The Portland daily press., 1900-02-20

| some OF the DtmCuIues wv
front the Enumer.tors.
Census taking 10 not the political picnic
that many people imagine. Few apprs-
ciats the magnitude Of the : WORK; the
eleventh census cost more than I'll ,0c0. 900,
and In the twelfth census an Office force
Of more than 1000 for about two years
q nd a field force Of over 20 90 for from
/ wo weeks To a mon th, will DO employed.
Their, too, the Hoilerith tabulating
machines BY which the population is
counted and the returns tabulsted. make
cen &c stalking huge industrial process.
| TIE census office becomes factory; the
al rector Of the Census . captain OF In
/ duttry, who, II he 10 to tie successful,
must possess all the directive energy and
the genius for organ ization which charnc-
teiise our moot successful manufacfur-
trs and railroad presidents.
| Among the troublesome problems
which have 10 be solved By the census
Office are the legal questions which con-
tinuaily arise. Tbs Indian census, for
cultiss. In 1890 the census law prov ded
that "spst Il report upon tbs Ind
should be made. A volume OF eco odd
pages was published, profufoIy illustrtt-
ed and touching every point OF the In
dian problem. For onte In history.
"Poor Lo" was accorded justice. The
volume WAS 80. pretty that tie edition
" 40 soon exhausted, and now the DEPART
ment Of the int ior has not even o3py
for the census office itfelf.
But the law providing for the twelfth
census makes no special provision for an
Indian o,nsus; nor does 1t authorfzs such
. report az was made ten years ago. IL
10 1T this point that the real difficulties
Of the census office regarding the Indians
begin. u,.,,. 80. . ~,
| be treated by itself and deserted In .
separate Ieptrs 1t also seems illoR ical to
clafs tie Indians among the ordinary
population Of the United States. The
Indian tribe is in many respects dis
tact nationality, although since 1871.
stroy all traces Ut tritai independence or
seIf-government. Moreover. the tribal
Indians are not citizens of the United
States. The reservations upon which
they live are not legally parts OF the state
or territory which surrounds them, and
state and territorial laws do not apply
| to the reservation Indians, unless such
application 10 explicitly authorized In the
act.
Under such conditions IL seems i'm.
possible for the csrsus offi;e to cas- In
dams rs part Of ths ordinary fnhahi-
tants of the states and tsrriso-ies. On
| the other hand IL Ia equally impossibls
to ignore them and omit them entirely.
For the Constitution OF the United STATES
says that: "Repre ssntatives shall be ap-
portlonsd among the several State, ao-
cording to their respective numbers,
counting the whole mum Der OF persons
in each State excluding Indians not
taxed"
This fastens upon the census Office a
duty that seems plato enough. But
matter OF fact, 1t would give the Attor-
ney General Of the United States some
hours Of work to explain exactly what Ia
meant by the apparently simple phrase;
| "Indians not taxed" The uncertainty
in the phrase is H. the meaning OF the
word taxed" The tribal Indian, Ike
other inhabitants of the United States is
subjsot to tho internal revenue duties
and the varions stamp taxes now imposed
by the United States. III he uses bank
check he must stamp it; II he marufae-
lures box of cigars, he must stamp IL.
Is re taxed" thereby
Just what a "tax' is in the meaning OF
the Constit ution. hss never been definite
| ly decided, although the question has been
| before tins Supreme Court many times.
The famous income tax caFes hinged
upon this very point. Ex-senator Ed
muuds and Joseph IL. Uhoate, now am
bassador to England, assisted by some OF
| the most eminent lawyers OF America.
| successfully argued that an income tax
was direct tax, within the meaning Of
the Constitution. Attorney -General
nent lawyers, gravely argued that an In
come tax was net q tax but an execise
or duty. At the fret htaring OF the
case, the Supreme Court was evenly
divided upon many poirts at Issue. AZ
| the second hearing the decision was rem.
uered with four dissenting justices
| against the live who concurred In the
| opinion OF this Court, than an income tax
was di cot tax.
Whether or not q stamp duty Is tax,
D To a fAN
| whether indians net taxed" means
Indians notdirectly taxed, or whether
| IL may not mean Indians not taxable,
are questions that must be decided by
the census ofi1os before 1t can form les
| plan for the Indian enumeration
| The last question has been subject OF
debate sverssincs Indisn censuses have
been taken. In. 1870 there were about
| 81, COO civilized Indians living among
the general population OF the United
States. Such Indians are citizens OF the
United States, but many OF them are too
poor to pay taxes. Are they to be sxclud-
ed from the population according 10
which representation In Congress 10 ep-
portioned? We count every Chinese and
{ ther alien of whatever sort or condition.
Before the wsr we counted every negro
slave as equivalent to three-tifths OF
| white man. 1t seems manifesty atsrrd
| TO believe that the trainers OF tae Const.-
tuition meant to exclude q class OF citf.
zens who are also natives. because CT
their poverty. In other words. the fam
ers of the Constitution must have said
what they did not mean. What they
really meant was to exclude all Indians
belonging to q GLASS not subject TO tara.
tion.
All these points are subjected to the
! most careful examination In the csnsus
office, and when daoision as to the legal
obligation of the ofiioe has been reached
the statistloiaps turn their attention to
the eoonomio and so,ial aspects OF the
question In hand. Experts are consulted;
the important lines Of investigation are
mapped out. and inquiries are 90 framed
as to bring out tie desired information
In form In which 1t can be handled
with the Hollsrith machines. At the
same time, these questions must bs put
In such a way thas they will neither be
misunderstood, or likely to evoke anita
gonism or false replies. No pains are