Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-03-01
CENSUS TAKIzG.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERMA-
NENT CENSUS BUREAU.
A Plan Suggested Which Will Merit
Careful Consideration by
the Authorities.

The following communication will be
found worthy of careful and thoughtful
consideration
EDS. RECORD UNION: The decennial GEN.
sus taken by the United States Government
is, in many respects, unsatisfactory. Per-
haps it is more unsatisfactory now than
ever before; because statistics play more
important part in shaping the policy of the
nation, and because there are greater
number of avenues in which they may be
made useful. and wider appreciation of
their usefulness.
The conclusions of the census are too
long postponed. The results themselves
are not absolutely correct, even for the time
when the enumeration is taken and for
the time when they are made public they
have little relation to truth. In fact need
of statistics is contemporaneous with the
time when they are taken, and their value
is nearly destroyed, or at least seriously
impaired before the results become avail
able for use.
The cause is not hard to find. The GEN.
sus branch of the Government is recreated
each decade, and perhaps on lines entirely
different from the next preceding census.
This branch of the civil service, which has
the greatest need of trained ability and
of the Government, necessarily dependent
upon inexperience. The periods of census
| taking are so far separated that the lessons
gained in one period are mainly lost before
another period arrives. In no other branch
| of the civil government are so many OIL
Gals called upon to do such an amount of
work simultaneously as in the census. Yet
| the great bulk of these officials are, from
the nature of the case, inexperienced and
have little knowledge of the importance of
the results and little interest in the accu-
racy of the enumeration.
The difficulties that the inexpe:ienee and
incompetency of the enumerators do not
| furnish are supplied by the indifference
upon the census. taker much as they do
upon comet. His orbit is so erratic that
| he becomes a novelty at every return. The
people are quite apt 10 resent the in
| ouisitiveuess of the enumerator, or per-
| haps hide the truth in fear or give careless
| answers from Indifference, or be unable to
answer at all, through ignorance. The in
| frequency of the enumeration encourages
hasty and inaccurate statements. 1t pre-
| cludes intelligent answers, and prevents
any schooling designed to promote truth
| full and accurate reports.
But what remedy can. be offered?. How
can the Government overcome all these
obstacles? How attain the maximum of
accuracy in the minimum of time?
| Through what agency may statistics be
| frequently gathered at a little increased
cost? Is there no method OF keeping a
constant record of each individual, each
community, each State? There is but one
agency that extends through all the States
with sufficient uniformity to furnish any
groundwork for plan. This agency is the
common schools of the country. have
anxiously watched through several sue
cessive Congresses the progress made by
the Blair educational bill, hoping that the
passage of that measure might aid in the
solution of the problem, 1t is quite posi-
BILE. however, that my plan may be as
much help to the bill as the bill is in
dispensable.to the plan. The plan of a
constant census force, furnishing an an
nual report, that suggested itself TO me in
connection with the Blair education bill Is
as follows:
The common school system is an indis-
soluble part of the American idea of sue
cessful government. The people are
welded to the principle of free common
schools, and there is little doubt that the
system will exist in its present or added
efficiency as long as the Government en-
dures. Every State and Territory has a
common school system. These systems
differ but little in their general character
istics. The only difference is in details.
In each State there is a division of terri
tory into districts, each of which is pro-
yided with a teacher usually competent,
who, previous to entering upon his duties,
must submit to an examination more or
less rigid to test his qualifications.
Now, the school district is the smallest
political division known in this country.
A county may be divided into many town
ships and voting precincts, but the division
into school districts is still smaller. In
each district legally qualified teacher is
employed for certain period each year.
The teacher, in the course of the term, US.
ually becomes acquainted with everyone in
the district, and should be acquainted with
all that transpires in that district The
limited area of most districts will allow OF
his becoming familiar with all that pertains
| to the district with very little trouble. He
| is in position not only to obtain all the
| information pertaining to population, in
dustry, acreage, ETC., but to verify this in.
formation by actual inspection, and If
need be, can go into the minutest details.
The teachers in most, if not all, the States
are required at the close of each term or
year to furnish the proper authorities with
a report embedying much information that
is also collected by the census-taker. He
| is qualified and is expected to make a full
and accurate report on all matters enumer-
ated in the school law or regulations.
These reports are the basis of the valuable
school statistics which are published each
year, and on which the country has learned
to rely SO implicitly.
WHY may not these teachers be required
to extend their inquiries. their records and
their reports a little further. and return all
the facts which the Government has here
tofore created special corps of enumer-
ators to obtain? In a country which is
governed BY uniform or kindred laws, why
| should we have two sets of officials collect
| ing the same kind OF information, one for
| local authorities, the other for national?
| Whv should not the collection of these
facts be intrusted to agents already created
by local authority, who are distributed
over the ground ready for the service, who
have had to prove their competency by a
non BIPARTISAN test, and who have ample
| time and convenience to do the work in
connection with their usual employment
| In fact, the work Of gathering statistics
may be easily made part of teachers
| duty, and that. too. with very little addi-
| tional cost, if the State will concert with
| the General Government in the design.
| But what relation has this plan to the
Blair educational bill ? Simply this: Thst
our system of common schools, though
nearly universal, is not a national system.
| The Federal Government has no control
| over the schools of the States. and we pre-
| sumo would not undertake to coerce the
| State to furnish information through the
States officials. But the Blair bill proposes
+, to extend national aid to the schools Of the
State in proportion to the States illite-acy.
The bill is objected to By many because
! it might tend to create national system of
education. and By others because it being a
gratuity from the National Government,
might foster a feeling of dependency by
| the State on the National Government
which would deter the former from max
ing suitable exertien for the education of
her own children.
But may not the General Government
appropriately grant aid to the schools Of
| the separate States, and require certain in