Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1880-12-09

conceive a worse method Of selection
than that actually followed. While it
! is admitted that many Of them proved
to be capable officers, and performed
their duties as well as could have
been expected, it is still true that no
one can yet say positively whether the
census is we'll taken or not. The
/ qualifications of even capable and
intelligent men are so various, that of
those who present themselves as
applicants for any public office of this
degree supposed profit or publicity,
it is safe to say that not one in a hun
dred is likely TO possess, not merely
the rare and peculiar talent suited to
the position, but also the training and
foreknoweledge which enables him to
put that talent to USE Such were
the supervisors. who may By chance
have supervised as they should have
done, but who in all reasonable
probability did not.
The census in short took itself, in
blind, headlong, unintellIgent fashion,
the larger number of the districts
being moderately we'll taken simply
because Of the extreme versatility of
character belonging to our young men,
and the minimum of deficiencies of 3
to per cent. attaching to the best
districts was in others extended to 10
or 20 per cent, the error being al
ways on the side Of deficiency,
In Philadelphia the enumcrators OF
population had generally from twelve
to twenty-four hours notice of their
final election, and then they seized
their portfolios and plunged into the
street. They were urge ntly advised,
directed from the census Office, that
it was their interest to make quick
time, and each was required to send
a postal card at the end Of every day,
to Washington reporting the number
of hours each spent on the street.
The districts contained an average of
twelve hundred each, but each enum-
orator thought he saw profit Ia getting
his two hundred names in four, five,
or six hours, thus earning his four
dollars. and yet having time to write
some hours Of each day. Such was
the haste enjoined from both the gen
eral and local Offices, that no enumer-
a tor did or could go back over his
ground to pick up the stragglers whose
houses were closed when he called
first. Most Of them did try to get
all the people faithfully, yet many
hundreds Of houses did not answer to
the first or second call, and were then
necessarily passed over. Every enum-
orator, like every other man existing,
felt that he had rights, which, if those
shut-up people did not respect, he
would vindicate by dropping them out
of the lists, and he did drop them out
And he, having done the best he
could, or that any one else could,
which was the precise statement in
many cases, would not be likely to
complain of himself or to report his
own deficiencies. Bear in mind that
the census of 1860 and 1870 establish
ed this rule of action, and proved the
existence of these causes of error
most coneiusively to the positive and
personal knowledge Of the writer. who
was consulting assistant to the mar
shall in both cases. About two thous-
and of these omitted names of resi-
dents in one ward of this city were
identified and restored in the census
of 1870. The deficiency resulting
from carelessness and other causes in
the original canvass Of population in
Philadelphia in that year was from 3
to 10 per cent.
1t has repeatedly been proved, and
is now universally admitted, that the
census of 1870 was grossly incorrect,
and short Of the true return, both of
the population and Of industrial statis-
ties. 1t was short of the true popu-
lation in the large cities and in the
| Southern States, and in all cases where
the natural difficulties Of the canvass
produced their natural consequences.
There was in most cases, or in the
first instance, no supervision of the
| work at the time it was done, and no
one to observe whether the canvasser
did his duty or not. Some of the
deputy marshals, as they were called,
dropped entire classes Of their schedu-
les, some omitted entire streets in
their canvass of population, and some
omitted long lists of houses where at
once or twice calling they got no
answer. One-third of the entire