Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1920-10-08
CENSUS SUPERVISOR
REFUSES A RECOUNT
SAYS Evidence Submitted Fails to
Indicate Substantial Error in
Official Population Figures

recent federal census, which gave
y the city population of 2440, or less
than the population of 10 years ago.
Information to this effect was con-
tanned in a letter received this week
from the office of the federal super
visor of the census Washington,
D. c., which will probably be the
closing chapter in Pullman's fight
for a corrected enumeration. The
nsletter was addressed to w. E. Nc
Croskey of Colfax, district super
visor. and forwarded by him to the
Pullman chamber of commerce.
Local citizens took exception to- the
federal count, citing many facts
which would indicate a substantial
increase in population during the
last 10 years, and petitioned the su
pervisoT for a recount
Pullman, according to the federal
supervisor, failed to supply sufficient
evidence in support of its contention
and there is no reason to believe
that the total shown by the census
returns on that date, 2440, is too
low"
, To supply added evidence that
Pullman was underenumerated, the
chamber of commerce has for the
past two weeks been conducting an
l., -, tlr fnl r,1
supervisor. When the letter closing
the case was received, J. r. Stephen
son, who was taking the census, had
already enumerated 1857 people
who were residents of Pullman on
January /, 1920, and his recheck
was not completed. This, alone, is
1927 more than was credited by the
federal census.
The letter received from the fed
eral supervisor office is as follows;
September 2S, 1920.
saNlr. William E. McCroskey,
Supervisor of Census,
Colfax, Washington.
Dear Sir:
The bureau confirms its telegram
of September %, as follows:
TELEGRAM twenty-Seventh recelV-
ed. Read carefully copy sent you
letter September 81 to lsaacs. Blu
reau sees no reason investigate
Pullman without definite evidence
defective enumeration and no such
evidence supplied. Letter follows
Your telegram of September y
gives absolutely no specific and defi-
mite grounds for believing the emu
meration of Pullman to have been
incomplete. If it is an educational
center, as you state, this is no rea-
a son why it should have been diff
cult for the enumerators to canvass
it. On the contrary, it should De
much easier to enumerate the IN
habitants of an educational center
than to enumerate the residents OF
a manufacturing or mining town.
The inspection of new residences
supplies no definite basis for assum-
ing an increase in population, since
it is a we'll known fact that the aver
age size of families is decreasing
somewhat from decade to decade.
Young people are leaving their
homes in rural localities and small
cities to obtain employment in the
larger centers of population. This
results in a decrease in the popula-
ton of the places from which they
depart, without reducing the num-
Der of occupied dwellings.
Estimates made by leading and re-
liable citizens prove nothing what
ever, since local estimates of popula-
ton are invariably too high and are
never sustained by the results OF an
actual count.
The calculations made by the bu-
reau before reaching its decision not
to investigate the Pullman enumera-
ton were based, not upon the 97I
voters registered for the primary
election of September IA, but upon
Mr.. Isaacs' own estimate OF at least
1900 eligible voters in the city. To
this estimate the bureau added, for
the sake of liberality, 200 more, in
order to cover all persons of voting
age who might not have been eligible
to vote. This should be sufficiently
liberal since the number of unnat-
uralized foreign-born men Fl years
of age and over enumerated in Pull
man in 1910 was only as. On the
assumption that there were not more
than 1900 men and women of voting
age in Pullman on January l, 1920,
In6T6 is no GedSOH W uSliCNO IhoI IhN
total shown by the census returns
on that date, 2440, is too low.
Note also the next to the last para
graph on the first page of the bu-
? reaus letter of September 21 to Mr.
Isaacs.
The bureau can not consider, es-
pecially at this late date, making any
Investigations of complains of de-
fective enumeration unless the com
plainants can supply some genuine
evidence in support of their conten-
lions; and this has not been done in
the case of Pullman. On the con-
trary. the figures supplied by Mr.
Isaacs harmonic closely with the
census returns.
Very truly yours,
W. NJ STEWART,
Assistant Director.
The telegram submitted to the