The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-01-11
MOST OF THE CENSUS CORRECT
Secrets Coburn on the Work of the
EnumeratOr.

EnumeratOr.
Topeka, Kan, Jan. 10.-The state
board Of agriculture, in annual conven-
ton here. today considered the report
Of Secretary F. D. Coburn, and voted it
a valuable document. 1t showed in de-
tail the work Of the agricultural de-
partment for 1895. In regard to the work
OF taking the census, Mr.. Coburn said:
GAS 1895 was one of the years in which
the law requires this board to supervise
the taking, compilation and publication
of a decennial census, is regular and a
large special office force have been very
much occupied with that work, which
has been completed and given to the
public, along with the years crop sta
tistics, in a pamphlet of 136 pages. On
accour5t of The delay of the legislature in
providing printing funds, the necessary
great quantities Of blank books or rolls
for use of the many hundreds Of asses
sors, could not be sent out tin two or
three weeks later than most Of the as
SCISSORS must begin their duties. This
unfortunate delay resulted in much Of
the detailed information being hurriedly
or carelessly gathered, and in some in
stances entirely omitted.
1.-The assessors of Comanche, Finney,
Saline and Seward counties, counte-
named by their county commissioners
in so doing, used the unavoidable delay
as a pretext for refusing TO make any
enumeration whatever, and the returns
from portions of Atchison, Cherokee,
Cove, Lyon and Marion counties espe-
cially, and various others in some re-
spects and to some extent, although
sworn to as correct, are for the same
reasons so incomplete as to make their
showing, not only for their respective
counties, but for the state as whole,
very unsatisfactory to this board, and
-,-sc 80
they so unjuStly misrepresent. 1t is but
Justice ito say, however, that the work
of a large majority of the enumerotors
for this census has been done with pains
taking and "a, conscientious regard for
their oaths of office, and that they have
been aided and encouraged III their
worthy endeavors by county clerks and
boards Of commissioners alike high
minded.
1.-The chief criticism so far heard has
been of the regretable failure by the
enumerators to ascertain and set down
the probable fact that a larger num-
Der of our fellow citizens Were soldiers
IN the late war for the Union. Under
the law the neglect by an assessor to
gather any of these statistics is a mis-
demeanor, punishable by a fine of from
$50 to 800, but not even those critics
whose grief is greatest have filed formal
neys, through whom the offenders might
be brought ito justice. However, the
state census, in spite of the faults COM
mon TO all such undertakings, is of
great value in giving US our bearings
as "a commonwealth. 1t shows us to
ourselves, points out to US who and
what we are, what we have, and the
directions in which we are tending"
The regular program for the second
day of the convention was taken up at
10 o'clock this morning. Professor Z. A.
Popenal of state agricultural college
opened with an address on the subject
Spraying Orchards" r. II. Hilton of
Topeka followed with a paper on the
tillage question. Albert Dean of the
United States bureau of animal industry
of Kansas City, delivered an address on
the subject, '@1icl1s and their relation to
the spread of Texas fever"
At the afternoon session W. z. Hutch
inson of Hutchinson read a paper on
the subject, "Kaffir Corn. or the Nom
Sacchraine SOrghums as Grain and For
age Plants" T. a. Hubbard of Rome
read paper about swine breeding. w.
S. Tough of Kansas City addressed the
convention on the aspects of the horse
situation and its future outlook. Col
onel Crisp, state fish commissioner of
Missouri, and ?. G.. Noel of Topeka
closed the session with a talk about
wheat.
AT the evening session Emerson A.
Abbott of st. Joseph read a paper on the
subject, Bee Keeping for the Farmer
and Fruit Grower" Ex-Lieutenant
Governor Andy Felt of Atchison gave a
talk about "Kansas-Its Farmers and
Prosperity" DR.. Debora X. Longshare
Of Topeka spoke on the subject, SAM
tatiOn f orFarm Homes"
The convention likely will close to-
night.