Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-15
WHAT The GOVERNMENT IS DOING

Persons who hold the usual opinion
that the census bNreau makes enumera-
ton only every ten
Mld-Ueoennlal years and spends the
l. Census Work. terve ming time
into various reports are far from the
truth. AS matter of fact regular in
vestigations of various kinds are in
progress practically all of the time.
separated by intervals ranging from
| two weeks to ten years, and in addi-
I ton special Investigations of almost
Iany nature can, under the law, be de-
manded of Uncle Sans statisticians at
any time by the President. either
house of Congress or the director OF
the census himself. Recently an entire
lily new field Of this sort has been
opened up, and now that the Ice has
been broken and precedents created
promises to make much additional
work for the bureau: :. a.,
The new activity is the counting OF
noses between decennial censuses IN
rapidly growing communities, at local
expense. The first town to feel that
the census figures of 1910 have been so
far. outdistanced as to libel the com
mediate incentive that made an official
by-census'' desirable in this south
western town was the wish OF the local
commercial club to have the munich
pality put out a bond issue for i'm
provements that was larger than the
corporation, according to It's 1910
population rating. could manage.
confident that the evident rapid physi-
cal growth of the city indicated
population increase from approximate
ly $4,000 as recorded in 1910 TO some
thing in the neighborhood OF So'oVo.
81 tod ha
population question to be in such Off
cial form that there would be no doubt
as to it's truth. Request was therefore
made to the President for SPECIAL cen
count was taken last April and the
result was announced recently. The
! special census proved the point made
by the local business men. for it was
land within the city limits was 1920
and that the 1885 residents on en-
dian lands" in the city. which owing to
special legislative action are non
| The special census Of Tulsa, the first
of the kind ever taken, is considered
one of the most careful counts OF pop
ulation ever made. Instead OF appoint
| ing a local supervisor as is done when
the regular ten-year census is taken,
the census bureau sent to Tulsa to
manage the new work one of it's most
experienced experts, Eugene F. Hart;
ley, cnleI OF DIVISION ana dSSlStdul CiilcI
clerk. The count was completed in six
days and the bill for expenses. slightly
| over $500. was paid by the Tulsa Com
mercial Club.
| Hardly had the first special municipal
census been completed when the census
bureau was called on to begin work
| on another such job. This time the fe-
quest was from the municipal govern
ment of Hamtramck, Mich. a town just
outside of Detroit that had been great
ly enlarged by the location there of
! large automobile manufacturing in
dustry. Mr.. Hartley was also sent to
the Michigan town and found after sew
eral days work that it's population had
grown from 1859 in 1910 to 21,520, an
increase Of 504 per cent.
The expense of the count was met by
the municipality. Census officials
realize that unless they insist on the
special census being paid for locally
| they will be swamped by requests.
AS it is. numerous rapidly growing
towns are showing a willingness Ito.
pay for the official and indisputa BILE
evidence of their growth Arrange
ments are now being completed for a
special census of. Plainview. Tex. and
requests from a dozen or more munich
palities for information as to steps to
be taken to secure" special counts are
| on file at the census bureau.