St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1910-03-05
The MEANING OF CEN
SUS TERMS DEFINED
Census Bureau Issues Excessive Instructions
to the Eaumerai0rs.
How TO ANSWER QUESTIONS
Instructions Concerning dwelling House.
and "FamlIy." Valuable Information
to the Public.

ing house" and family" with refer
ence to the population schedule to BE-
carried BY the enumerators in The
Thirteenth United States Census, be.
ginning April 18th next, are explain
ed in the Census Bureaus lengthy
printed instructions to the canvassers
1t is pointed out that the answers
should relate only to conditions ex-
listing on April 18th, the Census
Day
The words dwelling house" and
family" are, for census purposes,
given a much wider application than
they have in ordinary speech.
A dwelling" is defined as q place
in which, at the time of the census,
one or more persons regularly sleep.
It need not be a house in the COM
mon meaning Of the word, but may
be, for example, a room in a factory,
store, or Office building, a loft over a
stable, a canal boat, a tent or a wig
wan. The term also includes a ho-
tel, boarding or lodging house, a ten
ement or apartment house, an insti-
tuition or school building, if persons
regularly sleep there, as we'll rs Che
ordinary dwelling house.
A family" as a census term, may
mean a group Of individuals who oc-
eupy jointly a dwelling place or a
part Of a dwelling place, or an indi-
v1dual living alone in any place of
abode. All the occupants or en-
ploYees Of a hotel, if they regularly
sleep there, make up a single family,
because they occupy one dwelling
place, and persons living alone in
cabins, huts or tents; persons oeeu-
plying a room or rooms in public
buildings, stores. warehouses, facto-
ries or stables; and persons sleeping
on river boats, canal boats, barges,
ETC., if they have no other usual
place Of abode, are regarded as FAM
lilies.
The enumerators are required to
enter on the schedule the names of
every person whose usual place of
abode on April Is, 1910, was with
the family or in the dwelling place
for which the enumeration is being
made. The head of the family is to
be entered first; then the wife; next
the children, whether sons or daugh-
tiers, in order Of their ages; and
lastly, all other persons living with
the family, whether relatives, board
ers, dodgers, or servants. The head
of the family, whether husband or
father, widow or unmarried person
of either sex, is to be designated by
the word head" and the other mem
bers Of a family as wife, father,
mother, son, daughter, grandson,
daughter-in-law, uncle, aunt, niece,
boarder. ledger, servant, ETC., ae-
cording to the particular Relationship
which the person bears to the head
Of the family.
Answers relative to color or race
are to be entered on the schedule as
w" for white; 'sB" for black; 'Mu'
for mulatto; "Ch" for Chinese; Up
for Japanese; and I'M for Indian
For census purposes the term black
(B) includes all negroes of full blood,
while 4mulatto" (Mu) includes all
negroes not Of full blood. but having
any perceptible trace of negro blood.
As to age at last birthday Of The
person enumerated, the enumerators
are cautioned that this question calls
only for the age in completed years
at the last birthday. Therefore, d
person whose exact age on April Is.
is II years, IL months and 5 days
should be returned simply as II. be.
cause that is his age at his last birth
day. In the case Of children not two
years old, the age should be given in
completed months expressed as
twelfths of q year. Thus the age Of
d child 3 menths old should be en-.
tered as 3-I2, a child z months old
az 7-12, 3 child Is months old as
1872, etc. H q child is not yet /
month old the e~nnmerators are to en-.
ter the age as Oh. A child who i.
just : year old on the 18th Of April
1910, should nevertheless be return
ed as 11-12, because that Is its age
in completed menths on April IS.
The enumerators are told 10 take
particular pains to get the exact aGe