Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-04-05
By GILBERT GIMBLE

BY GlLbEKT G1MbLE
star star Writer
Census officials preparing
for the Nations biggest popu-
lation count, due to start next
April /, have come UP with a
new idea--a sort of "do-it-
yourself census"
Tic new system has been
checked out in field tests and
experts at Census Bureau
headquarters In Suitland. Md.
are relatively certain it viii
bring the best results ever
realized.
Estimate Of what the ma
'tional population will. be in
1860 is 1870 million people. The
Greater Washington area is
expected to have 81 million
by then.
This is the way the 18th
decennial census viii work:
Form Mailing Set
Late In March next year
each household In the United
States go million Of
them-will receive in the mail
an advance census report form.
These forms win ask seven
basic questions - name. adj
dress. relationship to head Of
the household, sex. color or
race, birth date and marital
status-of every member.
On the basis of the answers
in this advance form a COM
plete population picture will
be available. Other questions
win ask about the dwelling
structure.
The householder will be in
structed to fill out the form
and hold onto it. On April / |
the census takers begin their
rounds.
Ideally the census taker
would merely check the form |
to see that the answers are
filled in, ask If they are correct
and take the form away without
needing to ask a single factual
question.
This ideal won't always be
attained. But it is expected the
forms will cut down the time
the enumerator---as the door
to-door census taker is called
is required to spend at each
stop.
Should Speed Job
In the 1850 census the emu
merators spent an average Of
20 minutes at each stop. The
time should be reduced by half
under the new system.
However, the census takers
will spend more time TRANSCRIPT
ing the information from the
advance forms into an EMU
meration book covering every
call on his route.
At every fourth stop, the
census taker will pick up the
advance form and leave an
other one. This second form
called the blue form by its
color-is a more detailed set
Of questions and will provide
the sampling for conclusions
on such things as how many
homes have television sets.
Nobody knows which homes
will get the blue form. But
persons getting one viii be
asked to I'LL it in and mail it
within three days in an ad-
dressed envelope that will be
left with it.
Again the answers to this
longer form will be transcribed
in q permanent record by CEN
sus takers at a central Office.
If some Of the questions are left
unanswered, a phone call or a |
second visit by the census taker |
win be made.
The entire operation of pick
ing up the advance forms and
leaving the blue ones at the
homes will take about two to
three weeks. It will take a staff
Of 100000 enumerators to do
the Job. Probably so per cent
Of the census takers will be
women - mostly housewives
with spare time.
More Workers Needed
DESPITE the speed of opera
ton unoer the new system, an
additional 10000 enumerators
VIII be hired next year COM
pared to the number needed in
1850. The reason Ii the in
crease In population-the 1850
census takers counted only Isl
niillion people.
Each enumerator h exepect-
Cd to cover about LOO persons.
The staff is hired and trained