New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-07

assorted and arranged, and the clerks there would
enter upon new set OF cards, each Of different
shade OF ycllowish color, the total number Of citi
zcns in all the institutions charged 10 each town
or city, or county at large; then all the aliens,
and, finally, the whole number of the inmate
population. li...
MAKING CITIZENS by sCoEE:.
1t was speedily ascertaincd after thcsc inmate
cards came in from the outer room that the dis
tinction between citizen inmates and alien in
mates was not always indicated on the backs Of
the cards, and for the reason that such distnc-
ton bad not always been indicated in the returns
Of which those cards were the record, the in
accurate returns not having bren sent back for
correction. Often there would be marking on
the backs Of the cards at all. Often there would
be only that marking which indicated the num-
her OF citizens, and the number Of citizens -
indicated would I've often much smaller than the
whole number OF inmates az recorded on the face
Of the card. A general instruction. however. was
now issued to the clerks 10 classify and compute
as citizens, and TO record SUCH all inmates not
clearly indicated 10 be aliens That IL, II on The
face Of the card the whole number OF inmates were
said 70 be 1862, and II on the back Of the card
the only marking was " - {, under thcsc IN
structons the clerk would proceed TO compute a.
citizens the whole lG2 inmates
A further record OF institutional inhabitants
was at one time ma c. Ii afterward
abandoned but it had the effect Of introducing
many large in the results of
the enumeration. The institutional cards having
been made out, they, together with the original
returns taken upstairs in the Office Of the
Secretary Of State. where there WAS a third and
final branch OF tie Enumeration Bureau. under
A.. Al.
sisant Secretary. This was primarily tabua-
ton office. All the cards OF all the election dis
trcts, all the ward total cards. the township
total cards the city total cards the county total
cards eventually found their way mp 10 this tabu-
lation room, where they taken on upon type
written sheets by force OF women. Taking the
cards and the returns. these clerks entered Oh the
back Of the cards the names of the inmates 10
whom the number the face Of the cards re-
lerrcd. After each name the clerks wrote. or
rather should have written. the &c" or a." 10
indicate whether the specified was that Of Il
| citizen alien. In thousands Of cases. how
| ever. they omitted to make this distinction.
When the card was not large enough TO con-
| tain all the names shown in the return a piece
OF paper was pasted the card and the additional
names written on the attached paper. 1t
was often the case that the only names thus re-
corded were marked as citizens the names OF
aliens being altogether omitted. and in such
il was often found that some one had altered the
| number on the face Of the card diminishing it 80
| as to make it agree with the number of the names
| recorded on it's back. Thus the original and cor
rect number Of inmates often reduced, and
the reduced number became in many cases
| Incorporated into the final returns. As so
used, these figures had the effect both of
diminishing the tOtal DODulatlou of the
community TO which they related and in most
cases of emitting altogether the element Of the
alien population.