Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-08
NEW YORk,s STATE CENSUS.
supt. Porter Has Something to Say Upon the
Results ~ Published.

supe. Porter Has Something to Say Upon the
Results ~ Published.
HE SHOWS HOW THE RETURNS MUST HAVE BEEN
FAILED, EITHER THROUGH DESIGN or ACCIDENT,
TO MAKE ACCURATE srArExENTs.
Mr.. Porter. the superintendent Of the census,
was asked today by STAR reporter what he
thought of the results of the census in New
York as taken by the state authorities He re-
Piled that he had not had time to give the
matter much consideration. but if the returns
as published in the newspapers were correct
some rather curious results are shown. He
said:
AN EVIDENCE OF PADDING.
zone Of the best illustrations Of the manner
in which the recent state census of New York
city was padded is furnished by the results in
the first assembly district. This district in
c!udes the first. second, third and fifth wards,
running from the Battery to Spruce and Ferry
streets and on the west side Of Broadway to
Canal street. This district, as every one knows,
is not a resident section. being composed Of
once buildings, business houses, steamboat
wharves. &c. Its resident population has been
steadily decreasing for great many years. In
1850. for instance. 1t contained GO, 600 people.
This population has been constantly decreas-
Ing since, as may be seen by reference to the
New York state census of 1875, when 1t had
dropped to 34.135. In 1890 there were about
$4,000 people within its limits according to the
federal census in June. and q, 600 odd according
to the police count in October. In spite OF these
facts, however. the state enumerators ciaimeo
to have found $3.50 people in this district, an
increase Of AZ per cent since 1880 and numer-
ical increase Of more than 10, 600 over both the
federal and police enumerations.
Nov. as il is well known that the actual
resident population of this district has been de-
creasing instead Of increasing, the conclusion
Is inevitable that the state enumerators, either
by ignorance or by design, enumerated hun
dreds and even thousands OF persons along the
river front and in business houses who resided
elsewhere and had no right to be enumerated
as residents of this district.
IN OTHER DISTRICTS.
1.-THE same thing. although, perhaps, not to
so marked an extent. is seen in other districts
of the city. Wherever q district is composed
largely of business houses or hotels. where
there was good opportunity for padding, the
alleged increase OF population found by the
state enumerators is phenomenal, whereas, on
the contrary in the tenement house and resi-
dence districts. where there is not the same OPP
portunity for duplicating the population. the
gains since the federal census are less unreason-
able.
For example. the eleventh assembly district
running from I'D to 4Oth streets between Lex
ington and It'll avenues, shows an increase OF
~ per cent, which is easily accounted for when
it is remembered that this is largely district
of hotels and that their transient population
has gone to swell the Tammany enumerators
returns, whereas the twentieth district. run
ming from AID to 59th streets on the east side,
which is almost entirely residence district,
not only showed no increase, but an actual de-
crease since $780, for the probable reason that
1t contained neither a hotel, transient nor
huur ,latto oh 20 xl,a
state census returns.
ON THE WATER FRONT.
1T was also noticed that the districts having
a long water front showed an increase in popu-
lation of something like % per cent, while in ad
joining districts the increasewas shown to be only
about per cent 1t seemed that the enumer-
ators must have taken the names Of all the peo-
pie found about the wharves. although many of
them probably lived in some other locality.
The same discrepancy is found in the returns
for the district which lies on each side of
broadway. 1t is fair to presume that the in
crease in population shown is due to
the fact that the state enumerators
took the names of those living in the hotels,
which are numerous in that district. There
are other equally interesting facts which might
be mentioned ii time allowed. l will be in
terested to see the returns from the state and
whether they undertake to make a
according to ages. l will say now,
as said in July OF the census year, that the
federal census Of New York city WAS correct,
and a good census to be taken in the month Of
June"