El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-04-19
TAKING THE CENSUS.

The practice of beginning the cen
sus enumeration on the first day o.
June had its origin before there was
any consid cradle city population and
before the summer exodus to seasld e
and mountain bad assumed any but in
fnitesimal proportions. When the
first census was taken there was no
city of 100, 900 inh abitants in the coun-
try, and the most of the wealthy re-
sidents of the few small cities then in
existence lived in spacious resideu ces
within easy distance OF their places OF
business, which they did not desert,
winter or summer, except occasionally
for a trip abroad.
Now the cityipopulstion is number
ed by the millions, and they take
summer outing by the hundreds of
thousands. When the census enumer-
ators start on their rounds Oh July l in
Washington. Baltimore, Philadelphia.
New York, Boston and other principal
American cities they will find whole
streets ractically deserted, doors and
windows tightly boarded up and no one
at home to answer questions as to the
names, ages and mum bers OF those who
for three quarters of the year are
domiciled in the abandoned homes. So
far as any accurate record Of the city
population is concerned it certainly
cannot be obtained In June, and 1t is
doubtful if any worse month in the
year could besselected for making the
enumeration. Getting an accurate
count of this transient summer popula-
ton in the hotels and boarding hous es
of the watering places is certainly an
impossibility, and as long as the pres
ent practice remains in vogue an even
approximately correct count OF census
noses must rem ain impossible.
A New York newspaper speaks OF
the population of that city being at
that date diminished by stems OF
thousands of families and persons"
To minimize the injustice. whether it
be more or less, that may happen by
an enumeration at'thas time, Director
Merriam has devised a scheme of an
tici pating the flight of New Workers to
Europe and to the country. He will
cause to be sent by the supervisor for
the district to the owners or occupants
OF all houses in the residence part of
the city-that is to say. above Four
teenth street-a postal card upon the
back OF which is printed blank form
to be filed out. Among the questions
TO be answered are these: Whether
the house or apartment Is likely to be
closed during the first two weeks in
June, and where the family or some
repres entative of it can be reached by
persons, including servants, ccmpos-
ing tn e family is to be indicated. 1t Is
hoped in this way that large part of
the items of thousands" absent may
get counted in the census to the credit
of the city.
But all .cities should.be treated fairly
In this respect, and, for anything the
HERALD knows they will be. New
York is not the only city whose well-to-
do people are in the habit of quitting
ID for the summer. Nor is it alone en-
titled to have the roaming ones counted.
Ii this plan were to be put in operation
IN New York only, that city might
be made to seem to have larger popu-
Iation than it really has, as compared
with other cities. 1t ia improbable
that Chicago will consent to give New
York any such advantage, and smaller
cities, including Ell Paso, have a right
to be heard.
The most obvious remedy for this |
defective enumeration would be 10
adapt the Jaw and its entorceme a.
TO the conditions existing
In 1900 instead of 1870. |
While it would be impossible to catch |
every body at home, no matter what
the date selected for making the emu
meration, il is very apparent that the |
health-seekers who visit California, |
Florida or the West Indies during the |
winter and early spring comprise only
, small fraction of the number that !
will be on the wing by June l. Only |
real invalids seek climates with the
wallows and robins. The summer
legira from the cities Is very extern
i've and is growing with each year, as
hummer accom- modations in the noun
aims and at the seaside increase.
If the enumerators began their work
april l instead of June l they would
ind thousands of people at home who