Arizona republican., 1911-01-22
THERE WAS NO SHUTTING OF THE CENSUS FIGURES
 FOR PHOENIX.
Comparisons Made With Results of Amateur Methods of Counting
 Noses.

at least. if it were not so serious
 ll.434 people!
 | Think of that as the population of
 a city wherein 3.20O children are in daily attendance at the various
 schools, public. private and parochial, which information was authoritatively secured yesterday. This is not the census figure showing those of school age. between and 21 but the young sters actually going to school. Can 1 it be possible that out of every 100 people in this city 2S of them are | actually going to school? Add tO l that percentage those who ought to | be going tO school and are not;
 those still of school age who have ! finished the local schools and cannot
 afford to go away to college: all the ! youngsters less than years old who
 are playing around the back yard,
 and they would number at least 90
 out of every 100. assuming that 2S
 out oG a hundred actually here are
 actually going to school. There would | be only five or six thousand men and
 women left for the peopling of the streets. the conduct of all the busi-
 ness of the city. and the care and maintenance of the thousands of homes in Phoenix. lt is to laugh. The school census of last June was not much in excess of 3.2O0, it is true, and deducting all those men toned above who ought to be in school and are not. there could not possibly be 3.200 attending school,
 and yet they are. The conclusion is that the school census was probably not complete. naturally could not have
 been at that time of the year. and in
 addition many children have doubt
 less come here since that time.
 The matter of census came mp in
 the presence of a local druggist last
 night Said he: '''There have been
 until recently eight drug stores in
 this community. though there are now
 ten. Eliminate the two new ones, | calling il eight. which were here during the taking of the census and | before These eight stores employ l from three to six or seven people.
 Call it an average of five people.
 That gives. equally divided, a pat
 ronage of little over 2.0O0 people | to each store. My knowledge of the | drug business tells me that unless the drug stores of this community had larger patronage than that they could not employ so many peo- pie and carry the stocks they do. unless they were all losing money. And so far as I know we are all doing decently we'll"
 How about il at the postoffice, which is surely a pretty good ba- rometer of the activity and size of a community?
 In 1900 the census of Phoenix was j.44O. which everybody knows was wrong. but for the sake of this argu- ment. just to be conservative. assume that it was right. for the error is against Phoenix in the calculation about to be made
 In 1900 the population was $40. and the postal receipts for the same year were $23.734. or an average of s4.2S per capita. By the census of 1 goo and the postal receipts of 1900 for all Arizona. it was demonstrated that the average income of the post offices all over the territory was s149 per capita for the year. while that of New Mexico at the same time was % cents It might tickle the pride of Arizora to have it known that her people were by comparison Z the patronage of the postoffice to i the proportion just indicated. for usually it is the better class of people who patronize the postoffice most in a financial way. But while , all Arizona was spending $1.49 per ,apita. the people of Phoenix were spending S4.2S per capita. That much merely to show that the count was '. fheFq were | -eaIly more people and a smaller per ,, 'apita in 1900.
 But now comes 1910 with stllI . nore outlandish showing.
 The population in 1910 is ll134. md the Phoenix postoffice receipts or the fiscal year ending June 90. 91O were $65.241. or s5.S5 per capita. I m increase of $1.57 per capita over a he outlandishly high per capita of en years before.
 Just the increase per capita Is more han the total per capita receipts of c he postoffices for all Arizona ten n ears before.
 Again. add to the alleged popula- s ion of Phoenix enough for the rural | outes to make the patronage of the q ,ffice up to 15.OOO which is surely a ! res he correct Then assume that ? ne-half of that population are adult s nen and women (and that percent o ge is ridiculously high); by division t' is seen that the grown people ol n 'hoenix and it's rural routes are q bending nearly slO per capita, an h ualIy, for postage. A
 If the census figures are correct n he people of this valley are going ii tark mad. irresponsibly crazy about ,riting letters and mailing papers nd Christmas presents. and they eed someone to restrain them rom tier financial debauchery. The an lvsis of the figures suggests that he postoffice game has become reater menace than craps or laro ank were ever accused of being. pl nstead of a great public utlllty' u c; as become an irresistible agency sl f the government for picking une N ockets of the people. But there IS fo n danger This is only dream F lat logically follows the findings oi le census bureau. st ". .ooapt1,. " n Bell DubliShed h,