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Show By ELMq' SCOTT WATSON 1, Drawing by Ray Walters. "TfSj ii -r-FI f F 1 41' WAS John Adams, second K3, cZr?'!l(t'C1 T7" I President of the United f5pisS2??l IZZ jfe sf '-' i H I States, whose vision of the 'zzzZZ-- w.taJ J potentialities of America led t 1 " """1 him to predict that the pop- J1tP By ELMO SCOTT WATSON Drawing by Ray Walters. , T WAS John Adams, second TjT I President of the United H I States, whose vision of the potentialities of America led him to predict that the pop- JS? E ulation of the United States "XjfT would sometime exceed 200, I fixft 000,000 at a time when such jPfepyL a prophecy seemed little 1 more than a wild Might of LnJ imagination unci utterly ridiculous. ridic-ulous. Writing from Louden in 17SG. while he was minister to the court of St. James, Adams said: "It has ever been my hobby horse to see rising in America an empire of liberty, and a prospect of 200.000.000 or 3cKI.0O0.000 of freemen without one noble or king among them." It was John Tyler, tenth President of the United States, blessed with a similar vision, who made a similar prophecy, though not so extruvugan' as Adams' but at the same time doubtful doubt-ful of fulfillment, and missed his guess by only a few years and a relatively small number of millions of population. popula-tion. In a letter addressed to Col. Sam uel Gardiner of Shelter island, whose son married Tyler's daughter, and dated from the ex-President's country seat, Sherwood Forest. V'a., November 20. ISiO, Tyler said: "In a little more than half a century, a people who were regarded as little better than a host of munlerers or sojourners among savage sav-age tribes have attained position among the first civilized powers. "With a spirit of adventure heretofore here-tofore uuequuled by anything which has occurred on the map of the world, there is united a deep plodding sagacity sagac-ity which crowns the most daring en terprises with success. Such a people, peo-ple, ever, had they attained that which Is denominated a stationary condition In regard to population, would not fall to attract great and ubsorbiiig attention. atten-tion. I'.ut, when the reverse Is the fact, when our poulation Is known to double In every period of twenty-live years, when having now n population of J.'.otMI.O'lO that number, before the child now in the nurse's arms attains maturity. Is destined to reach nearly fO.ooo.ooO. und before that same child shall have passed the boundaries ol middle age. to lOO.OHO.ooo." .Vow that Uncle Sam is preparing again ii count hi? children, for prep ur.i I ions for taking the decennial cen sus in 1030 are already under way In Washington. It Is Interesting to check up on the predictions of these two Presidents anil see Just how nearly right thev were. Although Tyler's prophecy was a bit too optimistic, he was not far wrong. At the time hi letter wns written the population of the country was 'J.'i.LW.O.'lS lie pre dieted thiil It would double in the next 2T years und although there are no figures available for IMT'i by IN.S0 It had reached fiO.L'tl'J.ns;. Il had not reached the loo.ooo.ooo mark by 1000. as his prediction suggested, for Uncle Sam's children then numbered 70.120.. 408. and II was not until 20 years lal - T J How Uncle Sam's Family X J Has Grown in 140 Years X Venr Population y" f lrn.i ap-'o.gii ';" f isao r M.os.-isn ixio 7.2:t..ssi f -f" isi-o n.iais.-i-.t J fr IS30 llI.'G'I.Cgl lslll I7.IIOJ.I.-..-I T im.-,o :;.i.s7 y isco ai 4 ;:t J" ism Ks,.".v..a 1 INSO .'.(1.1.-,.-, 7S.I V 4 isao a: i7.7i i T 5- ntiKi 7r,.t) :4 r,7.i v mio ni t)7g 2m 4- logo inri.7in.iiga 4 lu.'ta I KMimaicd i laj.ooo.oun er that It reached the murk of 10,j, 7I0.C20. Even though the "doubling' process which he prophesied did not continue consistently, there did take place the amazing growth In the nation na-tion of 5XJ,UOO,000 people In half a century, or an increase in population of 200 per cent. So Tyler's prophecy was not so extravagant ex-travagant as It must have seemed ut the time. And when there Is taken Into consideration the steady Increase during the 142 years since John Adams made known his vision, even his prophecy proph-ecy does not now seem so fantastic. The census bureau estimates that there were 120,013,000 people living under the Stars and Stripes on July 1, 1078 and that the census of 1030 will show a population of approximately l.",2,(MKI,x0. So John Adams' vision of '2O0.uXXJ.Wi0 or 300.000.000 of freemen.' though still In the future, does not now look so improbable. Although Uncle Sam's decennial count of his children Is not due to begin for two years yet, the machinery for accomplishing this huge task Is already In operation. P.efore congress adjourned last May the house passed the census bill and it will be taken up promptly by the senate when con Kress convenes again In December. As It passed the house, the bill included a new feature In census enumeration. I luil of accounting for retail and wholesale whole-sale distribution of commodities. Km many years tiie government has collected col-lected statistics In regard to the production' pro-duction' of commodities but none on distribution. The inclusion of tills feature In the 1030 census bill was suggested by Herbert Hoover, then secretary of commerce, and if the sen ate pusses the bill without eliminating this Intonation, it is believed that the facts thus obtained will form the foundation for a marked advance In the efficiency of our marketing system. sys-tem. The census will also assemble data on the subjects of Irrigation, drainage an'! mines as well as Including the census bureau's biennial Inquiry Into the state of manufacturing acd the (luintennii . investigation of agriculture. agricul-ture. At the same time the bureau will continue Its annual routine of collecting statistics on births and deaths. Industrial and business conditions, condi-tions, "mancial facts relating to the cities a d states and records of marriages mar-riages and divorces. The preliminary work of mapping out the territory for the 1030 census Is being carried on now under the supervision super-vision of William M. Steuart, director of the census. The Hrst job Is to get a description of all the political subdivisions, sub-divisions, some 100.000, in the United States and to obtain accurate maps for use in designating the enumeration enumera-tion district. The count will be made not only of the millions' who live within with-in the boundaries of the 43 states but also In Alaskn, Hawaii, Porto Illco. The governors of Gunm, Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Philippines and the Panama Canal Zone will be directed to take a census In the same year, according to plans to be approved by the director. The adual count of Uncle Sam's children 111 begin on May 1, 1930, nnd It Is expected that the statistics on the total number will be available by December of that year. Then will begin the enormous task of classifying and compiling the facts obtained In the enumeration and this will be handled han-dled by a small army of census bureau bu-reau employees und a battery of self-feeding self-feeding tabulating machines, verification verifica-tion machines nnd automatic sorting machh.es. |