Show Census Taker Gets P Personal M Mr w r VI V The Themore census taker is getting more personal all the time The ancient Romans simply counted noses and property the of taxation taxa taxa- taxation for purpose chiefly to World Book tion tion according Encyclopedia William the Conqueror compiled corn com information on onon piled a little more what when he on who who what owned decided to spread some payola pay pay- payola ola in the form land among his followers at the ex ex- expense expense expense pense of the nobility When his officials finished adding up the English people and their possessions pos sessions in 1086 they had two huge volumes called the Book European cities kept to the bare facts when they began to count their population in the and The first such count was taken in Germany in 1449 Three hundred years later Sweden compiled the first national national national na na- na- na census based on parish records In 1790 the fledgling US U.S. government government government gov gov- sent out 17 marshals and a few hundred assistants to count the population in order to provide a basis for taxing the states and to determine the number of representatives they would have in Congress The rhe first great invasion of privacy occurred in 1850 when census takers began to write down the names of all people in the country They also classified classified classified clas clas- the population according to age sex race and place of birth Soon the enumerators were poking their noses into such matters as occupation tion lion income marital status am and the fertility of women In 1950 they wanted to know about your plumbing This year they're going to find out whether youre you're really 1 with the Joneses keeping up population will willbe of the sample A they ov n a whether be asked a clothes machine washing freezer and reezer-and and ai ain air a food dryer and the n number um- um conditioning family g ga a. a the her ber of cars car s in rage Tage |