Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-05
GREAT BRITAIN'S CENSTS.
The Work VIII he InauSurated Early
Next Spring.

|
| Next Spring.
From the London Mall
Great Britain is preparing to count her
| great and ever-growing family. The de-
| oennial census will be taken on Sunday,
| March 81 next
| The work of paving the way for the great
count is now proceeding at Somerset
| House.
/ Let take a look at the headquarters
| from which he operations of 10000 men
| will be directed, the registrar general in
| command. The staff sit in room as I'M
| like a government office as a room well
| could be. 1t is really a kitchen
| Kitchen though it obviously is. the room
| Is occupied by clerks who to every city
| town, village, hamet-to every nook and
| corner of the united kingdom-are quietly.
| methodically sending instructions for the
/ taking of the census of 1901
| After an hours wait-Somerset House is
| too old to take much heed of time-a brisk
pleasant-faced, quietly spoken gentleman
| enters the kitchen and informs the visitor
that he is the secretary to the census.
| Somehow, it seems out of place to ask him
| such an absurdly modern question as DO
| YOU propose to adopt the American punch
! ing machine which proved successful in
taking the census of the United States?'
| But without appearing unduly shocked The
| secretary replies that the attention of the
| department has been drawn to the machine,
| that experiments have been made, and that
| they will end there. So two years will be
| required TO complete the census of the Brit
iSh Isles
During the week ending March 81 one Of
| the 10000 enumerators will leave at your
| house schedule After dinner on the Sun
| day you will gather about you the members
| of your family, your lodgers-if you have
| any-your men servants and your maid
| servants, and anybody else who on the
I Of he Twin
| der your roof. Then you will fill in the
| schedule with the name, sex, age, profess
| sion or occupation, condition to mar
| rage, relation to head of family, BIRTH
| place, and (where the person was born
| abroad nationality of every living person
| in the house.
Yours will be one of about 80 tons of
| schedules which the census of 1901 is ex-
| pected to produce This complete directory
| of every human being in the kingdom would
| form a stack close upon nine miles high.
| When the work is well in hand no fewer
than $50 clerks will be employed at the
! headquarters in London: the present
! kitchen arrangement will have to be i'm
| proved upon.
| ing engaged The pay of these officials has
| been increased since the last census. Each
| will receive a fee Of fl Is. and an addi-
| ticnal IS Cd. Gnstead of IS. Cd, as former
| ly for every 100 persons over the first 400
| III his district. besides allowance for
| every mile above five miles traversed. In
| London an eftlclent enumeratOr Will deal
| with $50 houses Clergymen with abbrevi-
| ated stipends schoolmasters and overseers
| gladly act enumerators in rural districts.
| Some householders inclined to take
! less serious view of the census than the
| law approves of, and heavy penalties are
| inflicted for refusing to fill up the schedule
| or making false returns. An extraordinary
| case was that in which a certain lord was
| concerned. The schedule left at his resi-
| dence fippantly described his wife a
| "cross-sweer." and her "a shoe
| black" born 'in darkest Africa Legal
proceedings were taken against his lord
| ship.
| One of the most interesting features OF
| the census will be the counting Of the
! persons and vehicles that enter the city Of
| London during the twenty-four hours of
| day to be selected For this purpose EMU
| merators will be posted al all the iniets to
| the city. In 1891 the total of I. 121.7 0S per-
| sens entered the city at eighty different
points. and the vehicles numbered 81. ass.
| Under both heads vast increase is antici-
pated for 1901
Generally speaking, however, 1t will prob
| ably be found that the rate of increase in
| the population of the kingdom has consid-
| erably fallen off during the last decade. We
| have arrived at that stage when the ratio
| OF increase diminishes in all countries.