Omaha daily bee., 1893-12-10
A pERu5YENT CE1srS BuREAr.

1t is expected that nearly all the
principal reports OF tho eleventh census
will be completed by July /, 1894, tho
time designated by congress-. This will
be four years after the taking of the
census was begun, and while it will be
an improvement upon the time occu-
pied with some preceding censuses,
notably the tenth, it must be obvious to
everybody that a great deal of the in
formation will be valucless, except for
purposes of comparison and %computa-
ton. Most statistics, and particularly
those of an industrial nature, decline in
value with age. The newer they are the
more useful, especially in a country like
ours, where the conditions of develop
ment are essentially different from those
of older countries whose growth may be
said to have reached the period of ma
turity. We shall probably never do
much better than has been done, how
ever, in the matter of providing promptly
the most important and valuable sta
tistics so long as we adhere to the
method of taking the census which has
been in vogue since the beginning of
the government, and this being under
stood there is a demand for the more
frequent a~scertalnmcnt of industrial
facts than once in ten years.
In order to do tEis it will be necessary
to establish a permanent census bureau.
This has beer proposed and the proposal
is said to be approved by practically all
of the statisticians of the country.
Prominent among these is the chief of
the Massachusetts bureau of labor statis-
tics, Mr.. Horace G. Wadlin, a most
competent authority. who recently ex-
pressed the opinion that a permanent
bureau would be a great improvement
over-the present system. One of its re-
suits would be to give the government a
thoroughly efficient force of statisticians,
who could be depended upon to do the
work required of them accurately and
rapidly. Much of the digestlng of the
figures which are gathered by the cen
sus agents requires the skill of special
lists, and it is manifestly desirable that
competent persons be retained in the
same department in order that the ut
llOSU NdiuS may bO given u III udDula
tions and to the conclusions deduced
from them for the benefit of the public.
The idea of Mr.. Wadlin is that if the
United States should establish a perma.
nent bureau it would nave an arrange.
ment much like that in Massachusetts.
There the bureau is that of statistics oil
labor and the census work has been put
=. l.,r sc +6n .l;nf Tbo a,
has already its census office and if the
proposed change were made it would
reach the same result in the reverse
order. But the system would be the
same. At regular times the bureau
would take the national census. During
intervals and while it was not engaged
in digesting and publishing the census
figures it would be gathering and pub
fishing a mass of Interesting manufac
turing and industrial material, Just al
the Massachusetts bureau takes every
year a survey of the condition o
manufactures and gives the re
suit of special Investigations. Thes,
special inquiries would be reported
upon with reasonable promptness anC
InuS une ndIlon Woulu SeI hucn qulcRel
returns, and hence much more valuable
presented in a more scientific way.
The former superintendent of tn
eleventh census, Mr.. Robert p. Porter
strongly advocated a permanent censu
bureau, giving cogent reasons in supper
of the proposal, and as already re
marked it has the approval of nearly al
the principal statisticians of the country
The difficulty, however, at present il
the way of establishing a permanen
bureau is the necessity for create
economy in the expenditures of the gov
eminent, so that it is not probable thi
congress can be induced to give tn
matter any consideration.
nAIgTAn NLHIv CTta1rEc