Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1891-11-27


President Francis A. Walker, super
intendcnt of the tenth census, writes for
The Forum paper on United States
official statistics He calls attention 10
the fact that the United States was the
first nation in the world to institute n
periodical census Of the people. This
was not. however, owing to our ad-
vanced ideas of social science, but it was
because such census was absolutely
necessary TO our representative form of
government How could we know how
many congressman to put into the house
Of representatives without such an emu
meration?
At first President Walker tells us tn.
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 enumeration. Sta
ustics of agriculture, mining. manufact-
ures and fisheries were needed. Further,
In order TO ascertain the natural militia
81 country, it IS necessary to know not
only the number of men between eight
cen AMI forty-five. but also whether
they arr physically and mentally sound.
This consideration led to the inquiry in
regard to disease and permanent disa-
bilities. such rs blindness, deafness, etc.
The family history of the individual is
FOR tho same reasons matter of neccs-
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:
IL has become simply absurd to hold any
longer that n government which has right to
tar any and all the products OF agriculture and
manufactures. 10 supervise the selling and
makin 81 "butterine," to regulate the agen-
cica ~ transportation, to grant public moneys
10 schools aud 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
brantl ~ statistical Information which may
conducc 10 wise legislation, intelligent admin
way promote the general welfare.
so many things are necessary now to
tho 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 oe the eleventh census Super
intcndcnt Porter was ordered away to
Europc by his physician to save his life.
Why ia such n mass of inquiry loaded
upon the census? President Walker an
swcrs:
To reason for loading upon the decennial
cen. IA Of the United States such n mass of sta
tt:.cs, relating to SO many subjects, many OF
them not necessarily connected with the enum-
Grafton OF population. or even theoretically re-
lRtod Ia IL, has been twofod: First, the sparse
meas Of settlement over large portions Of the
United States. making 1t exceedingly expen-
sivo to traverse the ground several times to OBJ
tain different classes OF statistics, when, by
Crowding the enumerator's portfolio and the
cnumerator's brain. these might be collected
la "a single tour, though perhaps at some sacri-
fee Of quality IN tho results; second, the real
or affected doubts of certain politicians as TO
the ''constitutlonality" OF establishing agen-
Ciea. aside from the census, for conducting in
Qulrics under federal authority, purely in
the interest Of statistics themselves-that Is, In
tho interest Of public intelligence, social SCI
oncc and political education.