Omaha daily bee., 1900-11-04

data necessary for correct iabuldloh ot IN"
returns will be obtained. The work OF
gathering together the great mass Of facts
necessary to carry into effect the census
Law OF 1889 has been OF considerable mag
niludc ncccssitating "A very large ex-
pcudiuro of money Tho preliminary
work involved an enormous amount Of
printing the selection Of fifty odd thou
sand ptumcrators and 300 supervisors and
the organization of "A regular examination
board to provide clerical force OF upward
of 900 people, all preparatory 10 the be
ginning Of the census work proper on Ia"
lst Of June of this year. Tn" details
requisite to the proper preparation OF tho
necessary blanks and the selection OF ia"
proper people to do the work incidental to
the carrying out Of the census act were
not iucopsid"rabl" and required inccssani
labor upon the part of those in charge OF
the bureau TO see to it that everything
was ready when the time came for moving
the cnurrrtus army which had been gath
cred from the various states ana terri
tories to collect the Information required.
Nj Of the plans had to be prepared In al
vance and it is gratifying to be able TO
state that thus far the scheme contcm-
plated is likely TO result satisfactorily
Thee are very few people who have any
considerable idea Of the vast amount Of
census plan of supervision and onumcra-
tion. by enumeration | mean, of course,
the division of the country into small dis
tricts and the selection of persons to go
from house to house or from farm 10
farm and gather the basic facts upon
which the entire success of the census
depends. We not only learn all about tn"
Individual his age, his nationality, his oc-
cupation and his color, but also numerous
other data concerning the various indus
tries Of the country, and also facts that
enable the statstician to learn how much
Of the wealth of the country is invested IN
agricultural lines, how many are able to
own their own farms. how many rent ana
the other interesting facts which, in due
time are tabulHtcd and placed before tn"
public.
Advance Ia Census work.
There Is no country in the world that
spends as much money on Its census as
docs the United States. other nations OBJ
tain but IA very small number OF lacts III
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 nccossitatcs rcappor'
t'onment of congress every decade, has
Obliged us to take u 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, until in 1890 there were some
twenty three or twenty four subjects when
were made the subject of statistical IN
curry In the present decade the purpose
Ia,
to four important inquiries, that is-popu>
lation, agriculture, manufacturing ana vital
statistics. only two years are given, from
July l. 1900, to finish these four branches
of the work Later on 1t Is possible lhat
special work of various kinds Will De
taken up and reports made. That Is, the
bureau will undertake to inquire into va
ruus subjects, more particularly the Socia
statistics of cities, wealth, debt ana taxa
ton, religious bodies, electric light an'
mower. telephone and telegraph business
TRANSPORTATION by water, mines ana MN
ing These special subjects will be con
sidercd as of the date when the work Is
commenced, and will be finished as rapidly
as possible How long it Will take t'
finish the special subjects Is not matter
that has thus far been considered, 1t look
now as though the work on the four SUP
iccts noted above would be finished within
the time required by the act.
Manufactures and Horticulture.
Naturally enough the inquiry In connec
tion with the manufacturing branch OF tn
census work is fun of interest to a.
Americans. as well as to the whole ciNl
li2cd world There Is no nation that take
so thorough "A manufacturing census u
ours and in this age OF anxiety to acquir
commercial power the manufacturing II
dustrcs of our country are looked upo
with the kconest interest. The whol
trend among the trading nations OF III
earth Is to acquire larger trade, and,
necessary. to gain IT even by force of arm
The whole contest of modern times Is on
of commcrcialsm and the United state
is so far in advance of all the other CIV
liZcd nations of the world In point of mani
featuring Industries that its inquiry
this regard will be of the utmost signii