New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-14
THE RACE WITH CHICAGO.
WHAT WILL THE CENSUS STATISTICS FOR NEXT
YEAR sHowf-BELIEr THAT CHICAGO
is BOUND TO FORGE AHEAD.

is BOUND TO FORGE AHEAD.
The city OF Chicago Is running Brooklyn hard race
for its position as third city In the Union. and is doing
this in true Chicago fashion The City Of the Lakes
maintains that she is leading by a neck The cham
pions of the two cities are their two Boards Of
Health. The Brooklyn Board estimated the population
Of that city on January al sI45o5 They exchange
DC rts with their Chicago colleagues, who walt for the
before naming the figures for their CITY But when
they do name them they make mistakes that will
tell against Chicago. Accordingly II was surprise
to the Brooklyn health officials TO receive report
about the middle of February. to the effect that Chi
cago's population amounted In round numbers 10 $780,
OOO an Increase Of 900 In few months, and an ex
cess over Brooklyn Of nearly 10000.
Tho previous report from Chicago, made about
August placed Its population at very nearly 100000
The figures for Brooklyn made up by the Board OF
Health on September /, fixed tho number OF its In
habtants at sO5ss5. Deputy Commissioner John s.
Young who has charge of the estimates explained the
whole subject TO Tribune reporter recently, az fol-
lows: When our January report came out, said to
friend Chicago will never stand that. They'll bea
our figure somehow And enough they did They
u,nned their calculations 10000 above ours. and there
is no telling where they viii stop.
.Now in order 10 understand the relative vaiue
Of the two estimates, should like TO explain the
method by which we make They are based
the probabie number of people occupying the new
buildings erected. For dwellings and buildings ac-
Communicating one or two families we estimate four or
FIVE 10 a family But IN tenements built Tor any
where from fonr to ten families, think that six to
family Is low estimate Then. We have 70 consiher
localities. fat on the heights Is dinerent Hom
a., On tho Fifth or Sixth Wards. The poor people
are MARI prolific than the rich Then. again the IN
erase in cities is not merely from new inhabitants,
INIT from the children born there. In Brooklyn last
vAar there vero 001 born, and about 80 per cent
died under the aee OF one year. Now these are soHe
az the methods by which We reach our resuts anu
We have a system Of proving them Ihst is oy INC
registration at election Time Al the lsst eieouo"
our registration in round numbers was loo'ooV' i"'
ratio of registered voters TO popuiauoh nNo SUI
fraonon-what forget for the moment-but Know
,h., s.A az factor by which 10 multiply II Drought
chr popuiation very close 10 the figures wo maue ~
seutember, The difference can be easily sccouh'eu
for nv the fact that there were doubtless h"uDei
OF unDccupied buildings.
q Dut The plsn ON which they figure in Chicago
confess myssf unable 10 cxplsin, understand 'heS
reckon in $4,000 10000 strangers VINO A,op '"eno'
hut even this does not Justify their estimates INC
p.onlo there are certainly no moro prolihc ana no
noyc .,x,ouS In vote than those Of Brooklyn Iet'
they only reKistered in round numbers looooo Vo'e
Now why don't they register as many voters Is Bro'
iyn1 Simply because they haven't got the popuiSon'
Tho new census ia my opinion viii show that tney arc
away out IN their reckoning .
This confidence In the result OF the next CENSUS -
not shared however by some who arc fully alive 10
the entsrprtse OF Chicago men. There is legend
aaoat said to have substantial foundation In fact 10
the effect that their oonsus takcr In 1870 animated py
keen sense Of public duty and duo regard Tor DIS
future welfare, made up his enumeration 50 a s,tr
exceeded by many thousands the statistics Tor the cry
OF St Louis, which Chicago had determined 70 van.
guish. All went well until the Chicago CITY droc,o,y
for that year was Published The wicked news apers
OF the rival town counted up the names and MADE J.
appear that Chicago families must DO larger man thos
OF other place In the country their census was
correct IL was the beginning OF SUMMER whep TINS
occurred, and tho whole city OF Chicago vent MAJ
over the dltcrvey. The temperature OF the piaco
rose 70 such pitch that all of the grain In thrl
elevators y reported 10 have spoiled from oyerhes-
Ing Tho directory publishers were not SLOW 20 take
~ the situation They got out new work With
ihyusands 9f new names IN IL, and so the soaring
glory OF Chieaso preserved. Bearing those things
y mind, many nrcokiymies ara asking @Whst VIII