New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-04
AN AUSTRIAN CENSUS.
HOW IT IS TAKEN AND TABULhTED.

| This is the year for taking the decennial census
OF the Dual Empire, and preparations for the task
are now about complete. The entire work is 10
bc done in single day, and the date appointed IS
the last day Of the year Nor is it 10 be mere
enumeration Of the inhabitants. IL is intended
to he an investigation and record of the condition
and interests of the people in almost every rell-
tion of life Some people WHO are against the
| Government" understood to have objected TO
the recent census America on the ground that
it was too searching. Well, they would better
not come to Austria For where Mr.. PorterS
work went inch, the work Of Herr Won mama
Sternegg goes ell The Austrian must give
full account of himself and his family, their ages,
religions languages occupations and sc condary oc-
equations, property, indeotedness, income. expendi'
lures; number of domestic animals kept, incud-
ing dogs cats and birds; character of clothing
worn size of rooms occupied, particularly sTei-
fying height OF ceilings; and he must produce a
certified COPY Of his birth certificate All these
things and more he must not give TO census
taker. but must himself write down, or get some
one to write for him, on the blank schedules pro
vided for the purpose. This must he do on
December 81 or, failing to do so, pay fine of 90
forms or to go to Jail for four days.
On January 3 the schedules are TO I've collected.
and two DAYS later are to he delivered. together
with the village or communal summary, 10 the
district authorities. who have to make district
summary for the Use Of the provincial abstract,
and the latter has to go it is to the Statistical
Central Commission in Vienna. which will total all
abstracts and publish the final results. In towns
the duty of drawing up the housesummaries-
namely, the totals Of information from one or two
dozens of family schedules-wll practically fall
upon the IJausmester. porter; and IL may easily
be imagined what degree of accuracy Is 10 De eA-
pected from class Of persons Of such imperfect
education. The Central Statistical Department,
headed by the famous statstician Herr Won mama
Sternegg was only too well aware Of the lnevitabe
defects in work dependent on persons like village
MAYORS and Hausmeisters but the law could
not be altered there was no help for IT, An eS-
pedient was. however. found, by means OF a
Ministerial order prescribing that all original
forms. without exception, shall be forwarded 10 the
Statistical Central Commission as soon as the sum-
mares for each province have been made. which
must be the case till the beginning Of February.
and the real census will thus be taken by an ex-
perieuced staff from the original data, with the
additional advantage that the prrIIi'-.ry resuIs
taken from the summaries VIII be ready Tor pup
LEGATION not later than SIN weeks after the census.
4 much longer time however will be required
for revising the work and making the final tabula-
lions This work will he done from the original
returns by a staff Of about $50 persons. IL Is
expected that the publication OF the revised re-
turns will be begun at about the end of 1891, and
n have the complete and final report ready BY
the end of 1892, which, if the promise can DO
kent. will be the most rapid completion Of tho
census returns on record in this country. How
great task this is may be appreciated when 1T
i, remembered that fully 2?,oO0,OO0 sinsle tickets
will have TO be written out from the household
schedules by the staff Of the Central Depart
mcut and from these tickets all the combinations
and tabuatons are 10 be made which modern
science demands. To accomplish all this In the
comparatively short time OF two years ana with
20 moderate stat w0ui1 be practical impos-
shility without the adoption of more expeditions
methods than those hitherto IN use. 1t Is, IN TACT,
intended to apply the mechanical system whioh
was tried in Washington for the census taken
this year. when 64,000.OG0 Of single tickets ha
TO be dealt with clerk being able TO perforate.
and in IA sense tc count. a. many as 10000 tickets
a day. Herr Won Inconsistencies was only able
to procure some drawings from A nerica. and he
was obliged TO have the perforatins apparatus
and whatever else belongs TO the system made in
Vienna 1t is stated that this system has been
greatly improved upon for its coming application
in the Austrian Statistical Department Tho
items of the census are far more numerous In
Austria than IN the United States, aud II the
DprfOFdteI u
variety Of combinations without the application
Of other than mechanical means III the way OF
electric self-registraiion II Will be necessary 70
resort to methods employed for similar purposes,
either in telegraphy or in mechanical weaving and
enlbroiderlng This has been done III vienna
in a most ingenious way, ana Herr Won lnana-
he has adopted. it will he sufficient for each
single ticket to pass only six times through inc
counting apparatus, OF which there VIA oe
about sixty in use in Vienna. The mechanlcai
,na nod NJ
in its infancy, and before the next census Is taken
in the larger countries machines Will. no douot,
have been invented by which the labor and tlme
and consequently the cost, Will be reduced 10
minimum.
All this applies only to Austria; In Hungary an
equally elaborate census is 10 he taken on the
same day. but it will he managed by different
department and different plan Instead OF
blanket schedules" there will be a system OF
census tickets for each individual TO be enumer-
ated, system already prevalent in Prussia, France;
Italy and Switzerland. In the three laSt-named
countries, however, il is combined with the draw
ing up OF district schedules, in order 10 OMAN
abstracts Of the information the earliest possible
moment. France. for instance, has tickets ana
commune summaries. Switzerland has household
Of a household Italy has tickets and lists. and
the German Empire had in 1852 lists without
tickets. which is also the system OF bavaria anu
with a slight difference, of England Statlsti-
clans regard the ticket system as the more sclentl-
fc and the more practical. and IL would undouot
eddy have been adopted by Austria but for the
Inconvenience OF having the census ACT OF looV
altered or a new act passed.
There is strong and growing movement
toward an International census system, under
which all nations will take censnses on the same
date and on a uniform plan Thus IL is urged
comparative statistics would he made far more
complete and accurate than is possible at present:
IL is thought that the use OF the same sort 81
mechanical apparatus for tabulating returns will
contribute powerfully 10 this end. In one re.
spect however. the different Governments OF
Europe have already come to an agreement. They
have promised each other, In consequence OF
diplomatic correspondence. officially 10 communi-
cate the data relating TO foreigners living in each
country There is strong suspicion that the
international courtesy displayed on this point has
more TO do with recruiting for the army and win
taxation than with desire to secure statistical
accuracy. At any rate, it is shown that the re
spective Governments can assist science IL they
are disposed TO do so and statisticians are con
fdent that the census Of all nations will be taken