The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-07-10
THE NEXT CENSUS.
MOMENTOUs TASK OF COUNTING
THE PEOPLE.
It Will Require Force ofOver 49,.
900 Men and Cost $S.9oo,0oo
Curious Facts in Rela-
tion to This Big Job.

terror Department at washington is one
of the most interesting collections in the
possession of the Government, and yet
there are not hundred people in the
city who know of its existence. In this
room are thousands of leather bound
books of all sizes, lettered on the backs,
as the case may be, "First Census,
s|Second Census" etc. These books are
the original returns made by the enume-
rators in taking every census from the
year 1890, when the first census was
taken, down to 1880, the year of the last
census.
Prior to the year 1850 only the names
of the heads of families were taken, but
when the census Of that year was col
lected the name of every individual in
the United States was enumerated. This
room consequently contains the name of
every man, woman and child who has
been born or who has lived in this coun-
try since the first day of June, 1850.
do not think many people know of this,
and at some time it may be of the great
est use to lawyers and others who are en-
gagged in the search for missing heirs,
and who want to ascertain whether cer-
tain person was living at particular
time.
Preparations are now well under way
for the eleventh census, and the tre.
mendous amount of executive ability that
is required of the superintendent to start
the machine cannot be appreciated by an
outsider unless he has some practical
knowledge of the task.
The fact that there are to-day Is, ,000,
900 more people in this country than
there were in 1880 is in itself an assur
ance that the work of the eleventh census
will be much greater than was that OF
1880.
Another fact will also attest to the
magnitude of the eleventh census, and
that is that it will be centennial one, and
therefore one of the greatest Importance.
It will also be the census of the greatest
nation on earth, as neither in Russia mol
in China, the most populous countries in
the world, is census of any Importance
ever taken.
The first duties of the Superintendent
are to district the entire country, prepara.
tory to making count, with view OF
making q complete, satisfactory and &C.
curate enumeration of the population.
Congress allows the Superintendent
IT'S supervisors, and besides these a
good-sized army Of assistants, numbering
some 42, 900 people all told, to assist him
in the work. With the exception of the
First Assistant Postmaster-General no
officer of the Government has such a
large force under his immediate direction
as the Superintendent of the Census.
This districting of the country is left
entirely to the discretion of the Superin-
tendent, who may give an entire State
as, for instance, New York-to one
supervisor, or he may divide one State
among four, five or six supervisors, ac-
cording to the population, the territory
to be covered and the general features of
the country. Suitable men for the posi-
ton of supervisor have to be obtained,
men who are thoroughly acquainted with
the country for which they are to be held
responsible.
The duties of the supervisor are SINH
lar to those of the Superintendent, al
though on a smaller scale, and are almost
as multitudinous and varied. They have
to redissrict their division and recon-
mend to the Superintendent for appoint
ment suitable men, called enumerators, of
which there will be about 10000. In
1880 there were $4,000, and with an es-
timated increase of 100000 in the
population, it is very probable that fully
40, ,OOO men will be required to take The
census of 1890.
These enumerators having been duly
appointed by the supervisor receive for
midable book of instructions, consisting
of thirty pages, and proceed to take the
census. This book of instructions is pre-.
pared by the Office in Washington, and
covers almost every case which is likely
to arise when the enumerator is engaged
in his arduous labors. Their duties com.
mence on June 1, 1890, and in cities have
to end in fifteen days, and in the country
within thirty days.
Those who think the duties of an EMU
meraeor are easy, and who accept the
place with that idea, will be doomed to
disappointment. To give some idea OF
the various schedules which these emu
merators have to carry around with them
from house to house 1t is only necessary to
mention some of them:
Schedule of population, schedule OF
agriculture, schedule Of manufacturers,
schedule of mortality and vital statistics,
to say nothing of supplementary and
special schedules relating to the deaf,
blind, insane, criminals and INDECENT,
manufactures, banks and every other con-
ceivable branch of business. An ad-
ditional schedule to those formulated
ten years ago is a schedule relating to
veteran soldies and sailors, their widows
and children. Also as TO the number OF
mulattoes, quadroons and octoroons to be
found in the country. And IN case
Superintendent Porter decides not to col
lect the statistics of recorded indebted
ness of the country by special agents this
information will also be collected by the
enumerators. Should this not be done
by the latter employees it will necessitate
personal visit by special agent to every
county seat in the country. As there are
nearly 5000 counties, this in itself will
be On immense task.
1t is absolutely impossible to tell what
the census will cost. An appropriation
b,c bnon made of Sc. 400. 900. but in all