read and write. An inquiry was also made, purely for legislative purposes, relative to the number of pensioners for revolutionary or military services; but Congress became still more inquisitorial, and in addition to asking the number of deaf, dumb and blind, as in the previous census, it added inquiries as to the insane and idiots.
In 1850 Congress again made expansions and new departures, and there was an improvement in the form of the schedules of inquiry. It was a courageous thing in 1840 to ask for the number of persons who could neither read nor write, but it was more courageous to be so inquisitorial as to attempt to ascertain the number of deaf, dumb, blind, insane, and idiotic. This was going very closely into personal affairs, and there was some resentment and criticism. Nevertheless, Congress was not deterred, for it enumerated in 1850 all the facts called for in 1840, and more. It inquired as to the value of real and personal estate for each person, the place of birth of each inhabitant, whether married within the year, and whether attending school within the year, and it also ascertained the number of convicts. Not satisfied with this, special schedules were added relative to the slave population—the number of fugitives, number manumitted, etc.,—while the third special schedule related to mortality statistics, covering the place of birth of decedents, the month of death, the disease or cause of death, and the profession, occupation or trade which the deceased had followed. The deceased were classified as to age, sex, color, whether free or slave, married or widowed, and, furthermore, an inquiry was made as to the number of days of illness preceding death. The schedules of industry were again added, and this time with some success, but the enumeration of industries even then was very imperfect in operation; yet it formed the turning point of the great contributions along economic lines of the Federal Government. We do not attempt to go back of 1850 in handling industrial statistics, except to use those previously taken as indicative, and in connection with intelligent estimates independent of the census.
