made to provide other machinery for the ninth census, that of 1870. This effort was embodied in a bill which passed the House of Representatives, but which was defeated in the Senate; so the census of 1870 was taken in accordance with the law of 1850. The act for the tenth census, approved March 3, 1879, provided that enumerators, specially appointed for the purpose, should make the canvass, the body of enumerators working under supervisors appointed by the President. Under this law there were one hundred and fifty supervisors, under whom were employed about thirty thousand enumerators, and under the last-named law the scope of the census was greatly expanded, nothing like it ever having been carried out under any government. The enumerators were to make the canvass from house to house, from manufactory to manufactory, from farm to farm, sending their certified returns to their respective supervisors, who, after careful examination, transmitted the originals to the superintendent at Washington. By this method the central office was put in possession of the original data, avoiding thereby all the errors incident to transcription under previous methods. General Francis A. Walker was the superintendent, and he was also the superintendent of the ninth census, that of 1870. He carried through the census of 1880 on the broad basis laid down by him, and the results, in twenty-two folio volumes, secured for him the admiration of statisticians in every part of the world.
Now comes the eleventh census, the centennial of that of 1790. It is being conducted under a law which is practically the re-enactment of that providing for the tenth census. The law was approved March 1, 1889, and under it Robert P. Porter was appointed superintendent. The schedules are practically those of the tenth census, enlarged, amended, and improved as experience under the tenth census indicated the necessity.
The growth of the Federal census, while clearly illustrated by reference to the various laws, is perhaps more strikingly shown by a statement of the various publications which have resulted from the several censuses. General Garfield, chairman of the Committee on the Ninth Census, made in January, 1870, a very elaborate report covering census-taking in different countries in the world, and especially a history of the United States censuses; and from this report the exhibit relative to publications and expenses up to and including 1860 is taken. For 1870 and 1880 recourse has been had to original sources:
1790.—Return of the Whole Number of Persons within the Several Districts of the United States, etc. This first census publication was an octavo pamphlet of 52 pages, published in 1792. The entire cost of this census was $44,377.18.
1800.—Return of the Whole Number of Persons within the
