Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-11-28

{ estimates that in five wears from 50, the
seed of amber sorghum will be 81 widely
distributed and cultivated thatthe iport'
of sugar to the United States WI b,
, lessened many millions of dollars
; Next Years Census.
+ GENERAL WALKER GIVES SOME ISTT;E STING
INFORMATION ABOUT II.
From the New York Times
= 1t is expected that, within few days,
= the Secretary of the Interior viii an
nounce the supervisors districts t"r the
purposes of the census of 1850 lhe
) United States will he divided INTO rhOut
80 districts, each of which will be dIvld-
ed by the supervisor in charge of 1t INTO
appropriate enumeration districts, sub
ject to the approval of the Department at
Washington, and fit persons VIII be
chosen for enumcraturs. The supervl-
sors themselves cannot be appointed be-
fore the assembling of Congress IN De
cember, as the nominations have to be
regularly confirmed by the Senate. As
the new census is expected to change
materially the representation i'll Congress.
giving a larger proportion of members to
the West. which has grown i'll population
during the past decade andas the statis-
ties to he obtained for the first time un-
der the present scheme will he an import
ant factor in deciding such questions as
the fisheries dispute with Canada, the
methods employed and the results antici-
pated are matters of much interest to the
public.
General Francis A. Walker, the Super
| intendent of the census, gave an account
of the arrangements he has made for tax
ing the census. He said I'VE expect
to complete the work within the single
month of June. 1880 and shall employ
about %. 900 persons to don't. There will
/ be two distinct departments of the cen
sus First, the enumeration proper,
(which includes the count of the popula-
81 on, with the ordinary social and vital
ftatistics. Originally the census was only
or the purpose of determining political
representation, and each household was
reported as unit, with its members
roughly classified not even names and
ages being taken but the law of 1850
gave a wide scope to the work, and called
for the name, age, sex, color, place of
birth, occupation, ability 10 read and
write and 50 forth, of each person. These
constitute the main labor of the census,
and its most valuable results. In other
countries. where population representa-
ton is no; involved, these form the only
purpose of Il census. This was the first
country TO institute a periodical census
beginning in 1880 ; England following III
1901"
lis ii not unusual to do this work i'll So
short Il time as one month 2
YES And in the large cities it will h.
done i'll two weeks, thus reducing the
errors arising from omission or duplica-
ton Heretofore. while the enumeration
has had reference to Il single day, namely,
the lst Of June Of every tenth year. it
has been extended over a period Of five
months 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 wears. from North to South and
from East to West, have been II source of
considerable error. So also has the habit
of going INTO the country Ill the Summer.
Places that III December contain two or
three hundred inhabitants, may in August
have many thousands. But, at hest. il is
next to impossible entirely to avoid dupli-
cation. The place where man belongs
is one of the most difficult items the
enumeratOrs have TO deal with. The cen |
sus machinery is not fitted to do work re |
quiring nice discrimination. 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
opportunities are offered by the rapidly |
increasing Summer migration. In the /
Summer people leave the South by hun /.
dreds of thousands. while cities all over |
tine country are at that season very made |
duately represented. The increase in age .
between June and the time the enumera-
tor comes around, is theoretically Imim-
portant. as none are taken who are born !
after the 1st but the law Of 1870 requir-
ed the date of birth f. bc taken, and /
eliminated even that error which III the .
aggregate amounted to many thousands, /
and constituted distinct blemish, in /
making comparisons with other cansuscs .
erroneous The rapid count also elimi- .
mates error from deaths as well as births .
after the day from which the census .
dates
''On what plan are the enunerating /
districts determined?
That is another distinctive feature of /
importance in the present census. These (
districts are to be formed by the Depart
ment Of the Interior, with reference to
the exigencies of the enumeration. In
1850 the districts were the same as the
Judicial Districts, which had no refer
ence To facility for counting the popula-
tion. Forinstanre, i'll 1870 one district con
tanned 6,OO0 inhabitants, and another
.. 800, 600. Now, also, for the first time,
the supervising officers are To be selected
with special reference to their fitness for
Al. ...,.l,~ t,f !
Marshals performed that duty, although /
appointed for altogether different pur
poses"
''Are the supervisors To he paid as ex-
perts?"
They are TO receive 500 each iii full
for services and expenses. Allowance for
clerk hire may he made at the discretion
of the Department at Washington.
What will the cnumerutors receive
Their compensation Will be fixed by
the Department according to circumstan-
ces. In 1850 it WAS sought to determine
the compensation of canvassers by a sin
gle fixed rule, derived by complicated
mathematical formula from the popula-
tion and area Of the district. without ref
ercncc to the character of the country.
This worked unjuls ly, and some mennadc
81, and the quality of the work varied i'll
consequence The enumcrators. after ac-
ceptng their appointments, will he sub
iect to penalty if they withdraw, the
work being of the political importance
The law of 1879 requires them to he ap-
pointed without reference to party. I'm
der the present plan there will he eleven
supervisors districts in New York, ten i'll
1 l,..
divided among the other States according
to- the necessities Of the service.
The other general department of the
work embraces the collection of the sta
tstics of manufactures. agriculture,
mining. fishing interests, and social sta
tisticS. such rs taxation, wealth, public
Indebtedness. libraries, churches, schools,
newspapers, paupers and crimes, insanity,
and no forth These do not strictly per
tain to II census, and III other countries
are obtained through different agencies.
But with MS they have been required since
1850 The act OF 1879 enlarged the scope
still more, and included the operations of
railroads, fire Iand life insurance, tele-
graph and express companies and other
institutions. 1t also provided forthc en-
ployment of experts in these different de
portance. which cannot fail to secure re-
suits os far greater completeness and nr-
curary than heretofore Grossly made
quate and inaccurate statistics sometimes
utterly fallacious and misleading, have
often characterized the results of the
past
when will these experts be appoint
cd :"
Under the authority given the census
officers, many have already been appoint
ed, and others will be named IN time Tor
the work A number of persons ARE al
ready in the field obtaining statistics Of
gold, silver, iron, and copper mining.
Others are working along the shores of
the grcnt labes, obtaining statistics of
fisheries and the fishing population.
Others are obtaining statistics of steam
und water power. and manufacturing ma
chinery Special investigators have been