Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1891-06-18

There must be no, competition against
our native American bee, though it
can kick harder and get its temper
up quicker. than any other bee alive.
italian queen bees imported to tame
down our native product and make it
more biddable-like must pay duty Of
20 per cent. ad valorem. A curious in
stance of how the best of men win
evade customs duties if he can hap
pened lately. A citizen of Iowa wished
to import some Italian queen bees to inn
prove his breed Of natives. For some
reason the insects were sent through the
mails. Whether some nervous postof6ce
cerk smelled out the bees, or in what
ever way their contraband presence be-
came known to the collector of the port
Of New York, he detained them till he
sent wortxao Waahing ngton about them.
They were only released when the owner
paid duty on them. Thus he lost his
postage and his temper, and lost in the
value Of his queen bees. Their nervous
system suffered severe shock from thus
being held as smuggled goods. The
affair will be known as the Iowa queen
At first President Walker tells us the
census was confined strictly to ascer-
tanning the number Of people for the
purposes Of representation or Of direct
taxation. Then new subjects of investi-
cation opened for the enumerator. Sta
tistics of agriculture, mining, manufact-
ures and fisheries were needed. Further,
in order to ascertain the natural militia
of a country, it is necessary to know not
only the number of men between eight
cen and forty-fve, but also whether
they are physically and mentally sound.
This consideration led to the inquiry in
regard to disease and permanent disa-
bilities, such as blindness, deafness, etc.
The family history of the individual is
for the same reasons matter of neces-
sity. This will explain to many the
reasons for what seem impertinent in
quiries into private matters. On this
point President Walker quotes from his
own words elsewhere:
It has become simply absurd to hold any
longer that a government which has right to
tax any and all the products Of agriculture and
manufactures, to supervise the selling. and
making Of 'butterine,'' to regulate the agen-
cies Of transportation, to grant public moneys
to schools and colleges, to conduct agricultural
experiments and distribute seeds and plant
cuttings all over the United States. to institute
| scientific surveys by land and deep soundings
at sea, has not full authority to pursue any
branch of statistical information which may
conduce to wise legislation, intelligent admin
istration, or equal taxation, or in any other
| way promote the general welfare.
So many things are necessary now to
the census that it becomes an appalling
tax on the head of the bureau. The tax
killed outright Mr.. Walkers successor
in the tenth census, Colonel Seaton.
Three successive chief clerks of that
census died in Office. At the height of
the work of the eleventh census Super
intendent Porter was ordered away to
Europe by his physician to save his life.
Why is such mass Of inquiry loaded
| upon the census? President Walker an
swers:
The reason for loading upon the decenniA
census of the United States such O ssof sta
| tistics, relating to SO many subjects, many of
them not necessarily connected with the enr1n-
eration Of population, or even theoretically re-
lated to it, has been twofold: First, the sparse
ness of settlement over largo portions Of the
| United States, making it exceedingly expen-
sive to traverse the ground several times to OBJ
tain different classes Of statistics, when, by
crowding the enumerator's portfolio and tho
ennmerator's brain, these might be collected
In a single tour, though perhaps at some sacri-
| fee of quality In the results; second, the real
| or affected doubts Of certain politicians as to
the ''constitutionality" Of establishing agen-
! cies. aside from the census, for conducting.in-
Quiries under 2federal' authority, purely I'm
theintecest Of statistics nselves-that Is IN
tho tntarest, Of public intelligence, social Sd