Los Angeles herald., 1890-07-10
POPULATION OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
CENSUS FIGURES.

Los Angeles district has been kind
enough to furnish us with the approx
mate population of the territory which
embraced Los Angeles county before the
setting apart of what is now known as
Orange county. Together they figure
up lis, 900, distributed as follows: Pres
ent Los Angeles county, 101, 400; Orange
county, 13,60O This exhibit shows that
there has been an extraordinary growth
in the country districts as well as
in the city. As the county stands
now it almost exactly balances
the city. The actual increase in its
rural regions has been larger than in the
urban if we take the county of Orange
and the Vernon and other suburban re-
gions into the count, and it has been
equaled in no other portion of the
United States, where the figures at the
starting point were as large as here.
The ratio of increase in the city, how
ever, has been greater than in the
country, the former having advanced
from II, ,311 in 1880 to upwards of $4,000
in 1890, while the county outside
of the city has only advanced from
22,070 in 1880 to $4,000 in 1890.
In view of the fact that before county
division, that is to say, in 1888, the
great register showed voting popula-
ton in the county of nearly thirty-three
thousand on new registration, or half
the registered voting population OF San
Francisco, it is quite apparent either
that the census enumerators have not
done their work fully, or that great
number of people have left the county.
Probably both propositions are true. On
the modest ratio of one registered voter
to every five of the population, this
county must have contained 10000
souls in the fall of 1883. The
hypothesis is a reasonable one that it
then contained more. In that official
enumeration of the voters each citizen
was obliged to appear personally before
the registering official and make oath to
his name, age and place of birth. Unless
he materialized in propria persona his
name was not registered. According to
the census figures, therefore, and a ow
ratio of voters to the popLla-
ton, the territory known in 1888
as the county of Los Angeles
has lost fifty thousand people.
Few people believe this, and we think
that the figures reported at the election
next fall will disproveit. We take this
view Of the matter without designing te
arraign the officials of the census, al
though we most emphatically do objec
to the slipshod and pennywise ano
pound-foolish system adopted by tn,
national government in providing fol
the taking of an enumeration which is g
farce if it is not we'll done.
We notice that San Diego, Oakland
and other cities of California are kick
ing against the returns of the census
enumerators. Mayor Gum, of the first
named place, claims that 24,900 is the
least rightful enumeration OF the city O
bay and climate. If his estimate is cor
rect the census-takers have dropped
about 40 per cent. OF the inhabitants 0
our southern neighber. This we cal
scarcely credit, but we believe the omis
sions in the census of Los Angeles city
amount to fully twenty per cent.
taking into the count the larg,
number of our citizens who, will
their families, are absent at this season
of the year. If San Diego has popu
lation of 24,900, Los Angeles is entitled
to be rated at $4,000. Any fair-mindet
observer who will spend some time il
the two places, will concede that thii
city is at least three times as populous
as her sister to the south. Mayor Gunr
expresses the belief that 4 800 votes will
be polled in San Diego this fall, and he
may be right. We have no doubt thai
fully three times that number will bt
polled in Los Angeles. However, time
will tell.
Underneath all the grumbling which
pervades this section anent the census
the advances which we have made in
population and wealth fall little short O
the miraculous. Very few cities Of the
east which had quadrupled their popu
lation, would feel like growing at the
shortcomings of the census officials. On
the contrary they would go in for elevat-
ing their bazoos and making the woods
resound with notes OF triumph. The
census hereabouts is bad, but it might
be worse.