Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-03
Director Merriam Gives Interesting
Comments on Its Progress,
FACTS COLLECTED And COMPILED
Large Cities Show a Slight De-
crease During the Last Decade.
ENORMOUS LABOR INVOLVED
Copyright. 1900 by w R Merriam,


few more facts are to be CLEANED before all
the data necessary for correct tabulation
of the returns will be obtained. The work
of gathering together the great mass of
facts necessary to carry into effect the CEN
sus law of 1899 has been of considerable
magnitude, neceSSitating a very large ex-
pendlture of money. The preliminary work
involved an enormous amount of printing,
the selection of fifty-odd thousand enumer-
ators and 800 supervisors, and the organ
lzatlon of regular examination board to
provide clerical force of upward of 100
people, all preparatory to the beginning OF
the census work proper on the LIST of June
OF thls year. The details requisite to the
proper preparation of the necessary blanks
ana the selection of the proper people to do
the work incidental to the carving ont Of
the census act, were not inconsidara bile and
required incessant labor upon the part of
lnose IN charge of the bureau to see to IL
mat everything was ready when the time
came Tor moving the enormous army which
mad been gathered from the various states
ana territories to collect the information
requircd. All of the plans had to be pre-
Pdreu III advance, and it is gratifying TO
De able to state that thus far the schema
torily.
There are very few people who have anv
considerable idea of the vast amount Of IN,
formation that is gathered through the CEN
Sus pan OF supervision and enumeration
L he n
vision OF the country into small atstricts
and the selection of persons to go from
mouse to house, or from farm TO farm and
sather the basic facts upon which the en-
tire success of the census depends We
not only learn all about the individual his
age, his nationality, his occupation and his
color, but also numerous other data con-
corning the various industries of the coun-
try; and also facts that enable the statlsti-
clan to learn how much of the wealth of
Ihe country Is invested in agricultural
lines how many are able to own their own
farms, now many rent and the other in
teresting facts which in due time are tabu-
lated and placed before the public.
This Country the Most Advanced in
Census Work.
There is no country in the world that
spends as much money on its census as
does the United States. Other nations OBJ
tain but very small number of facts in
comparison with those of the United States;
some simply take the population, and often
at no stated time; others gather certain
data concerning the agricultural resources
of the land; very few, if any, go into the
manufacturing inquiry. The constitutional
requirement. which necessitates a reap
portionment of Congress every decade, has
obliged us to take thorough enumeration
of the people. From time to time there
has been added to this work information
concerning other interests of Importance to
the country. Gradually, decade by decade,
the number of inquiries has been increased,
or twentyfour subjects which were made
the subject of statistical inquiry. In the
present decade the purpose of the act is
to confine the census proper to four i'm
portapt inquiries that is-population, agri-
culture, manufacturing and vital statistics.
Only two years are given from July l, 1890.
to finish these four branches of lie work.
Later on 1t is possible that special work OF
various kinds will be taken up and reports
made.
That is the bureau will undertake to in
r,trir int -arint
larry the social statistics of cities, wealth,
debt and taxation, religious bodies, electric
light and power, telephone and telegraph
business. transportation by water mines
and mining. These special subjects will be
considered as of the date when the work
is commenced, and will be finished as rap
idly as possible. How long it will take to
finish the special subjects is not matter
that has thus far been considered. 1t looks
now as though the work on the four sub
jects noted above would be finished within
the time required by the act.
manufacturing Branch.
Naturally enough the inquiry in connec-
ton with the manufacturing branch of the
census work is full of interest to all Amer
leans, as well as to the whole civilized
world There is no nation that takes so
thorough a manufacturing census as ours,
and in this age of anxiety to acquire COM
mercial power the manufacturing lndus-
tries of our country are looked upon with
the keeneSt interest. The whole treno
among the trading nations OF the earth IS
to acquire a larger trade, ana, II neces-
sary to gain it even by force of arms. the
whole contest of modern times Is one OF
commercialsm, and the United states Is
so far in advance of all the other civilized
nations of the world in point OF manuIac-
turing industries that her inquiry in this
regard will be of the utmost significance,
not only to her own people, but TO other
countries. The present Indications are
from the schedules that have already come
to hand that the amount of capital inter-
ested and enormous products attained VIII
evoke the enthusiasm of all patrlotlc cltl-
Zens In the last few years the growth OF
our industries has been simply colossal
The manufacturing inquiry will demon
strate beyond any doubt that there is prac-
tically no limit to the lndustriai resources
of the United States, and the result IN hg-
ures will be evidence of our ability not only
to compete with the entire world Tor ITS
trade but in addition thereto to elevate
our Industrial army to a much higher plane
in its mode of living and its method OF
thought. :,
A larger sum than ever before will be
spent in the requirement OF thorough IN
formation as to the condition and numbers
of the great landed interests of the coun-
try and there will be some new inquiries
in connection with the agricultural work
that will be of great value, showing not
only those who own their own farms. but
those who rent, the size of the farms, their
products and the value of the products
1t is Interesting to know, in connection
with this inquiry, that we SHALL for the
first time, have a clear idea of how many
of the colored people of the United States,
formerly in slavery. have become tillers of
the soil Over al per cent of the national
wealth is invested in agriculture, and 1t is
only proper that this enormous source Of
national wealth should have the fullest
opportunity to demonstrate the important
position it holds factor in the growth
of the republic.
The Industrial Growth.
Thus far the census office has given out
the population Of the cities of $4,000 and
over, involving perhaps 100000 people.
1t is very interesting to learn that the nu-
merical gain in the two last decades has
been practically the same. That is to say,
between 1880 and 1o50 the gain over the
previous decade was, in round numbers,
1900, 600 people. and in the decade between
1890 and 1900 the numerical growth has
been about 4,575,0O0, thus showing practi-
cally little difference between the two dec
AIDES in urban population.
1t is further noticeable that the percent
age in the different cities has varied in the
amount of their increase, some increasing
a larger percentage, like West Superior,
Wis, others losing, like some of the Nebras-
ka cities; but the average growth has been
practically the same. Statisticians vary as
to the cause Of this remarkable coincidence