The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1890-10-18
No Recount for Cecil.

MIR. Charles III. Smith. Clerk of the
Board of County Commissioners, is in
receipt of the following letter from the
Census office at Washington, a duplicate
of which was addressed to the Hon.
Herman Stump, i'll which Mr. Hyde states
the grounds upon which the Department
declines to order remuneration of any
OF the districts of this county
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. }
CENSUS OFFICE.
WASHINGTON, October IL, 1890.
| Dear Sir-With regard to your request
Tor re enumeration of Cecil county, Md,
beg to inform You that after giving the
matter the most careful consideration, |
have come to the conclusion that the
| Office would not be justified in ordering a
recount merely on the strength of the
evidence before it. 1t has always taken
the ground, and think with unqueston-
able propriety, that, in view of the univ
ersal tendency to overestimate popula
ton, mere dissatisfaction with the result
OF an enumeration on the part of any
particular community is no evidence that
such enumeration was imperfectly taken
and although taking the country through.
out, nlnety-fve per cent, of persons be
ilevlng themselves to have been omitted,
prove on investigation to have been pro
perly enumerated, no very strong case
can be made out for re enumeration.
unless there is absolute proof of
sufficient number Of of omissions to dis.
credit the entire enumeration. The cell
sus presupposes certain percentage of
error, but the office confidently maintains
that the omissions are, as rule, fully
offset by the Implications that will inevi- |
tably occur. Your appeal for re enum-
Grafton of Cecil county is based upon the
registration, the vote cast and the humble
OF children in attendance upon the public |
schools, which, although worthy of all
proper consideration, cannot be regarded |
as infallible criteria of population in con-
sequence of the varying ratio which they |
are all liable to bear to the number of in |
habitants. The number of registered vo
tiers shows an increase in every district |
In the county, yet at the last presidential |
election, four of the nine districts cast |
smaller vote than at the presidential cleo |
ton of 1850. Even in the Second Elec-
ton District, Chesapeake City, where it |
Is admitted that there has been con-
siderable falling off in population, there
has been an increase of IS5 per cent in
the number of registered votes since 1892. |
The ratio borne by the number of actual
voters to the humber of names on the
register is not only found to vary in diff
erent years in the case of each individual
district, but to vary very considerably
between the different districts at any one
election. In short, the amounG of care
bestowed upon the register especially in
N oil tI,a - i
persons, together with the more or less
tiuctuating interest in public affairs ex-
hibited by given committees according
to the degree to which the question of
the day concern them, are far too uncer-
tain factors to be relied upon in matter
of this kind; while, as regards the num-
Der of children in attendance upon the
public schools, there may be, as there
undoubtedly should be, an inceasing APP
probation of the advantages of educa-
ton, sufficient to account for the increase
in the number enrolled. With regard to
the charge that Mr.. Thomas p. Jones,
enumeration in the Cecilton district, had
not sufficient time allowed him for the
completion of his work, | am informed
that MIR. Jones states after waiting few
days for an extension of time, he took it
upon himself to continue the work, not
withstanding the expiration of the period
allowed by law. 1t was not until the
middle of July that he transmitted his
schedule to Supervisor Owens, whereas
the work was presumed to have been
brought to an end on June 30. Mr.. VIM.
Coale, enumerator for Rising Sun dis
trict, who is charged with being physic-
ally incapable of performing the duties
assigned TO him, proved to be strong
and active old gentleman, acquainted
with the people throughout almost his
entire district, and far more likely to
make stictly accurate census than many
younger men who might have been selec-
ed for the work. The enumators of Cecil
county were all residents of the county:
they were paid by results; they had ali
the time necessary to make complete
and correct enumeration, and there is no
reason why they should not have done
the good work for which this office gives
them credit. The integrity of the June
enumeration has not. in the opinion of
this office, been successfully assaulted, and
as was recently declared by the Secretary
of the Interior, to re enumerate dis
trict in the absence of serious discrppln-
cles would be manIfect injustice to
the country. 1t is the desire of this office
that the census should be as complete
and accurate as it can be made with the
machinery at its disposal, and while, as
already stated, cannot consent to order
a re enumeration of Cecil county on the
evidence before me. | will have added
to the schedules the name of any person
who was a resident in county in June last
but was not enumerated.
Yours, very respectfully.
a. ii. CHILDs,