The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-04-16

md child resident IN INC oh''eu
:. tAs Hrst OF June. 1900. babies q
- included. The paper for more
IA 900. 900 Of these cards 10 now
-.se in half . dozen paper mills in
..,rtry. The name. age, residence
=, 4 each one Of those persons will
,s.tsp upon each one OF these cards,
~ viii all be preserved and record
Z \ ne archives Of the Nation.
NM, tie country 10 preparing to com
eount OF itself for the FIRST CEN
s !, ma existence. Superintendent Mer-
=. !, here now preparing for this grand
- '.r,a up which Will DO made In June.
I IN pe the census OF century and the
',.,..t thing Of the world.
~. ITO years ago tho United States
~ ina nrst regular census since the
s AZ me Romans Governor Merriam
- "a .siy appointed a few generals for his
~ .s.s army OF counters, commentators and
pp.,,.tcsi experts, and he will so slow
y !. AZ 40 that he may make haste at the
- vhlch will bs the essential business
H. vurk. Next week the director will
s..,r ia selection Of his personal STAFF.
- ~, Al hoss the whole job without inter-
= s,.sca His bills. which will aggregate
r.uy millions OF dollars, will be audited
n lie treasury department, but not even
4. president has the power to regulate
Am n the direction Of the great count.
NJ wines has already been selected as
Il, assistant and Prof. Henry Ganpett Of
Al. city will be the stenographer. The
s.hsr administrative and statistical off,
saA md H.
NJ amount Of work to DO performed is
something appalling to contemplate. The
e,rsus Of l7s0--the first ever made by the
TrIted States-cost $44.37l. That OF the
lss decade. which was not completed for
iii years, cost $11.350,000. Tho census Of
100 was a mere count OF the inhabitants.
mo years were consumed In the work.
Governor Merriam will probably spend
$1,000 900, but the expectation Ia that
he work will be done and the full results
published and out Of the way by the close
Of 1901.
The enumeratlng work Of the census Of
lMo--the first Of the now century-wilI be
urDf the direction of 500 supervisors, who
Will, In their turn, appoint 10000 enumer-
iors to do the actual work throughout the
country. In the United States proper in
GLIDING now Alaska. Porto Rico and the
Hawaiian islands. this great army OF Off
sils will, 1t is estimated upon figures OBJ
tanned In various ways since 1890, find a
population Of so,o0o,0o0. approximately
This Is quite In contrast to the enumera-
ton made 100 years ago by the 1879 as
dstant United States marahals, under the
direction OF sixty-one United States census
marshals and all under the direct control
o the president. who returned a popu,a-
lion Of S,s29,214 for tho whole country, or
100000 lfss than the population of the
present Stats of Ohio, then tracklsss
wldernesss. Some idea of the enormous
task OF counting. classifying and recording
the people OF the United States next June
may DO obtained by an examination of
some Of the preparations now being made
TO do the work. In addition to the 125, 0oO,-
900 prepared cards for the recording OF
each Individual name from the infant Just
born 10 the very oldest inhebitant," 4
mountain OF white paper for millions OF
blank sheets OF population schedules and
statistical reports, not to speak of the
billions OF pounds necessary for the less
permanent documents, the printed reports
nr maj Issue, is all yet to be manufactur-
q and prepared for work. In 1890 the
nashas contented themselves with the
ga fashioned quill pen and ink horn and
ne use OF early Nineteenth century meth
cds Of computation. We shall be much
QUICKER and much moro exact next year
we VIII count the lists by machinery. This
system Of machine calculating, which ad-
MUS oil counting facts In combination,
WI 90 adopted. The office will have to
select from the various devices the one
most satisfactory. and a sufficient number
% 90 the work must then be manufactured
isRen all In all. the complete number oil
sppointments that will be made in the
course OF the census will be over $4,000
reese include eighteen or twenty staff of.
uesrs $40 supervisors. 4o,0 enumerators
sna ABOUT 5000 clerks and other employees
inc census Of 1900 was taken for political
.sssons only. IT'S chief object was to en-
s.e congress to make the reapportionmen
r NJ msmoers among the States as contem'
plasea py the constitution, and took no &C.
count Of values. no trade or vital Stats
ncs II was made under the direction O
ns STATE department chiefly. Sex was no
ao.ced, no untaxed Indians were emu
us,a'ed, but careful returns were mad
w, nsu view to the voting capacity ant
ny capacity OF the Inhabitants for mill
~ service. The frst census in which
sns enort TO obtain social statistics ant
~ as to manufacturing industries wa
,s.i nv, but this feature was dropped II
iosV' In 1910 those branches OF the cen
~ we're restored. and along with then
'yue account OF vital statictics were taken
-. was not, however. that census taking
We know 1t now was begun. The i'm
h.@nce OF wider scope for the worl
"a. su become apparent and the census bu
s. became part of the interior de
today.
The first superintendent of the censu
Fennsylvanian, who had an eventfu
ssieer. This was Joseph C. G. Kennedy
no was born in Meadville In 1918, H
~ euucated at Allegheny college an
ha.. appointed in 1S4b secretary OF tn
,s, 'u which prepared the plan for tn
srs OF 1850, under the general scop
!, "hcn all OF our censuses have bee
,n rea since that time. Mr.. Kennedy wa
nv ss.aleu under this plan to take the cen
No.. y. 1907. and also succeeded himself a
w., .ntendent of the census of 1860. II
Wa personal friend of Buchanan, and
NIL. through that influence he was ap
ds,aseu In 1850. Mr.. Kennedy was muir
sSo u IN Washington In 1857 by a ma
aneled that he had wronged him /
m, estate transaction.
ina y Mr.. Kennedy was the father G
dorh, present census system, as he I'm
Ws,riy was. 1t was General Francis
vhiaS VINO brought 1t to the syster
ia" resulted in the great census G
tus "nicn was the basis. also, OF the cen
I'M. 1890, made by Robert p, Porter
Cers.,ne supervision OF Carrol d. Wrlgh
tenSa. walker was appointed superin
contsr. OF the census OF 1907, and wa
comria.s In the same place until tn
surrreon OF the census OF 1880. He In
subiac,se the system of treating specis