The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1880-02-13
THE CENSUS OF 1850.
The Various Ohicials who wm Manage
the business.


The various ohicia,s who WIN Manage
sno the business.
from the Philadelphia Press
The original scope OF the decennial
census went no further than the OBJ
tanning basis for political representa-
ion. This, however, has been grad
ually enlarged until now it is intended
to include all manner of social, vital
and industrial statistics. Heretofore
the United States Marshals. whatever
might or might not be their qualifica-
tions for this particular work, performed
this duty of supervising the census, and
the ordinary enumerators were charged
with the collections of special statistics
as we'll This method resulted in 1870
in such imperfect returns and obvious
errors that many of the statistics col.
lected were rejected as utterly untrust-
worthy. Under the new law special
Supervisors will be appointed to take
general charge of the census districts,
End many classes of statistical inquiry
will be placed in the hands of experts
and special agents. Gen. Francis A.
Walker, Superintendent of the Census,
began the work of organization in April
last His chief assistant is 9. w.
Seaton, who was Superintendent of the
New York State Census of 1875. AT
the Office in Washington, thirty or
forty clerks are already employed in
the preliminary work for the enumera-
ton next June. Prof. Baird, Secre-
tary of the Smithsonian Institution and
President of the United States Fish
Commission, will have the direction of
a comprehensive investigation into the
statistics of the fisheries and the fish
ing population of the United States.
w. Clarence King has the scientific di-
rection of the investigation into the gold
and silver mining of the country. Gen.
w. z. Trowbridge, Professor of Engin-
eerng in Columbia College, New York, is
the special agent for the purpose of OBJ
tanning the statistics OF power and ma
chinery employed in productive indus
try. Fred IL. Wines, Secretary of the
Illinois Board of Commissioners of Pub
lie Charities, has charge of SPECIAL emu
meration of the deaf and dumb, blind,
insane and idiotic, and the criminals
and paupers. The collection and CO.
ordination of the social statistics has
been intrusted to Col. George Z. War
ing, Jr., of Rhode Island. The collec-
ton of statistics in relation to manu-
facture and agriculture has been as
signed to special agents, as follows: The
of cotton to Edward At |
kinson, of Boston; the manufactures of |
wool, to George William Bond, of Bos-
ton TIE buildingstones of the United
States and the quarrying industry, TO !
Prof. j. S. Newberry, of New York the |
of iron, to James nj. Swank,
of Philadelphia; ship-building, to John |
Lynch, of Portland, Me-; the manufact-
ures of glass and of coke to j. d.
Weeks, of Pittsburgh; the manufactures |
OF silk to W. @. Wyckoff, of New York; !
The numbering industry to Prof. @. S.
Sargent, of Brookline, Mass. The sub
Jet of cotton culture has been intrusted |
to Prof. L. w. Hilgard, of the University
Of California, who is assisted by several
eminent agriculturists and biologists;
that of the production Of cereals to
Prof. w. II. Brewer, of the Sheffield |
Scientific School of Yale College; that |
Of forestry to Prof. G. S. Sargent, of |
Brookline, Mass; that of orchard fruits,
tobacco, and hops to j. r. Dodge, of
Washington, d. G., and that of meat
production in the grazing States and
Territories to Clarence Gordon, Of New
burg, n. Y. Special attention will be
paid to the obtaining of vital statistics.
This is to include information respect
ing range and degree of virulence of
certain fatal diseases, and the rate of
in one section as compared
with adjoining sections. The co-opera-
ton of physicians and surgeons through
out the country is solicited in this de-
partment of inquiry,