Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-06-01
'|RE CENTURY CENSUS
An Army Of $4,000 Enumerstorss
and Supervisors Begin Their
Work Today.
Some of the Results It is h.
pected the Figures Will
Show.
Believed That They Will Prove the
United States the Greatest Mod.
ern Nation.

United States the Greatest Mod.
ern Nation.
Washington, June before leaving
his Office last night Commander in
Chief Merriam of the army OF the con-
ssus had piled upon his desk 2s7 tele-
grams. They We're from his brigade
chiefs scattered thruout forty-f five
states and five territories. These dis
patches carried but one message and
it read: I'VE are ready to move"
Today, therefore, the 297 brigades
will advance upon the enemys front.
1t is a bold Attacks. 900 raw recruits
against 75,ooo,OO0 of people. But so
we'll organized is the army OF the cen-8
sus that General Merriam confidently
believes that thirty days hence the last
of the foe will have been rounded up.
catechised, described, listed and pe-
rolled for another ten years.
This morning $1,000 census enumef-
ators start upon their rounds. Two
hundred and ninety-seven supervisors
have them in charge. In addition to
chief inspectors are out on the road
and more than 1000 special agents are
prepared to jump into their designated
| fields OF inquiry. Ffty-five thousand
men to gather information about Is,
1 O00OO0
4 1t looks like big army, and 1t ts big
ger than any the Beers have had In
| the field in South Africa. But this is q.
/ great country If any man has hith-
1 erto failed fully to appreciate tts
grandeur he should be duly impressed
by the fact that it will take 5000 men
4 a month to simply enumerate our great
i American population.
This end OF the century census the
A twelfth which Uncle Sam has taken.
lis expected to show that the United
4 States is today the greatest, the most
lpopulous, the richest, the most pros
4 porous and the most rapidly growing
modern nation. The experts have all
a ready figured out that the total popu-
4 lation will leap from 62,00o,0oo in 1890
to between 75,0o0,0o0 and 760oooO0 In
a I19oO
Munhall. the English statistican.
last fall figured the population Of the g
'l:United States June 1 this year at
Z 100000 The treasury experts made IL
Z still higher. Census Director Merriam
u has estimated seventy three or seven
q lty-four millions but for ope'snSs rea-
q sons he is conservative. There are
! experts here who are willing to wager
IIJthat the grand total, when finally
wound ,lp will not be over IS 6.Oo00 600
lignor under e. 90 600. 1t will beat the
tlfciyilized world Germany has only
as many people. France and
: l5C;reat Britain only a little over half
as MANY. Russia and China have more.
: hut their hordes are not to be reckoned
sim the category of fully civilized mod
= ern peoples.
Director Merriam expects to be able
Ito announce the population of many
j American cities within the coming
y month. Washington will come first.
e probably about June 90 and rapidly
J. thereafter New York. Chicago. Phila-
delphia and all the large cities For the
Z first time the federal census will give
Chicago here rightful place as the sec
Iiond city spon the American continent.
q The ce .Sus experts give me most
interesting prediction. 1t Is that TINS
census will show the United States 70
have a larger number of cities Win = =
K ,$population exceeding 100000 than an!
Il other nation. We shall snow apoue
,orty such municipalities and our near
= est rival. II Is sOelitNt'i'l -
this competition China is not counted
as tba pop,riation of Chinese cities is
largely a MATER of guessing, and they
are .,,ara COLLECTIONS of villages at best
The experts have also figured ou,
Ithat the center of population in the
ssaE United states has now Travelled about
-. - sixty miles west of Columbus. Ind. nc
:. 80 Is now not far from the Illinois line
ID "Westward the star of empire.
,o no In increase of wealth the great wes'
- lie expected to astonish the east. AZ
= q new apportonment of the Gnitee
= States for congress and the electora
= college is to be made next winter upor
(. fine basis of this census. as required b.
. l}the constitution. the growth OF popula'
~ tion in the west will speedily bring In
os crease of political power.
So Just a hundred years ago Virgin;
- was the first state of the union, Will
- 4 population OF ssO.Ooo This year !
* viii fall back to about twentieth place
At the beginning of the centur.
~ Massachusetts stood third in the list
n Ten wears ago it was sixth. In thi
40 census 1t is pretty ure to De outstrlppe'
40 by Texas, Indiana. Michigan and lowa
rs Already the special agents who ar
,64 to gather Information as to American
n manufacturing industrles are HI Worh
!, During the next three months they wi
=. finish their tasks. On this score th
4. results are likely to be amazing. TIL
feature of the census more than an
other will show the greatness OF "a
". United States.
ed "The census will show that our IN
re dustrial progress during the last te
lal years has never been approached
in approximated by any country or In an
age.
adds: ss
1T SO happens that this twelfth csr
are sus not only winds up the record Of q
ng century. but falls in a year OF unprece
Mt. dented business activity. The valu
90; Of products will be swelled by constai
overtime work In thousands Of mil
and factories and by the great advans
in prices which will take place, an
ax- which will represent, by rough calc,
nj lation, an Increase Of 50 per cent in q
lot valuation that would have been .
as- signed to the Identical volume OF pr
,rt, duction had the census been takso =
years earlier.