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Show CENSUS TAKING 1929 IIAS MANY NEW FEATURES How many persons are there in the United States? How many animals ani-mals how many goods in circulation circula-tion how large the "army of unemployed?" unem-ployed?" We, as everybody else, would like to say, but if you wait long enough, Uncle Sam's tellers will furnish the figures. More than $39,500,000 will be appropriated by congress for the task, which is to be completed in about six months, it is estimated. There are several novel features about this year's census taking which distinguish it from past undertakings. undertak-ings. The country's population is increasing in-creasing at the rate of about 1,400,-000 1,400,-000 yearly, a record that surpasses anything in history. An excess of births over deaths and of immigration immigra-tion over emigration are the causes of this. It is estimated that the population pop-ulation next year will probably have reached the sum total of 120,000,000, which is thirty times that of 1790 when the first census was taken. The much mooted question between Republicans and Democrats "What is the extent of unemployment?" will be settled, and this, too, is a proceeding never before authorized in a decennial census bill. Nor, for that matter, does the gathering of figures relating to distribution of goods have any precedent, although Mr. Hoover strongly advocated such a provision when he was secretary of commerce. The 100,000 persons who go from door to door gathering statistics will be paid according to the number of noses counted. A supervisor will preside over each of the 55 districts, which are to be divided into sections, sec-tions, for the enumerators to cover. The latter are to carry charts showing show-ing just what information he must obtain. All this information is stricHy confidential, and deliberately mis leading the census taker is a viol tion of law punishable by fine anri imprisonment. |