Los Angeles herald., 1890-06-14
SATURDAY, JUNE Il, 1890.
THAT CLEARING FARCE, YCLFPT THE
CENSUS.

CENSUS.
There has certainly never been any
thing in American annals so absolutely
'farcical as the census which will go into
history as the enumeration of the year
of grace 1890. As matter OF fact, in its
inception it has been a mistake and
moekery. As we understand the facts,
it is'under the supervision of natural
lied Englishman We are in no sense
oblivious of the fact that an Englishman
who has become an American citizen is
eligible to any Office in the gift of the
American people short OF the presidency,
vice presidency and the presidency pro
item of the senate and the speakership
of the house of representatives, to all OF
which latter positions he is by law, in
words or intent, disqualified. But the idea
of putting naturalized Englishman in
charge of an American census could only
occur to Blaine-Jingoized Republican
administration. The charge of such a
complicated trust should only have been
entrusted to an American OF approved
Il
horse sense. The regulations environing
those who have had charge OF every de-
tail of this important trust have been
stepped in red tape until the mind has
lost reckoning of the innumerable and
fnicky prescriptions. Why, in the
name OF all the gods at once, should the
enumeration in cities have been restricted
to one week? Why should not several
weeks have been devoted to this most
important task? Why should the ques-
tions have been made so inquisitorial,
trivial, searching and impertinent?
Why should every census enumerator
have felt that his only chance of con-
tinued esteem amongst his neighbors
lay in sighting his appointed duty?
From the inquiry as to chronic dis
ease to that of mortgage on the home
place, the prescribed questions have
been in the mass silly, unnecessary and
such as were sure to fail to elicit a favor
able or satisfactory response. The cir
cumlocution office OF Dickens was tame
thing compared to this offensive and
futile census, conducted under the aus
pices of this red-tape Englishman.
What is the result? Yesterday, with
only one more day left for the census
takers, the writer was in crowd OF
nineteen gentlemen, every one OF whom
lives in the heart of the city. OF the
whole, only nine had thus far been
placed on the census roster. Part Of
this neglect is due to the niggardly
remuneration of two cents name. But
most of it is due to the asinine require
ment which only allots week to the
.enumerator. That this underpaid
official will canvass a street a second
time is preposterous supposition.
As result OF these all-round blunders,
taken in connection with the time when
the census is held, Los Angeles will
suffer heavily. The middle OF May, and
not the middle of June, should have
been designated as the period for hold
ing this grand national roundup. At
this season of the year, as we have here
tofore pointed out, fully ten thousand
people have gone to mountain and sea-
side resorts.
The last directory issued in Los Ange-
les shows thirty thousand names. In
addition, the last school census showed
sixteen thousand pupils between the
ages of five and seventeen years. Any
reasonable standard would allow of at
least forty per cent. on these data for the
actual population. Most accepted STAN
dards would allow a doubled population
on such data. But, accepting the forty
per cent, the population of the city OF
the Queen of the Angels ought to ap-
proach closely on seventy thousand.
There are intimations that the census
will not reach fifty thousand.
The statistics of the water and gas
companies sustain high figures. The
vote at the last election sustained them,
and the vote of the coming election will
support the claim; but, owing to the
slovenly and contemplate way in which
the United States census is being taken,
Los Angeles city and county will suffer ;
and, more's the pity, so will the whole
United States. We would be twenty
times better off, in this section and in
the country at large, if this misleading,
false, and no account census had never
been taken at all.
THE necessity for parks in Los Ange-