Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/637

 OFFICIAL STATISTICS 623

unless there has been fraud perpetrated, and that charge has not been seriously made.

During the preparation of the final reports of the Eleventh Census a careful examination and comparison were made of the totals for each industry as published at the censuses of 1870, 1880, and 1890. This comparison developed the fact that certain industries, such as dressmaking, bottling, millinery, cars and gen- eral shop construction, and repairs by steam railroads, manufac- ture of gas, etc., had apparently been included in the total of 1870, but in 1880 they had either been omitted or the reports classified with other industries in such a manner that it was impos- sible to identify them. These industries were enumerated, and their total, amounting to $3 1 5, 672, 287 in value of product, deducted from the grand total of 1890, gives a result that was possibly a truer comparison with totals for 1880.

This disposes of the criticism as to the inclusion of industries not previously canvassed. There was no attempt to conceal the fact that they were probably not included in 1880, although they had been reported in 1870, and it was evidently the intention in 1 880 to make as complete a canvass as that of ten years previous. But the omission or inclusion of these minor industries in the total of nine billion as compared with five billion can have but slight effect.

As to the more thorough enumeration in 1890. It is possible that the methods adopted in 1890 did result in a fuller report for certain industries, especially those coming under the head of hand trades. But the schedule of inquiry used in 1890 was more conducive to the omission of the large establishments by the enumerator than was that used in 1880. In 1890 a separate schedule, with in the neighborhood of 100 inquiries, was used for each establishment. In the majority of cases it required a special visit from the enumerator to secure this schedule. In 1880 there were only eight or ten questions asked, and a large number of establishments reported in the same schedule ; the schedules were, therefore, secured by the enumerator at the same time he gathered the statistics of population.