Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-08-07
MANY COUNTIES OF STATE MAR
RoWLY ESCAPE BEARING
WRONGFUL WAR BURDEN.
STATE CENSUS FIGURES
FOR CONSUMPTION BASIS
Government Estimates Of Population
Shown to Have Been Wide of Actual
Numbers-State Document Editor
Ora Williams Prevents Adoption Of
Guess Work in Washington.


| Iowa by fixing for the counties and
cities the draft quota in accordance
with the plan developed in Washing
| ton. declares Ora Williams, state docu-
| ment editor and editor of the census. o.
Il have had just this much to 40
with the matter" said Mr.. Williams
that / have sought to prevent tne
| loug-range guess work OF the bureaus
at the national capital from being ap-
piled to Iowa counties as against
actual facts as we know them. One
of the early booklets received from the
war department was one on Estimates
of Population stated to nave oesn
furnished by the bureau of the CEN
srs, department of commerce in pur-
suance of and for the purpose men
toned in the act of congress providing
for CONSUMPTION. That booklet con-
tanned a statement of the population
of every county and large city of the
country to be used as the basis for the
registration and consumption and 1t
was intended as a guide 10 the popuia-
ton which should be used for making
apportionment of the quota.
Analysis Of the table Of estimates
for Iowa showed that it was away OH
as to a large part of the state. Inc
census bureau had secured and appar-
emily accepted as correct the actuai
count OF population in fifty-seven OF
the counties of Iowa as determined oy
the last census; but as to the others
had INDUCED in some figuring, the
basis Of which does not appear. Re-
suit: some counties too low, many
others too high. In response to pro-
tests, and a showing Of the manifest
unfairness of this table the state was
authorized to make use of the popu-
lation figures of the last census rather
than the estimates of the census
bureau at Washington.
The act of congress provides that
as to the draft the quotas for the sew
eral states, territories and the Dis
trict of Columbia, or SUBDIVISIONS
thereof shall be determined in proper
ton to the population thereof. See
Section 3.
I'm Section s Of the regulations is
sued by the president July it is pro-
vided that the governor of each state
and territory, acting for and by the
direction of the president shall appor-
| in accordance with the following rules:
| The gross quota shall be APP
| portioned to the several counties . L. :.
| and to the several cities in. pro-
portion to the population Of such
counties and cities as determined by
the governor
"The purpose of the war department
in securing estimates Of the popula-
ton of states and territories was OBJ
viously to arrive at the only basis pos
sible for making the quota between
states Since there has been no CEN
sus taken in most of the states for
seven years the best that could be
done was to make an estimate.
Iowa Had Actual Count.
But Iowa had had an actual count
| within the last two years, and a count
| far more accurate and complete thu
| the federal count Of seven years az
Plainly it would not have been proper
to have ignored that actual count and
| to have taken the census bureau 'esti-
! mate as a basis. OF course It would
| have been possible for the state au-
| thorities to have estimated population
| first on one basis and then. according
| to the exigencies of politics, have
shifted to another basis, but 1t could
not have been done with decency, and
it was not done.
ITO have accepted the figures sent
from Washington would have caused
much complaint. For instance the es-
innate of population-and Of probable
registration-of Monroe county was 10
per cent higher than the reality. Why
| 81, a,ha
| known not to be correct? Similar dis.
crepancies appeared elsewhere, not SO
glazing. but all involving injustice to
| counties.
'It has been suggested that the
quota should nave been based on reg
istration and not population. I do not
know whether that was the better
plan. but do know that congress de-
cided that very question and decided
| against registration as the basis. and 1t
was written into the law. Following
| the plain letter OF the law, and with
figures which had the approval Of the
| authorities at Washington, the quota
was determined according to actual
population in Iowa, as near as that
population is known or can be ascer-
| tanned at this time.
But there is also an assumption
that the population basis as Gistin-
| guished from the registration basis for
| the quota works out 10 tile disadvan-
tage of the rural counties Of the state
uniformly and is favor to the
counties having large cities. Let us
see. There are seven cities Of the
state forming Independent registration
districts. The actual registration in
those seven cities was 11.2 per cen,
greater than the government estimates
of probable registration. based on the
estimated population rs figured al
Washington. But IL seven counties
having no large cities. namely: Craw-
ford, Story, Dickinson, Emmett, Ida
| Clay and Sioux, the excess Of registra-
ton over estimated registration was
1875 per cent. The fact is that neither
the population method nor the regis.
tration method &C fixing the quota
works out to perfect fairness in eacf
and every instance, but certainly III.
adoption Of the population method !.
not distinctly favorable to the cities a.
against the country.
1T has been referred to on the flool
of congress that the plan OF fixing thu
quota as between the states, ha!
worked to the advantage of the south
ern states, and figures published
seemed to- confirm this theory. But !
that is true all the more was 1t wis
for Iowa to avoid the same mistake
and the best way to do so was to &C
cept as accurate and fair the statistic
provided by the state census. Person
| ally rorfcaa tn having taken som