Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-11-20
The Census Of Next Year.

nounce the Supervisors districts TO
the purpose of the census of 1880. Thr
United States will be divided into abou
150 districts, each of which will be di
Vided by the Supervisors in charge o
it into appropriate enumeration dis
tricts, subject to the approval of thu
Department at Washington, and fl
persons will be CHOSEN for enumerators
, The Supervisors themselves cannot bt
appointed before the assembling O.
Congress in December, as the nomina
tiozs have to be regularly confirmed by
the Senate. AS the new census is ex
pected to change materially the repre-
sentation in Congress, giving a larger
portion of members to the West, which
has grown in population during the
past decade; and as the statistics to be
obtained for the first time under the
present scheme will be an important
factor in deciding such questions as the
fisheries dispute with Canada, the
methods employed and the results an.
ticipated are matters of much interest
to the public.
General Francis A. Walker, the Su-
perintendent of the Census, recently
gave Tribune reporter an account Of
the arrangements he has, made for TAX
ing the census. He said: "We expect
to complete the work within the single
month of June, 1880, and shall employ
about 10000 persons to do it. There
will be two distinct departments Of the
census: First, the enumeration proper
which includes the count of the pOpula-
ton, with the ordinary social and vital
statistics. Originally the census was
only for the purpose of determining
political representation, and each
household was reported as a unit, with
its members roughly classified, not
- even names and ages being taken; but
, the law of 1850 gave wider scope to the
work, and called for the name, age,
sex, color, place of birth, occupation,
ability to read and write, and so forth,
of each person. These constitute the
main labor of the census, and its most
valuable results. In other countries,
where popular representation is not in
volved, these form the only purpose of
census. This was the first country to
institute periodical census, beginning
in 1890; England followed in 1901"
els it not unusual to do this work in
so short time as one month";"
eyes. And in the large cities it will
be done in two weeks, thus reducing
the errors arising from omission or du-
plication. Heretofore, while the emu
meration has had reference to single
day, namely, the 1st of June OF every
tenth year, it has been extended over
period of five months or longer. The
consequence has been that, through
their moving about, many persons have
been counted twice, while others have
not been counted at all. The annual
migrations during the last twenty years,
from North to South and from East to
West, have been source of considers
BILE error. So also has the habit of
going into the country in the summer.
Places that in December contain two or
three hundred inhabitants, may in Au-
gust have many thousands. But, at
best, it is next to impossible entirely to
avoid duplication. The place where a
man belongs is one of the most difficult
items the enumerators have to deal
with. The census machinery is not
fitted to do work requiring nice dis
elimination. Where the work is spread
over SO long a time as five months, the
most complete arrangements would fail
to prevent error, when so many oppor-
tunities are offered by the rapidly in
creasing summer migration. In the
summer people leave the South by hun
dreds az thousands, while cities all over
the country are at this season very in
adequately represented. The increase
in age between June 1 and the time the
enumerator comes around, is theoretl-
cally unimportant, as none are taken
who are born after the 1st; but the law
of 1870 required the date of birth to be
taken. and eliminated even that error,
which in the aggregate amounted to
MANY thousands, and constituted dis
tinct blemish, in making comparisons
with other censuses erroneous. The
rapid count also eliminates error from
deaths as well as births after the day
from which the census dates
"On what plan are the enumerating
districts determinedg"
"That is another distinctive feature
of Importance in the present census.
These districts are to be formed by the
Department of the Interior, with refer
ence to the exigencies Of the enumera-
ton. In 1850 the districts were the
same as the Judicial Districts, which
had no reference to facility for count
inc the population. For instance, in
1870. one district contained 5000 in
habitants, and another $4,000 Now,
also, for the first time, the supervising
officers are to be selected with special
reference to their fitness for the work.
Formerly the United States Ma-shals
performed that duty, although appoint
ed for altogether different purposes.
"Are the Supervisors to be paid as
expertsg"
6 They are to receive $500 each, in
full for services and expenses. Allow
ance for clerk hire may be made at the
discretion of the Department atWash-
ington."
=" What will the enumeratOrs re-
ceiveP'
+" Their compensation will be fixed
bv the Department according to cir
cylmstanoes. In 1850 it was sought to
e.