The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1908-02-28
A POPULATION Of $3.50
NEW CITY DIRECTORY SHOWS
THAT TOWN HAS GROWN.
2,3t5 NAMES ARE LISTED.

New Directory Now Ready for Dellv.
cry Makes Positive Record Of the
Fact that Norfolk Has Passed the
5000 Mark-Basis Of Figuring.
That Norfolk contains a population
OF more than 5000 Is demonstrated
by the new city directory just issued
from the press OF The News for f.
s. Robson. The new directory, which
Is now ready for delivery, Is a hand.
some book containing 1926 names.
This number includes the names and
actresses OF 215 business firms. Mr..
Robson in his calculations, estimates
that the population OF the city at this
time Is $3.50 In making his com
putations he deducts the number Of
business firms listed, leaving a net
number Of 2,100 names, which he
multiplies by 2R, giving $3.50.
Some directory publishers multiply
the number Of names shown in their
books by three to estimate population,
but this Mr.. Robson thinks Is too
high, On the other hand, other pub
fishers use the multiple of 2A to get
the result, and this Is the figure used
in Omaha. In the Omaha directories,
however, the name Of every person
who Is sixteen years old and over is
listed, while with only two or three
exceptions Mr.. Robson has conscient-
iously listed only those over eighteen
years old here. Then in Omaha
where the multiple of "a Is used to
find total population, every name in
the book is counted, children sixteen
years old and all business addresses.
Applying the same figures here on the
names of those over eighteen and in.
Guiding the business houses it would
give total of 5000, so that it would
seem that the basis of 21A on the
names of actual residents outside bus.
mess addresses ought to be cOnser-
vative method of finding the real pop.
ulation of the city. Mr. Robson has
had large experience in directory max
ing and he is confident that his basis
of figuring is as near correct as any
estimate can be.
He instructed his people to take the
name of the head of every family and
persons over eighteen years of age,
other than the wife. Where no man
was found, then the name of the wild
ow was taken. In no case was the
name of a child taken, and in not to
exceed special cases was the name of
a person under eighteen years of age
listed.
The new city directory is a book
that is well worth a place in every
business house in the city. 1t has
been carefully complied under the
supervision of Mr. Robson by house
to house canvass. In his effort to
make the book correct and a valu-
able work of reference, he not only
made a house to house canvass, but
as soon as one force of canvassers
had finished section of the city he
Immediately started another force of
people out to verify the first report,
and the result is he makes two COM
plete rounds of the city.
In this way he figures that he has
succeeded in getting the work as
mean SoilNNl 40 pOoolDlS W nave IL
done. He realizes that even with this
painstaking attention to detail some
errors are bound to creep in, but he
expresses the hope that they will be
few and far between
In compiling his work, Mr. Robson
has incurred many obligations to bus
mess men and others for the assist
ance they have given him in helping
to make it complete and correct.
Many of the business men have pat
ronized the directory literally, and
they are entitled to a measure OF
credit in helping to produce it. No
town ever needed a new directory
more than Norfolk and it will prove
a valuable work of reference on the
desk of every business man who de-
sires to keep in touch with the peo-
pie of the community.