St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-27
A PERMANENT CENSUS BUREAU.

Now would seem to be the time for
those to use their best efforts who are
in favor of placing the census work Of
THIS country in the hands of a perman
ent bureau Of experts. To do this
just in advance Of a census year is
1mpracticable. At that time the party
which is in power or which expects to
be in power is unwilling to resign the
extensive patronage involved in the
appointments in the census depart
ment. There are too many good places
to be had for active workers to permit
the adoption of principle that would
recognize fitness instead of political
activity, and that would establish the
rule OF permanent tenure. Now, how
ever, the work Of the census of 1890
Is drawing to a close, and not for four
years to come will there be any large
force Of employees engaged. It would
seem to be the proper occasion to re-
deem our census work from the dis
credit into which it has fallen. to the
great cost Of the public and to the
detrlment of scientific truth. 1t is
needless to say, at this time. that the
census of 1890 was a disgrace to the
great nation whose statistics it pre-
tended to collect. It was put in charge
OF a man whose abilities, moderate
at pest, We're entirely subject to
his political prepossessions He was
interested in finding facts that he
wanted to find, instead Of steering
straight toward the truth AS a re-
suit, there were endless conflicts over
the census results obtained, and there
is little or no confidence in the COM
pleted work.
Most people think, perhaps, that
the enumeration of population is the
main duty of afcensus bureau. On the
contrary, that is the least important
part Of the work The statistics of
business development, of mortality. of
Indebtedness, Of crime and of a score
OF other subjects, when accurately as
certained, form a basis of comparison
from decade to decade by which alone
we can estimate the progress or re-
Progression of the nation and it's peo
pie. We can tell more about the wis
dom or inexpediency of particular leg
islation, more about the effects of sys-
TENS of taxation and of penal reform.
by comparison of trustworthy statis
tics from year to year and from period
to period, than can possibly be rea
soned out in advance. Statistics of
that sort will never be available as the
fruit Of the work of a political census
bureau; gathered together every tenth
year from the henchmen of party boss
es, and scattered to the four winds
after they have obtained some skill
at their work by the necessary dis
cipline which it itself imposes.
The United States bureau Of labor
statistics has done more than anv
other organization in this country to
furnish intelligent and reliable data
for the determination of economic
questions. 1t has assumed this value
only since it became a permanent or
ganIzatlon In the hands of an &C
knowledged expert. Place the. census
bureau on the same basis. Set over it
a permanent chief with a small staff
Of officials who may engage, in the
intercensus years, in the work of the
bureau of labor statistics. Expand
and those Immediately following, to
proportions commensurate with the
work to be done. This is the only
system by which we shall ever obtain
trustworthy and valuable results for
the expenditure of the vast amount of
on so-oalled census reports.