UNITED STATES CENSUS OF 1870. 



757 



The enumeration of inhabitants at the ninth 

 census of the United States, which, by law, 

 was commenced on June 1, 1870, was substan- 

 tially completed by January 9, 1871. At that 

 date returns had been received covering 38,- 

 333,417 persons, leaving 222,566, as was sub- 

 sequently determined, to be returned, more 

 than one-half of whom, it is fair to assume, had 

 then been enumerated. Yet, for this inconsid- 

 erable fraction of the population, the country 

 was obliged to wait seven and a half months. 

 On the 23d of February returns had been 

 received covering all but 92,266 of the popula- 

 tion. The last returns from any of the former 

 free States were received April 3, 1871, com- 

 prising 721 names to complete the township 

 of Lodi, Athens County, Ohio. On the 9th of 

 June the number of persons still to be re- 

 turned was 18,606. On the 23d of June, re- 

 turns were received from the last county of 

 Mississippi. On the 29th of July returns were 

 received from the last county of Texas. On 

 the 23d of August returns were received from 

 the townships of Bowen and Wharton's Creek, 

 Madison County, Arkansas (304 names), com- 

 pleting the enumeration. "These delays," 

 says Superintendent Walker, in his report to 

 Secretary Delano, " most vexatious and most 

 discreditable in a national work of such im- 

 portance as the census of the" United States, 

 were, as you are aware, absolutely unavoidable 

 with existing census machinery. All the au- 

 thority and all the resources which the law 

 intrusts to this office and to the Department 

 were employed in abundant season to have 

 secured the completion of the entire work 

 within the time prescribed, but for the in- 

 eradicable defects of the act of 1850, under 

 which, with few and slight modifications, the 

 census of the United States continues to be 

 taken." One of the chief evils of the law of 

 1850 referred to by the Superintendent is the 

 provision for a protracted enumeration. The 

 period contemplated by law for the comple- 

 tion of the late census was in round numbers 

 100 days. An accurate enumeration of a people 

 extending over such a period is impossible, 

 and the results attained form only an approxi- 

 mation to the real number of inhabitants. 

 The liability to error from this cause is com- 

 paratively small in rural districts; but in cities 

 and manufacturing towns, where the inhabi- 

 tants change their residences more frequently, 



the percentage of loss becomes very consider- 

 able. Another defect of the law is the pro- 

 vision charging the United States marshals in 

 the several judicial districts with the duty of 

 taking the census. By the operation of this 

 provision, the judicial district of Southern 

 Florida is constituted a census district with 

 5,775 inhabitants, enumerated by a single as- 

 sistant-marshal, under the supervision of a 

 United States marshal ; while Northern New- 

 York, with nearly two and a half millions, also 

 constitutes a census district, with its six or 

 seven hundred assistant-marshals, instructed 

 and overlooked by one United States marshal. 

 So also Delaware forms a district as well as 

 Massachusetts, and Idaho as well as Indiana. 

 A very serious defect of the census law of 

 1850 is the provision which leaves to the 

 marshals of the several judicial districts the 

 final determination of the census subdivisions, 

 subject only to the limitation that such sub- 

 divisions shall not contain exceeding 20,000 

 inhabitants. "This apparent limitation," says 

 Superintendent "Walker, " is in fact no limita- 

 tion whatever, since, even at a protracted enu- 

 meration under the present system, subdivi- 

 sions should never be allowed to exceed 10,000 

 inhabitants, and only among urban popula- 

 tions should they reach this limit." Another 

 defect is the provision vesting the appoint- 

 ment of assistant-marshals in the several mar- 

 shals without submission to the Department 

 charged with the conduct and control of the 

 census ; while the inadequacy of compensation 

 "interfered with the appointment of proper 

 assistants, and still more embarrassed the 

 work of enumeration by rendering assistants 

 desirous of resigning upon the least excuse or 

 none." " If the formation of divisions and the 

 confirmation of assistants," says Superintend- 

 ent "Walker, " were vested in the Department, 

 with proper discretion as to the use of special 

 agents, it would be possible to take the census 

 of every city and manufacturing town in the 

 United States in a single day, and to complete 

 the enumeration of all properly agricultural 

 sections in a period not exceeding three days, 

 allowing, if need be, for the completion of the 

 purely mining States and the Territories, and 

 perhaps for some portions of Texas, California, 

 Kansas, and Nebraska, a longer period of time, 

 not to exceed thirty days. ^Such an enumera- 

 tion could be accomplished in the present con- 

 dition of the United States. It would cost 

 little, if any more, than a census taken accord- 

 ing to the present methods, and would be in- 

 expressibly more satisfactory. The fact that 

 the better method of enumeration cannot be 

 applied to the scattered portions of the popu- 

 lation affords no reason for omitting to take 

 advantage of it in sections of the country to 

 which it is perfectly adapted. With careful 

 preparation, the great city of New York might 

 be canvassed in a single day, and so thorough- 

 ly as to omit hardly a single vagrant or crimi- 

 nal." The use of "prior schedules" received 



