules, and then in most
the right person would cheerfully I'LL them out
with the exact facts. As 1t Is, the census taker
comes upon them unawares and is often suspected
nation that, If the understood. would be
cheerfuly given is withheld or falsied to the great
damage of the work. Some OF the New York State
census takers in 1865 We're suspected Of being en-
rollers for q draft, and not only denied nfor-
nation, but in several instances roughly used.
The tact that the population OF England and Wales
was taken and compiled in eleven weeks, while our
compilation took 125 weeks, Is argument enough
against our system, even il 1t should not favor
the English plan. The cost of the of 1870
nearly So. 500, 900; there only sixtyone mar
shals and 6,572 assistants or enumerators-only
about one-ffth as many as were employed in Eng
land alone. In England the enumerators were one
to less than hundred Of the population; in the
lation.
WHAT THE COMING CENSUS?
In 1850 Mr.. Joseph G. @. Kennedy, who superin-
tended the census Of that decade, ventured to
prophecy our future population, basing his esti-
mates upon the progress already achieved or course
dreamed of. lie reckoned that in 1870 we should
have population OF A.. 32S 432 and in 1880 it would
rise to o. 450241 His estimates high, but with
out the war We should probably have come well
through battle and diseases consequent upon MILF
tary service more than million Of men; and
these men in the prime OF Hfe-just the period
for natural increase of families. Three times as
many. who did not lose their lives, away from
their homes one two three years. and this. too,
loss by suspended immigration and who can doubt
that without these drawbacks we should have
counted AZ. 900 000 in 1870?
But what OF the census for 1880? Since 1870 more
all in 1875; have actual facts. tar as those
States furnish them for half the decade. These
States and the results of their actual enumeration
here given:-
ENuMERAIIoNs SINCE 1870, WITH ESTIMATED PoPULA-
TON 1850.
Per Cent Probable
Population, Increase in Population.
States. 1875. Flee Years. 1880.