The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-03-07
TAKING THE WORLDS CENSUS.
An International Plan Proposed for the
Year 1900.


time in history, an attempt will be made
in the year 1900 or 1901 to take univer-
sal census of the civilized nations. This
project was initiated at the last meeting
of the International Statistical Institute.
whose mem bership includes the leading
demonstrating experts Of all countries,
and which appointed committee to COR
ties in each country and report progress
to the next meeting OF the institute, in
1897. The object of the institute is to
secure the consent of all the governments
which have established census taking
bureaus to make their next enumerations
simultaneously and upon the basis of uni
form questions, the answers to which will
furnish mass of trustworthy facts con-
corning the industrial and economic con.
ditions of their respective populations.
1t is obvious that, as basis for oom-
pairing the social and economic conditions
OF one country with another, and also
as an approximately correct inventory of
the civilized world, the number Of in
habitants living under each flag, their
occupations and their total wealth and
it's distribution, the proposed universal
census, would be- extremely valuable. 1t
would seem to be very appropriate, too,
that such an inventory should be taken
at the beginning of new century. A
circumstance that favors the project is
that fourteen nations, in Guiding all the
leading ones except Russia, have already
fixed dates somewhere between December
81, 1899 and December 81, 1901, for taking
thoir next censuses. Germany, Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Portugal,
Sweden, Switzerland, and the United
States are all expecting and arranging to
take theirs in the year 1900; France,
Great Britain, Italy, and Norway con-
template taking theirs in 1901, and Hol-
land purposes to take hers on December
81, 1899. 1t would seem therefore, that
II the respective governments are Hing
and the cooperation OF Russia can be, Sc
cured, common census day might be
agreed upon either in 1900 or 1901, on
which the census takers might go their
rounds in Gil these countries, and in 18th
ers that might be induced to join, and
put list of questions which, though
framed in different languages, would
lead to the collection OF the same class of
facts
Hon. Carroll d. Wright has recently
urged Congress to take such action az
will place the United States at the head
of this movement for la simultaneous
and uniform census Of civilized mankind.
He incidentally advocates the establish.
ment Of q permanent United States Gen.
sus Department, which he thinks is nee
essary in order to collect, tabulate, an.
alyze and publish the decennial reports
as accurately as possible, and do it in
the shortest time and at tho lowest COST
He points out that permanent census
office would not only do the work more
Systematically and publish results more
promptly, but that it would cost less than
the hand to mouth method of census
taking hitherto followed. The cost of
the 1870 census was 1885, 11. The cen.
sus of 1880 cost nearly IS, 600, 0OO The
cost of the 1890 enumeration has exceeded
I'll, 600, 600. These figures are in them
selves strong Argument for making the
Census Bureau permanent institution.
A work which will mover again cost the
nation less than $l5 600, OOO-beoause every
new census is bound to be more expensive
than thu preceding one--is on its face i'm
portant enough to warrant and, indeed,
to require perma nent organization.
Mr.. Wright is confident that the last
census could have been taken by per-
manently organized bureau for at least
80, 000, 900 less than it cost, and that the
results would have been published in
complete form fully year earlier. Hon.
Robert p. Porter, the superintendent of
tho eleventh census, reported to the Sem
atc in December, 1891, strongly favoring
permanent Census Bureau, which Mr..
Wright believes ought now to be estab-
lished. 1t is manifestly desirable that
the United States should cooperate with
other nations in making the concurrent
censuses Of the world for 1900 or 1901 az
uniform In their Inquiries and as identi-
cal in their resulting Information as pos
sible. This certainly can be done much
better by q permanent than by a tenn
porary census taking Organization.
There is not much time to be lost in the
matter, and it is to be hoped that Con-
gress will at this session pass the neces
sary legislation to provide for taking the
twelfth census by permanent bureau.
whose officials will be able to work in
carefully planned cooperation with the
census taking officials of other nations.
1t is scarcely necessary, We suppose, to
argue at any length in support of the
general purpose of the proposed uniform
worlds census. This is. above all things
an industrial and commercial nation.
deeply interested, as q matter of business
and as matter OF intelligent discussion
leading up to wise legisle ton and a pru-
dent use of the treaty making power. in
knowing all that can be known about the
conditions of agriculture, manufactures
trade and commerce in contemporarv
countries. After all, MI. Gradrrini
with his mania for "facts, hard facts. y
has his place and his function in humap
affairs. There are doubtless many fic-
tions now accepted as facts, and many
things discredited that are neyertht less
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