Census

a count of the people. The Constitution of the United States provides that an actual enumeration of inhabitants shall be made every ten years. A census was taken in 1790, and one has been taken at the end of each succeeding ten years. The first census was taken by the United States marshals, and was little more than a count of the people. The compiling and elaborating of statistics now requires the employment of a permanent corps of clerks and a director of the census. The eleventh census cost nearly $12,000,000. The twelfth census, taken in 1900, has been published in ten large quarto volumes. In addition to statistics, these volumes are packed with a large amount of valuable historical matter relative to the various domestic animals and the chief manufactures.

The first census of which we have any historical mention is that taken of the Jews by David. A prejudice existed among the ancients against the practice. It was believed that counting the people was an impious act likely to be punished by a visitation of the plague. In Sweden, England, and other countries, regular systems of taking a census have grown out of former computations of parish statistics furnished by clergymen and others. The first regular English census was taken in 1800. Most civilized countries now take a census every ten years. In the United States the general government offers to share half the expense of a state census, if taken midway, that is, in the year ending in five, as 1905, 1915, 1925, etc.

See Center Of Population: