Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-02-28
CENSUS TAKING.
SOME
SOME OF IT'S DIFFICULTIES
ENUMERATED

SOME OF IT'S DIFFICITI,TIES
ENUMERATED.
census taking is not the political pic
nc that many people imagine. Few an
preclate the magnitude Of the work.
the Eleventh Census cost more than
Sli'ouU:ooo, and in the Twelfth Census
an oIllce force of more than 1000 fo,
ABOUT two years, and IL field force of
over oO000, for from two weeks to q
month. will be employed Then. too
the Holierith tabulating machines. by
Whlcn the population is counted AMI
tne returns tabulated, make census
taking a huge Industrial process -rhe
Census Office becomes a factory. the
Director of the Census. a captain of in.
dustry, who, If he is to be successful
must possess all the directive energy
ana genius for organization which
ut.a Iac,erlZe our most successful man
ulacturers ana railroad presidents
Among the troublesome problems
WHICH have TO be solved by the Census
ounce are the legal questions, which
continually arise. The Indian Censue
Tor instance, fairly bristles with legal
ditiiculties. Tn 1890 the census law pro-
Elded that special report upon the
INC lmalans should be made. y volume OF
too odd pages was published, prnfusc-
~ illustrated and touching every point
OF the Indian problem. For once in his.
tory, Poor Lo" was accorded Justice.
The volume wills so pretty that the edi-
tlon was soon exhausted and now the
department OF the Interior has not
even 4 copy for the Census Office itself
But the law providing for the Twelfth
census makes no special provision for
an indian Census: nor does it author
ize such special report rs was made
ten years ago. 1t is ut this point that
the real difficulties OF the Census Office
regarding the Indians begin
Tho Indian
be treated by itself and described in n
separate report. 1t also seems illogical
10 class the Indians among the ordinary
population of the United States The
Indian tribe is in many respects n dis.
tinct nationality. although, since 1871,
Congress has been doing its best to de-
stroy all traces Of tribal independence
or self-government Moreover the
tribal Indians are not citizens Of tho
United States The reservations upon
which they live are not legally parts of
Inc state or territory which surrounds
them and State and territorial laws do
not apply TO the reservation or to thu.
Indians upon it. Acts of Congress do
not apply to reservation Indians. unless
such application is explicitly authorized
in the Act
Under such conditions it seems i'm
possible for the Census Office to class
Indians as n part of the ordinary in
on the other hand 1t Is equally impos-
sible to ignore them and omit them on
tircly. For the Constitution OF tho
United States says that: "Represent-
atiNcs shall be apportioned among the
several states according to their re-
spcctive numbers. counting the whole
number of persons I'm each State, eX-
Guiding Indians not taxed"
RMS fastens upon the Census Onlcc n
duty that seems plain enough. Blu; as
n matter of fact, it would give the At
torneX-GnnnraL Of a-1-iaital- StatAa
some hours of work to explain exactly
what is meant by the apparently sim
ply phrase: "Indinns not taxed" The
uncertainty in the phrase is In tho
meaning nf the word taxed" The
tribal Indian. like other inhabitants of
the United states, is subject to the In
fernal revenue duties and the various
stamp taxes now imposed by the
check he must stamp 1t; IL he manu-
factnres box of cigars. he must stamp
it. Is he "taxed" thereby?
Just what TAX" is. in the meaning
OF tho constitution. has never been
definitely decided, although the nucs-
ton has been before the Supreme Court
many times. The famous income tax
cases hinged upon this very point F:x-
Senator Fdmunds and Joseph IT, Choatc
now Ambassad dor to England assisted
! by some OF the most eminent lawyers
OF America. successfully argued that
| an income tax was n direct tax. within
| the meaning Of the constitution. At
| torncy General Olney, James G. Carter
| and other prominent lawyers gravely
| argued that an income tax was not n
| tax but m excise or duty. At tho
| FIRST hearing of the case the Supreme
| Court was evenly divided upon many OF
| the points nj issue. At tho second hear
| ing the decision was rendered with four
| dissenting justices against the five who
concurrcd in the opinion OF the court,
| that an income tax was n direct tax.
Whether or not q STAMP duty is n
| tax. and If it is. whether il is n direct
| tax: whether Indians not taxed
| means Indians not directly taxed. or
| whether 1t may not mean Indians not
| taxable. arc questions that must be de-
| cided by the Census Office before it can
| form It's plan for the Indian enumera-
| ton.
The last question has been n subject
| Of debate ever since Indian censuses
have been taken. In 1890 there We're
about 10000 civilized Indians living
among the general population OF the
| United States. Such Indians are citi-
zcns of the United States. but many Of
| them are too DOOR to pay taxes. Are
| they to be excluded from the population
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