Economic Censuses: Discontinuation, Resumption, and Tech Advancements, Lecture notes of Statistics

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Statistics Adrllillistra!tioll

BUREAU THE CENSUS

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U.S. D

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Charles G. Langham

Issued 1973

OF COM ERCE

Frederick B. Dent. Secretary

Social Economic Statistics

Edward D. Administrator

BU OF THE CENSUS Vincent P. Barabba, Acting Director

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Page

Economic Censuses in the 19th Century................................. 1

The First "Economic Censuses".................................... 1 Economic Censuses Discontinued, Resumed, and Augmented................. 1 Improvements in the 1850 Census................................... 2 The "Kennedy Report" and the Civil War............................ •. 3 Economic Censuses and the Industrial Revolution......................... 4 Economic Censuses Adjust to the Times: The Censuses of 1880, 1890, and 1900 .........................•.. ,.. 4

Economic Censuses in the 20th Century................................. 8

Enumerations on Specialized Economic Topics, 1902 to 1937................. 8 Censuses of Manufacturing and Mineral Industries, 1905 to 1920............... 8 Wartime Data Needs and Biennial Censuses of Manufactures................. 9 Economic Censuses and the Great Depression........................... 10 The War and Postwar Developments: Economic Censuses Discontinued, Resumed, and Rescheduled............................. 13 The 1954 Budget Crisis.......................................... 15 Postwar Developments in Economic Census Taking: The Computer, and" Administrative Records".......................... 15

IC CENSUSES IN

The collection of census-type statistical data by the United States Government actually began with the first Decennial Census (1790), within a year after George Washington became President. This first census and the subsequent decennial censuses were authorized in the Constitution (Article I, Section 2), which specified that "the actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such a manner as they shall by law direct."

The 1790 and 1800 censuses were confined to a few basic population inquiries (name, race, sex, and age). The prime reason for taking these censuses was to apportion Congressional representatives and direct taxes among the States, with little consideration of providing for any systematic collection of statistical data for Government or private use. There was no substantial need for the Government to collect economic statistics because agriculture was by far the most important occupation of the American people and because the duties and powers of the Federal Establishment were narrowly defined by most political leaders.

The First "Economic Censuses"

By 1810 the fragile beginnings of industrialization were becoming manifest, encouraged by various Govern- ment bounties and subsidies and by a persistent desire among many Americans to be as independent of Europe as possible. Also, the fledgling American Government had survived the initial critical period of its existence and was beginning to exert greater influence on political and economic affairs.

Congress responded to the need for statistics on the extent of this newly developed industrialization when, in an Act passed on May 1, 1810, it directed the Federal marshals and their assistants responsible for conducting the 1810 Decennial Census to take "an account of the several manufacturing establishments and manufactures within their several districts, territories, and divisions." No specific questions were outlined, and no report form was prescribed; these matters were left to the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury.

To facilitate the collection of data, the Treasury Department divided manufactured products into 27 broad categories, encompassing more than 200 kinds of goods. As they conducted the population enumeration, the marshals and their assistants were to visit the manu- facturing establishments in their assigned territories to obtain information, generally on the amount produced and value of products manufactured. A total of $40,000 was allocated to pay the marshals and assistants for taking this "account of manufactures." These officials per- formed their tasks during the period August 181O-July

1811. However, itwas not until March 1812 that Congress authorized $2,000 for the Treasury Department to employ a statistician to "digest and reduce returns" and prepare

E 1

a statistical report. Mr. Tench Coxe l^ was hired for this purpose, and his report was published in May 1813. This report basically covered the kind, quantity, and value of goods manufactured and the number of manufacturing establishments in each State, territory, district, and county. In his summary, Mr. Coxe candidly admitted that there had been serious undercounting and omissions in the enumeration. Although the report indicated total manufactures valued at about $173 million, Mr. Coxe estimated that the actual figure probably exceeded $200 million.

The War of 1812 (1812-1815) and the Napoleonic Wars in Europe caused an interruption of American trade with Europe; the scarcity of imported goods (and the diversion of capital from mercantile to indus- trial investments) encouraged the further development of U.S. manufacturing. Although agriculture was still the predominant occupation, about 12 percent of the labor force in 1820 was employed in "manufacturing and mechanical arts." As might be expected in view of these developments, several additional manufacturing inquiries were included in the 1820 Decennial Census. A total of 14 questions were asked to elicit information on location of establishments, raw materials used (kind, quantity, and cost), number of employees, ma- chinery, expenditures (capital, wages, contingent ex- penses), and production (value, demand, and sales). Again, the data were collected by the Federal marshals and their assistants, and an abstract was published, this time under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State. Statistics were published for each State, territory, and district, but there was no attempt to compute U.S. totals because the data were again admittedly incomplete. This incompleteness was attributed to insufficient funds allocated to pay the enumerators and the fact that many establishments apparently neglected (or refused) to provide the required information. In addition, 1820 data were not comparable to the 1810 statistics because household manufactures (goods produced at home) were counted in 1810 but not in 1820.

Economic Censuses Discontinued, Resumed, and AIIIl<>nrll>11ti!>'1I"i

Perhaps as a result of these unfavorable experiences (and the comparatively slow rate of economic growth in the 1820's), no attempt was made to collect economic statistics in the 1830 Decennial Census. The 1830's witnessed a sharp acceleration of economic activity that reached boom proportions in 1836- 37, followed, however, the country's first great depression (1839- 43). Although President Martin Van Buren viewed the Federal Government as having neither the power nor the duty to act firmly to ease the crisis, there was con- siderable pressure to resume the collection of economic statistics and to expand the coverage.

lTench Coxe (1755-1824) was a political economist and a member of the Continental Congress who had held several government posts) including Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Co~~issioner of Revenue, and Purveyor of Public Supplies.

the Attorney General, and the Postmaster General as members. This Act also provided that a full-time secretary for the Census Board would be appointed Congress, at an annual salary of in effect, this official functioned as the director of the census. The Board was given authority to design and procure suitable forms for the 1850 census, forms not for collecting the information but also for tabulating results and compiling the statistical tables. The Con- gressional Act creating the Census Board also contained specific instructions that data be collected and on manufacturing, mining, fishing, and commerce to present a "full view" of the industrial development of the United States. The Census Board consulted with prominent statisticians in Government and the academic and business communities to develop six questionnaires, one of which (Schedule 5) was for the collection of the economic data. It was to be completed by each cor- poration, company, or individual accounting for annual production valued at $500 or more for the year ending June 1, 1850. The 14 inquiries included name of business, manufacture, or product; amount of capital invested in real and personal estate in the business; quantities, kinds, and values of raw materials used; kinds of motive power used (water or steam); machinery, structures, or resources used in the manufacturing process; average number of male and female workers employed; average cost of male and female labor; and quantities, kinds, and values of annual product. The questionnaire for social statistics included six questions on wages and prices, on average monthly wages for a farm laborer board), average daily wages for a day laborer and without board), average daily wage for a carpenter, average weekly wages for a female domestic worker board), and price of board to a "laboring per week. (Similar questions were included in the 1860 and 1870 censuses.)

The enumerators were supplied with written in- structions on how each question should be answered and examples of properly completed questionnaires. In addition, the Federal marshals still super- vised field operations, they were relieved of the re- sponsibility of compiling and assembling for publication the statistics for their respective jurisdictions. In- stead, the classification and compilation of data pre- paratory to their publication were performed in a central office in Washington, D.C. General census results were published in June 1853, and partial data for manufactures became available in September 1854, but complete economic statistics for the 1850 census were not published until December 1859. 4 The total value of manufactures (including fisheries and the products of mines), a s reflected in the 1850 census, exceeded $1 billion. This represented a fivefold increase over the $200 million estimated for 1810. Although some undercounting was acknowledged, most statisticians have concluded that 1850 census data--both economic and demographic--are considerably more accurate than in previous censuses.

tiThe Census Office (which was under the jurisdiction of the newly created Department of the Interior) was dis- banded on two occasions as the various census reports were completed. Congress did not actually authorize the preparation of 1850 economic census reports until June 1858, at which time a clerical staff had to bA reassembled.

Part of the improvement is attributed to the efforts of Mr. Joseph C.G. Kennedy (1813-1887). Mr. Kennedy, a statistician and Pennsylvania newspaper editor-owner, served as secretary of the Census Board in 1849-50 and was appointed superintendent of the census office in 1850. He resigned in 1853 to become U.S. representative to the first and second International Statistical Congresses in Brussels (1853-1854), during which he consulted with leading European statisticians and became familiar with government statistical programs in Europe. Mr. Kennedy was reappointed superintendent of the census office in June 1858 to supervise the preparation of the report on economic statistics. At the completion of this assignment, he was selected as superintendent of the 1860 Decennial Census.

The and the Civil War

The 1860 Decennial Census was conducted under the same basic procedures followed in the 1850 census. Although there were some minor modifications of the questionnaires used to collect demographic data, the 14 economic inquiries were identical to those of the 1850 census. Four census volumes were published, including one devoted exclusively to economic statistics. A major innovation was the analysis of the census statistics prepared by Superintendent Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy used the census data as a basis for describing "all the great elements of a nation's prosperity as they existed in the year 1860."

In his section on "products of industry" (included in the Preliminary Report on the Eighth Census, published in 1862), Mr. Kennedy described the increasing impact of manufacturing and commerce in the United States, esti- mating that one-third of the entire population in 1860 was supported, directly or indirectly, by manufacturing. His report encompassed a comparative analysis of the various industries in which he interpreted the data to show how and sectors of the economy expanded, stabilized, or decreased and to illustrate interrelation- ships among the factors of production and socioeconomic factors.

For example, he credited the expanded use of the sewing machine in industry with adding "thousands of industrious females" to the labor force, as well as promoting the growth of the garment industry. He praised the "cultivated intellect" of the Federal Army mobilized for Civil War duty and cited the increasing number of printing presses as being a prime factor in making books and newspapers readily available for the average citizen to improve his intellect.

The Civil War had a marked effect on economic development in both the North and the South. The need for war materiel provided major stimulation to industry, particularly in the North, where merchant capitalism was supplanted to a large degree by industrial capitalism. Wartime requirements for woolen cloth, clothing, iron, guns, munitions, and other products led to the use of production methods which hastened the Industrial Revolu- tion in the United States. The need to mobilize a Federal Army of more than 2 million men brought an attendant economic mobilization, the first in the Nation's history. The Federal Government actively encouraged industrial- ization during and after the Civil War by tariff protection,

a central banking system, large grants to railroads, and generally conservative monetary policies.

Faced with a naval blockade and an economy based on cotton, the Confederate Government attempted to develop manufacturing. Industrialization increased (particularly cotton cloth and leather goods), and the Government took over some essential industries. In the wake of the war, with Negro slavery ended and the plantation system largely eliminated, the South was forced to develop a more diversified economy emphasizing manufacturing and commerce.

The Civil War emergency thus compelled the Federal Government to adopt explicit policies to promote in- dustrial development. With the implementation of such policies- - which continued after the war-- came an in- creased need for and interest in economic statistics, statistics which could best be supplied through the periodic censuses.

Economic Censuses and the Industrial Revolution

Beginning in the middle of the 19th century (but at an even more accelerated pace after the Civil War), American society was transformed by the rise of industrialism. Many factors, including benign Govern- ment policies, encouraged this transformation. There was a successful blend of abundant natural resources, adequate supplies of capital and labor, technical advances in virtually all industries, readily available markets, and rapidly expanding and improving transportation net- works. Before 1860 the American economy was basi- cally agrarian, but by 1900 the value of manufactured goods was double that of agricultural products. During that 40-year period, the United States advanced from fourth place to first place among the world's industrial nations, as measured by the value of manufactures.

The following statistics, all collected in economic censuses, reflect this expansion: In 1859 there were only about 140,000 industrial establishments in the country, employing 1.3 million workers and producing goods with a gross value of $1.9 billion. By 1899 there were over 500,000 establishments providing jobs for 5.3 million workers and producing goods with a gross value of $13 billion. Value added by manufacture increased from $854 million in 1859 to $5.6 billion in

Industrialization lead to specialization, the growth of huge combinations and monopOlies, and the concen- tration of economic power, all of which had direct ramifications for the economic census takers. As specialization increased, it became more difficult to develop general questions applicable to all establish- ments. Many unique schedules, tailored to the charac- teristics of each industry, had to be designed in order to obtain meaningful statistics. At the same time, the concentration of economic power (and the frequent abuse of that power) brought a growing public demand for Government regulation of business, which culminated in the antitrust movement. As Government exercised increasing power over economic affairs, it required more and better data upon which to base its far-reaching decisions.

In 1869-70, Congress attempted to draft new census legislation to supercede the 1850 law under which the 1850 and 1860 censuses had been taken, but which was deemed inadequate to meet the changing conditions of

1870. However, agreement could not be reached, and the 1870 Decennial Census had to be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the old law. The 1870 questionnaire for "products of industry" was modified slightly to collect additional or better in- formation on machinery and machine power sources, age of youthful workers, cost of labor, and number of months the establishment was in operation, but the census volume on "statistics on industry and wealth" contained basic tabulations closely resembling those of 1850 and 1860. Although there were some innovations in 1870 (e.g., the use of tallying machines and the in- troduction of maps and charts to portray census results), it was not until the 1880 census that major changes in economic data collection were implemented to meet the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution.

Economic Censuses The Censuses of

to the Times:

and 1900

A new census law for the 1880 census, passed in March 1879, made provision for the Nation's changing economic structure. This law provided for (1) many additional special schedules tailored to various spe- cialized industries and businesses, (2) expansion in the scope of the censuses, (3) utilization of census super- visors and "experts" to conduct the census, instead of the Federal marshals, and (4) a requirement that supervisors and enumerators take an oath not to reveal "any information contained in the schedule (Le., questionnaire], lists, or statements obtained by me to any person or persons, except to my superior officers." 5

The number of general economic questions was expanded to 29, and there were 49 special questionnaires designed for particular industries in the manufacturing area. The 49 special questionnaires contained more than 2,000 inquiries. Although there was considerable overlap of questions (Le., the same item appearing on several special questionnaires, or on the general questionnaire and also one or more special question- na ires), more than 700 of the inquiries were unique. The number of questions on the special manufacturing questionnaires ranged from eight (on a supplemental questionnaire for forges and foundries) to 141 (on a questionnaire for cotton manufacturers).

Whereas questions on mining and mineral industries had been included on the "products of industry" question- naire in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses, 42 special questionnaires were used to collect data on this subject in the 1880 census. These special questionnaires con- tained a total of almost 3,000 inquiries, including over 1,600 unique items. The questionnaires for coal mines and copper mines contained more than 200 questions, but the median number of items on the special question- naires for minerals was 53.

5Census workers were subject, upon conviction, LO a fine up to $500 for communicating "to any person not authorized to receive the same, any statistics of property or business lf reported on a census questionnaire"

used in manufacturing and preparing a report on this subject.

The following industries were assigned to specialists in the designated areas: Manufacturing of iron and steel; cotton, woolen, and worsted goods; silk and silk goods; chemical products and salt; coke and glass; and all branches of commercial fishing and mining. The experts and special agents were paid at a rate not to exceed $6 per day plus expenses, while the regular enumerators collecting economic data in other areas were paid $0.15 for each establishment reported on the general questionnaire and $0.25 for each establishment reported on the special questionnaires.

A new policy of releasing periodic bulletins con- taining preliminary census results was initiated for the 1880 census. The statistical compendium summarizing census data was published in January 882. The basic census volumes reporting manufacturing statistics and transportation-communications data were released in October 1883, and the mineral industries volume,

1886. Several special monographs (e.g., on water power used in manufacturing; precious metals; and petroleum, coke, and building stone) were published in the mid- 1880's.

The economic statistics compiled in the 1880 census were more comprehensive than in any previous census in the United States. The use of experts and special agents generally resulted in more complete and con- sistent returns, which facilitated the tabulation and publication of more accurate data on the Nation's economy.

The 1890 census followed the ba sic procedures established for 1880, and in many cases the same questionnaire formats were utilized. The 1880 ex- perience of employing experts and special agents to compile economic data in selected places was deemed so successful that, for the 1890 census, specialists were used in 1,042 important manufacturing and com- mercial centers. Another 1880 innovation--that of issuing bulletins announcing preliminary census results-- was also extended for the 1890 census. During the period 1890-1895, more than 6,000 pages of preliminary bulletins were released, including a substantial amount of economic data.

The 1890 census also marked what was probably the first use of "administrative records" (records used by governmental or private organizations to administer programs or in day-to-day operations) to compile eco- nomic census data. Congress directed that statistics be collected on the recorded indebtedness (Le., real estate mortgages) of private corporations and individuals. Special census agents were sent to real estate recorders' offices to abstract information about mortgages made during the period 1880-1890. Information abstracted included a description of the property, provisions of the mortgage, and the addresses of the mortgagor and mortgagee. Then, questionnaires (and postage-free return envelopes) were mailed to the mortgagors, who were asked to supply additional information about their :n0rtgage (whether or not it had been fully paid and, If not, how much was owed) and return the completed report form to the census office.

The inquiries on transportation were expanded con- siderably, with coverage extended to sailing vessels and rapid-transit facilities in cities. (Rapid-transit facilities primarily included electric railroads, which became widely used in the 1880' s. The first electric railroad was built in Kansas City in 1883, and, by 1888, there were 13 electric rail systems in use in American cities.)

The 1900 census S included questions on the economic subjects: Manufactures, mines and quarries, street and electric railroads, for the first time, central electric light and power stations.

The scope of the manufactures census was limited law to an exact parallel of the 1890 census. Infor- mation was generally compiled on number of establish- ments, invested, number of wage earners and total wages paid, cost of materials, and value of products. One general and 32 questionnaires were used (a considerable decrease from the 76 manu- facturing questionnaires utilized in the census). Most manufacturing returns were submitted on the general of the total returns), there was still some criticism from respondents th~t the special questionnaires too much information in too much detaiL to the chief statistician for manufactures, Mr. S. "experience has again demonstrated that it is impossible to obtain from the great of manufacturers of the country ... replies to the somewhat intricate questions which appear on these schedules."

agents were again to manufacturing data in selected areas: A total of specialists, supervised by 20 "expert special agents," were assigned to these duties in 1,340 cities and towns. There were 59 special bulletins prepared on various special subjects in manufacturing, such as shipbuilding, slaughtering and packing, and lumbering. Bulletins on manufacturing were also released for each of the States and territories except Alaska. Final manufacturing data were published in four volumes and summarized in a statistical abstract.

Statistics on mines and quarries, street and electric railroads, and central electric light and power stations were initially published in bulletins and later in final reports somewhat less detailed than the bound volumes of manufactures statistics. Data on covered the same general topics as the manufactures statistics of mines and mine operators, wage earners and total wages, cost of supplies, other operating expenses, and and value of minerals extracted), published by geographic area and type of mineral.

For street and electric railroads, statistics were as- sembled on such topics as number of companies, length of rail lines, cost of construction and equipment, em- ployees, and passengers. Data compiled for central electric light and power companies included number of

"statistics for manufacturing are for the year 1900. Data for mining, street and electric railroads, and elec- tric light and power stations are for 1902 but these results were released as part of the 12th Decennial Census publication serieso

stations, cost of construction and equipment, earnings, expenses, and power generated. 7

Thus, the 19th century witnessed a major growth in the scope and coverage of economic censuses which roughly paralleled the growth of the American economy. The 1810 census encompassed only three broad inquiries on manufacturing, but the 1890 census included more than inquiries (or levels of detail) relating to manufac- turing, mining, fisheries, insurance, mortgages, and transportation. The common pattern was that a partic-

7Data on power companies were actually collected in the 1902 census of electric light and power industry. These censuses were conducted quinquennially during the period 1902-1937.

ular segment of the economy, previously not included in government data-collection activities, would experience notable expansion, often encouraged by various external variables such as war or discovery of new methods or resources. In the wake of this growth, authorities in Government and the private sector would express a need for statistics which to measure the characteristics of the developing industry.

The relationship between government and business and the prevailing economic philosophy in Government were also factors. As the Government expanded its role in regulating the economy and turned away from laissez faire in the purest form, it required more data and better data upon which to base future decisions and evaluate past decisions. Economic censuses in the 19th century could not and did not develop in a vacuum. Instead, they reflect the currents of the Nation's economic history.

facturing. Manufacturing establishments were given the opportunity to complete and mail in questionnaires, but, again, most returns were secured in the field by special census agents. A total of 1,227 special agents, plus about 100 regular Bureau employees, were assigned to canvass the factories, mines, and quarries. In a few sparsely settled areas, population census enumerators were also required to obtain the manufacturing and mining returns.

The coverage of the 1910 census differed from that of 1905 only in that reports were secured, for the first time, from custom sawmills and steam laundries. However, the number of industries for which a separate tabulation was published was reduced to 264, mainly as a result of consolidating some of the 1905 categories.

The Act authorizing the 1910 census also strengthened the confidentiality restrictions, particularly as they related to economic data, and it was the first law placing a restriction on the publication of census statistics. As a matter of administrative policy, responses on question- naires for earlier economic censuses had been considered confidential, but the 1910 law specified that information furnished business, manufacturing, and mining es- tablishments "shall be used for statistical purposes for which it is supplied. That no publication shall be made by the Census Office whereby the data furnished by any particular establishment can be identified, nor shall the Director of the Census permit anyone other than sworn employees of the Census Office to examine individual reports."

The Census Bureau acknowledged the importance of confidentiality by noting in the volume containing 1910 manufactures census results that "it is essential to the success of the manufactures census that every concern should be assured explicitly by law that its business will not be disclosed to competitors, to the general public, to state and local officials, or even to officials of the Federal Government outside of the Census Bureau. Only with such a pledge of confidential treatment can the Bureau of the Census expect manufacturers to furnish data and accurately."

The 1915 manufactures census again combined a mail-out/mail-back enumeration with a field canvass by employees detailed from the permanent complement of the Census Bureau and by special agents. Data were tabulated for the year 1914 for 344 industries plus 271 industry subgroups. Plans called for the prompt pub- lication of bulletins containing preliminary results, but when the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the preparation of these bulletins (and of the two volumes and the abstract containing final results) was delayed because of demands on the public printer for war-related work. The last of the bulletins was not issued until August 1918, just before the census volumes were published.

The 1920 decennial census included manufacturing and mining operations for the year 1919. For manufactures, the 1915 definitions and procedures remained in effect, with one exception: In addition to collecting data for establishments which had not returned questionnaires, the field enumerators were also asked to correct defective questionnaires (i.e., those with inconsistent or incomplete responses) which had been mailed back by respondents. A total of 358 industries and 98 industry

subgroups were covered, but data for seven industries had to be combined to avoid disclosure of data for individual firms. For the census of manufactures, three volumes and an abstract (plus the usual preliminary bulletins) were published.

For mining, statistics were published generally on geographic distribution of operations, lands controlled by mining operators, character of organization, scale of operations, and amount and kind of power used. One general questionnaire and several special question- naires were utilized. The data were published in one volume, which contained a general report and analytical tables, and tabulations for States and selected mineral industries. The tables were arranged to facilitate comparisons with the mining statistics published annually the U.S. Geological Survey.

Wartime Data Needs and Biennial

Censuses of Manufactures

The mobilization of economic resources for World War I led to substantial expansion of American industry. Production of metals and minerals in general (and iron, steel, and chemicals in particular) increased dramatically. The war emergency accelerated the decline of laissez faire and the trend toward Government regulation of the private sector. Various Federal boards and agencies with extraordinary economic powers (such as the War Industries Board and the War Labor Board) were established for the duration of the war, and the Government took over operation of the railroads. The demands of the war effort and postwar demobilization and reconversion forced the Government to make de- cisions traditionally reserved for the private sector. example, the War Industries Board had authority to determine priorities of production and distribution, regulate production of civilian goods, and fix prices of raw materials.) The temporary organizations compiled detailed statistics to assist them in making decisions and evaluating progress, in many cases, lack of information still handicapped their efforts. Economic controls were removed beginning almost immediately after the Armistice was signed, and the laissez faire philosophy regained popularity in the 1920's, with the return to "normalcy." However, the Government's interest in economic affairs (and its data needs) con- tinued at a relatively high leveL

Congress demonstrated these needs when, in the Act providing for the decennial census of it directed the "collection for the years 1921, 1923, 1925, 1927, and for every tenth year after these years, the statistics of the products of manufacturing industries." Since the decennial censuses would cover the years 1929, 1939, etc., censuses of manufactures were thus authorized on a biennial basis.

The reason for compiling these data, as indicated in the report of the 1921 census, was to "show the absolute and relative magnitude of the various branches of industry, and their growth and decline, and (2) the industrial importance, and the increase or decrease in industrial importance, of individual States and large cities." Statistics were to be collected which would "throw light upon certain matters of economic and sociological importance," such as the size of establish- ments and hours of labor.

To reduce the expense of the biennial censuses and expedite processing and publication of results, two primary actions were implemented for the 1921 census. certain items which had been included in the censuses of manufactures were omitted. items included capital invested, age and sex distribution of employees, rent and taxes, primary horse- power used, and kind and quantity of fuel used in manu- facturing. Secondly, only limited statistics on number of wage earners and value of product were collected from manufacturing establishments reporting products valued at less than $5,000 for 1921. (In the quinquennial censuses, data had been obtained from establishments with annual production valued at more than $500.) For 1921, about 22 percent of the establishments had products valued at less than $5,000, but these plants accounted for less than 1 percent of the wage earners and total production.

Data were collected for 1921 on 348 separate indus- tries, 98 of which were subdivided to show greater detail. Statistics were compiled on number of proprietors or firm members, number of salaried employees, number of wage earners, amounts paid in salaries and wages and for contract work, cost of materials, and value of product.

In planning this first biennial census of manufactures, Census Bureau officials consulted extensively with the National Association of Manufacturers, committees from civic associations (such as chambers of commerce), representatives of important trade associations, and statisticians in Government and the private sector. Assistance from these sources was obtained in developing questionnaires, publicizing the census, and generally encouraging industry's acceptance of the project.

The canvass was a combination mail-outjmail-back operation and field enumeration. More than half of the

questionnaires were returned by mail. Preliminary

summary reports of census results were issued as press releases, each relating to a particular industry or group of industries. A total of 287 press releases were prepared during the period July 1922 to May 1923, and a final press summary was released in July 1923. Printed bulletins with final results were prepared for the industries, and a summary bulletin presented statistics for the United States, industries, and for all industries combined State. data were then consolidated into a one-volume report published in November 1923.

The procedures and coverage of the 1923 census were virtually the same as those of 1921. The mail-outj mail-back operation was more successful, due in part to the cooperation of chambers of commerce. In many large cities, chamber of commerce representatives, sworn in as census agents, took complete charge of the canvass. Approximately 65 percent of the returns were received by mail, and by June 1924 almost 95 percent of the establishments had been canvassed by mail or in the field. Data were collected and tabulated for 333 industries, of which 87 were subdivided to provide greater detail. As in the 1921 census, preliminary statistics were first puhlished in press releases (of which there were 290), then final data were assembled in industry bulletins and a final one- volume report published in January 1926.

For the 1925 census, 324 industries were covered, and about 75 percent of the returns were received mail, again with the close cooperation of the chambers of commerce and other professional groups. A total of 254 press releases of preliminary results were prepared, plus the usual industry bulletins and the one- volume final report released in December 1927. For the 1927 census, manufacturers of confectionery and ice cream and fabricators of sheet-iron had to complete questionnaires only if they produced products with an annual value of $20,000 or more. (This was in recognition of the fact that many of these smaller firms were primarily engaged in retail trade, not manufacturing.) Overall, the census encompassed 335 industries, and approx- imately 65 percent of the returns were received by mail. The press release- industry bulletin-final volume publica- tion procedure was again followed, with the final volume published in April 1930.

Economic Censuses and the Great

The 1930 Decennial Census ""as_ conducted during the initial phases of the Great Depression, the beginning of which was marked by the stock market crash of October

1929. Even before the crash and the start of the depression, some thoughtful economists and Government officials were investigating ways to achieve and preserve economic stability. Despite stringent budgets, the National Bureau of Economic Research and other public and private agencies undertook research projects which were frequently handicapped by lack of data, particularly in the areas of business and commerce.

In the Act authorizing the 1930 census, Congress provided for a census of construction industries, a census of distribution (which included retail and wholesale distribution and special topics), and a census of hotels. These were in addition to the censuses of manufactures and mineral industries traditionally included in the decennial censuses. All of these censuses were to encompass activities for the year 1929.

The construction census was initiated in response to the post-World War I boom in this sector of the economy. In 1920, less than 850,000 workers were employed in contract construction, and total private construction for that year was valued at $5.4 billion. By 1928 (the last full year before the start of the depression), more than 1.6 million workers were em- ployed in this field, and total private construction was valued at $9.2 billion.

In planning this first census of construction industries, the Census Bureau worked closely with an advisory committee representing national contractors' associ- ations and individual construction companies. This cooperative effort produced one basic questionnaire designed to collect information on (1) organization of the establishment, number of salaried employees and total salaries (3) number of skilled and un- skilled workmen employed, (4) total annual wages, length of working day and week, (6) expenses of equipment, operations, and overhead, (7) total value of year's business various breakdowns), and value of materials and building equipment installed.

The questionnaire was to be completed by all persons and establishments engaged in construction business of any kind (except industrial concerns, public utilities,

The procedures, coverage, and program for the 1930 manufactures census closely resembled those of the biennial censuses conducted for 1921, 1923, 1925, and 1927.9 At the recommendation of a special advisory committee appointed the Secretary of Commerce, some slight changes were made in the questions on cost of materials and value of products. A total of 165 questionnaires were prepared to canvass 238 industries, and the number of questions common to all questionnaires was increased from 8 to 12.

The scope of the 1930 census of mines and quarries differed considerably from that of the 1920 census. Petroleum and natural gas industries, which were canvassed in were not included in but coverage of sand and gravel, glass-sand, and molding- sand industries was added, and there were a number of consolidations and reclassifications of industries. How- ever, the questions, data-collection methods, and cation program were basically unchanged.

Several special reports on economic topics were included in the 1930 census program. For example, reports were prepared on distribution of sales of manufacturing plants, products of manufacturing industries, materials used in manufacturing, and location of industrial plants. In addition, statistics on unemploy- ment were collected as an to the population census. With the addition of the censuses of distribution, con- struction industries, and hotels, the continuation of the manufactures and mineral industries census, and the coverage of special topics, the 1930 Decennial Census was, by large measure, more extensive than any previous economic census in the United States.

Budget reductions handicap 1931 and 1933 manu- factures censuses.--Government policies in the early stages of the depression included efforts to improve public confidence in the Nation's economic structure by reducing Federal expenditures and balancing the budget. As a result of the retrenchments, the Census Bureau's and personnel authorizations for the 1931 and 1933 censuses of manufactures were de-

creased. The 1931 census included 310 industries, but

some questions (e.g., inquiries on salaried employees, power equipment, and coal consumption) were discon- tinued. Questionnaires were mailed in 1932, and about 60 percent were returned maiL were conducted by officials of local chambers of commerce and, in large industrial centers, Census Bureau field office employees. Funding was inadequate to provide for a large crew of canvassers, so the number of field was limited. restric- tions also delayed the of census results.

Lack of funds and personnel also the 1933 census. The number of special questionnaires was reduced, and greater use was made of the general questionnaire and a short form was designed for smaller establishments. Again, the mail-out/mail-back enumer- ation method was with telephone and about 75 percent of the questionnaires were returned maiL However, the volume containing final census results warned data users that the smaller field force available

90 ne major difference in coverage waS that whereas the first four biennial censuses of manufacturing included only firms reporting annual production valued at 000, this cutoff was reduced to $500 for the 1930 census.

for personal followups had resulted in "some incomplete- ness of coverage."

Economic censuses in the "New DeaL" - - President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" policies, beginning in March 1933, provided emergency relief measures, some of which directly involved economic census projects. The first example of this was the 1933 business census, which encompassed retail wholesale dis- tribution, and a new category, "Services, Amusements, and Hotels." The service classification consisted of personal services (such as barber shops and beauty parlors), mechanical repair services (such as radio repair shops), and miscellaneous services (such as parking lots). Data were collected exclusively in a field canvass, which was funded by the Civil Works Admin- istration as part of its emergency project to provide temporary employment for 4 million workers during the winter of 1933- 34.

The 1935 censuses were further augmented to include a greatly expanded business census (including a census of construction) in addition to the biennial census of manufactures. Again, the field enumeration method was revitalized as a public works project to jobs for the unemployed, this time funded by the Works Progress Administration

The scope of the 1935 manufactures census was expanded to provide for about the same level of detail as in the 1930 census. a mailing list was developed and questionnaires were mailed in January 1936, the companies were instructed to hold their questionnaires until enumerators visited their establish- ments in a door -to-door canvass in all cities, towns, and Villages. The field workers were directed to canvass every manufacturing concern, even those which had not received questionnaires mail.

The 1935 business census included retail trade, wholesale trade, the contract construction industry, and service industries services, business services, repair and custom services, and miscellaneous services), for which data were collected in an extensive field operation. In there was a miscellaneous business category consisting of many types of establish- ments not canvassed in any census. The miscellaneous category dn_LU'~~·~

1. Advertising agencies were mailed, but there was extensive field
2. Radio broadcasting stations naires and one followup letter,

3. Real estate agenCies enumeration exclu-

sively).

4. Insurance companies field follow- up).
5. Banks (data collected by mail the Federal Reserve Board, Comptroller of and Federal Deposit Insurance field supervised the Census
6. Financial institutions other than such as stock brokerage firms and finance companies (field enumeration exclusively).
7. Hotel and tourist courts (field enumeration ex- clusively).
8. Places of amusement (field enumeration exclu- sively).

9. Transportation--motor buses and trucks for hire--

and warehousing (field enumeration exclusively).

10. Nonprofit organizations, office building manage- ment firms, and miscellaneous businesses (field enumeration exclusively).

The announced goal of the 1935 census was to canvass

"every recognizable place of business" to provide for the "first factual appraisal ever available on the effects of a serious business depression." A mass of data was collected, some of which was tabulated at a special Census Bureau branch in Philadelphia, where the un- employment rate was higher than in Washington. Final

business census results were published in 14 volumes

(three each for retail trade, wholesale trade, service trades, and construction, one for transportation and warehousing, and one for the miscellaneous topics), plus a series of special reports. A one-volume report of the census of manufactures was also prepared. The sheer scope and complexity of the operation, the limited time available for planning, and the difficulty in super- vising the large contingent of field workers and clerks inevitably resulted in misclassifications, undercounting, tabulation difficulties, and other problems. However, the

1935 census not only yielded some valuable data for the

New Deal economic planners, but also helped to ease the critical unemployment situation.

For 1937, only the biennial census of manufactures was

conducted, and the operation was funded through regular census appropriations rather than as an emergency public works project. Although the number of speci!{l question- naires was reduced, the amount of detail concerning products was greater than in any previous census. For example, questions were added concerning finished- product inventories and work-in-progress inventories.

A total of 351 industries were canvassed, using one

general questionnaire, 143 special questionnaires, and

one administrative questionnaire.

A mailing list was derived from 1935 census files,

trade directories, license lists, and other sources.

Questionnaires were mailed in January 1938, and two

fol~owup letters were dispatched to nonrespondents in February and March. Census Bureau field employees conducted personal followup during the period April-

June 1938, after which a final attempt was made to

obtain outstanding questionnaires by mail. Results were published first as press releases with preliminary data, then as pamphlets with final results, and ultimately as

a volume published in December 1939.

Censuses of business, manufactures, and mineral

industries, covering activities for the year 1939, were

taken as part of the 1940 Decennial Census. The business

census, conducted exclusively as a field canvass, in- cluded retail trade, wholesale trade, service industries, and construction industries. Most of the classifications

in the 1935 miscellaneous business category (e.g., banks,

advertising agencies, and radio stations) were not

canvassed in 1940. Coverage of places of amusement

and hotels and tourist courts was shifted to the service industry group.

The 1935 retail classifications were substantially

modified for 1940, and a special table on "reconciliation

of classifications" was published to facilitate compara-

bility of 1935 and 1940 tabulations. The scope of the

census of service trades was also altered, both by the addition of the miscellaneous business classifications and by internal adjustments. Users of the data were advised that, because of the numerous additions and

deletions, "comparisons of aggregates" for 1935 and

1940 were not recommended. For the construction

industries, the size cutoff for tabulation of detailed statistics in previous censuses (annual business of at

least $25,000) was eliminated. For the wholesale

trade category, the scope remained essentially the same as in previous censuses.

The coverage of the census of manufactures also

remained approximately the same as that of 1937,

but the enumeration method was shifted from a maH- out/mail-back operation with field followup to a canvass conducted exclusively in the field. 1o^ A new inquiry on capital expenditures for plant and equipment was included, and the question on personnel required detailed break- downs for various categories of nonmanufacturing em- ployees and by sex of manufacturing and nonmanu- facturing workers.

The census of mineral industries did involve a mail canvass, and most returns were received by maiL The mail enumeration of the bituminous coal industry was conducted with the close cooperation of the Bituminous Coal Division of the U.S. Department of the Interior, with questionnaires being distributed and collected through field offices of the Interior Department.

In addition to the usual press releases and pamphlets,

economic statistics compiled in the 1940 census were

assembled in 10 volumes (five for the census of business, three for the census of manufactures, and two for the census of mineral industries). The final tabulation stages and the preparation of planned special reports were interrupted by U.S. entry into World War II. Some of the special reports (e. g., special subject reports in the retail area) were abandoned, and the last of the

volumes was not published until June 1943.

The War and Postwar Developments: Economic

Censuses Discontinued, Resumed, and Rescheduled

During World War II, the periodic economic censuses were discontinued in favor of war-related current surveys. Numerous surveys were taken to provide statistics for the Office of Price Administration the War Manpower Commission, the Office of Defense Transportation, and other agencies in charge of defense efforts.

The first economic census to be taken after World

War II was the 1947 manufactures census, which was

taken in accordance with the provisions of the prewar law authorizing biennial censuses on this topic. The

1947 census was conducted almost entirely as a maH-

out/mail-back operation,11 and, since there had been

lOA total of 6,400 field enumerators were employed for the censuses of business, manufactures, and mineral industries, but no breakdown is available for the sepa- rate censuses, particularly since some of these canvassers worked on several cenSliseso llApproximately 15,000 sawmills, which had highly mobile and sporadic operations, were canvassed in the field.

return their questionnaires without further contact and were "checked in" in the listing books for each enumer- ation district. Nonrespondents were mailed reminder letters, and those who still did not respond were re- visited by field workers. Questionnaires were carefully coded and edited in the field offices so that firms whose questionnaires were incomplete or below established quality standards could be telephoned or visited by field workers. Before the temporary offices closed, several coverage checks were implemented, including matching operations with Social Security Administration lists and comparisons of county totals with those of neighboring counties or counties with similar economic characteristics.

After the field canvass had been completed, the Census Bureau conducted a post-enumeration survey in which 2,500 representative small areas were reenumerated. This survey revealed undercoverage of 8.2 percent of service establishments, 5.5 percent of wholesale estab- lishments, and 3.6 percent of retail establishments. In general, the undercoverage involved failure to list and canvass small businesses, particularly those with no employees.

As usual, preliminary results were published first, then final reports which were later assembled in bound volumes (three for retail trade, two for wholesale trade, and two for service trades). In addition to the usual tabulations (receipts, sales, number of establish- ments, etc.), there were special tabulations on sales of retail stores by merchandise line and sales of wholesale outlets by commodity line. Statistics were presented for 147 standard metropolitan areas, in addition to States, counties, and cities.

The 1954 Budget Crisis

The provisions of Public Law 671 authorized the Census Bureau to conduct censuses of business, manu- factures, and mineral industries in 1954, covering calendar year 1953. Congress appropriated funds for planning and preparatory operations in fiscal years 1952 and 1953 but disallowed the fiscal year 1954 budget request for the actual taking of the censuses. Instead, funds were provided only for limited special surveys of manufactures and business. (For example, for calendar year 1953, only about 50,000 of the Nation's 275,000 manufacturing establishments were canvassed in the speCial manufactures survey, and even less was done in the business area.)

There was considerable opposItlOn in Government and in the business and academic communities to the elimination of the full-scale economic censuses. Trade associations, economic and marketing research agencies, community planners, professional organizations, and in- dividual data users expressed desire to have these censuses resumed. In October 1953, the Secretary of Commerce appointed an Intensive Review Committee to survey the Census Bureau's programs from the stand- point of their importance in the functioning of the American economy. This Committee, which consisted of professors, business executives, economists, and other speCialists not affiliated with the Census Bureau, submitted its report to the Secretary in March 1954. Among other things, the report strongly recommended that economic censuses be resumed.

Congress responded to this recommendation with dispatch and, in June 1954, Public Law 467 was enacted, providing that "the censuses of manufacturing, of mineral industries, and of other business, including the dis- tributive trades and service establishments, directed to be taken in the year 1954 relating to the year 1953, shall be taken instead in the year 1955, relating to the year 1954."

Postwar The

",."""<>,n1l",, in Economic CenSLlS Taking: and "Administrative Records"

Beginning with the 1954 Economic Censuses, the availability of increasingly sophisticated electronic com- puters has facilitated the introduction of new methods of collecting and processing data. 14 Thefirstlarge-scale computer, which was designed and built especially for the Census Bureau, was acquired in 1951 and was first used in tabulating 1950 census data. In the economic census area, the 1954 censuses marked the initial utilization of computers.

The 1954 business census also marked the Bureau's first attempt since 1890 to compile census-type statistics from "administrative records" (in this case, tax returns or social security records). Nonemployers in retail trade and service trades were not required to complete census questionnaires; instead, selected data items (such as employment, payroll, and sales) for retail non- employers with 1954 sales of at least $2,500, and for service nonemployers with 1954 receipts of at least were derived from the 1954 income tax returns filed with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. (Just prior to the 1954 censuses, and after consultations between IRS and the Census Bureau, the Federal income tax forms were revised to include limited information to distinguish physical location from mailing address and to determine whether a firm's activities were within the scope of the census.) Retail and service nonemployers with sales and receipts below the cutoff points were not included in the census, and employers were enumerated via the maH- out/mail-back procedure. Nonemployers, although large in number, accounted for only about 10 percent of retail sales volume and service receipts in 1954. Experience had also demonstrated that these small firms were the ones most likely to be missed in an enumeration.

Since nonemployers were not included in the wholesale trade portion of the business census or in the censuses of manufactures and mineral industries, mail-out/mail- back enumeration methods were used exclusively in these areas. However, administrative records were employed extensively in developing the mailing lists. The starting point was the IRS list of all employers who made one or more quarterly payments to the Social Security Trust Fund under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). Since this list did not contain kind-of-business codes necessary to determine which questionnaire should be mailed to a particular establishment, it was necessary to match it with various lists containing kind-of-

14Mechanical punchcard tabulation was first used in the 1890 census, and the automatic card-punching machine was introduced in 1909. By 1950, more than a thousand general and special punchcard processing machines were being used in census work.

business classifications (e.g., the employer master file maintained by the Social Security Administration). The names on these lists could usually be linked through use of the employer identification number assigned to each case by SSA, and the matching was performed mechan- ically on punchcard collating equipment. In order to secure accurate and up-to-date information on establish- ments of multiunit companies and to correct and con- solidate the IRS list, the Census Bureau conducted a precanvass in the fall of 1954. Multiunit companies were asked to complete and return report forms on which they listed their establishments with corresponding information about name and address, employment, type of activity, etc.

Census questionnaires were mailed early in 1955. In the census of manufactures, 192 different questionnaires, each tailored to a particular industry or group of industries, were used to compile statistics for 450 industries defined under the Standard Industrial Clas- sification system. Each type of questionnaire contained common items (e.g., employment, payroll, manhours, and cost of materials), but different questions on such subjects as product mix and raw materials were designed to suit the characteristics of each industry. The mailing list was prepared using the process described above and, for large companies, the mailing register for the 1953 Annual Survey of Manufactures (an annual survey of manufacturing concerns with at least 100 employees).

The questionnaires were distributed and returned by mail. Followup letters were sent to nonrespondents, and those who still did not respond were contacted by telephone or visited by employees of Census Bureau field offices. The maHout and followups involving large companies (generally those with at least six employees) were under the direct control of the Census Bureau's Washington headquarters. Bureau field offices controlled maHout and followups for the smaller compa- nies. CoveragE: control procedures basically involved ensuring that establishments on the mailing list did complete and return report forms.

Similar methods were implemented in conducting the mail-out/mail-back canvass of the "mail universe" portion of the business census and the census of mineral industries. For mining companies, the mailing list was supplemented with information provided by the Bureau of Mines, the Federal Power Commission, and the Defense Department's Petroleum Administration. Bureau of Mines field employees also collected a limited number of report forms at mine sites. In total, question- naires were completed by approximately 280,000 manu- facturing establishments, 1.8 million business establish- ments, and 32,000 mining establishments. Data for more than a million small companies were derived from the tax returns, resulting in an estimated savings of $3 million in census funds.

The computers were used extensively for editing and tabulating data. Offset printing copy for many of the census reports was prepared on electronic high-speed printers directly from the magnetic tape output of the computer operations. Imputation of missing items was made feasible by use of the computer to derive "im- putation ratios." Census operations required the full- time use of the Bureau's two computers plus additional rented time on two other computers. The availability

of the computer (and the adoption of the general procedure of having all report forms for multiunit firms completed at company headquarters) also enabled the Census Bureau to initiate its first "enterprise statistics pro- gram." This involved regrouping data for establishments under common ownership or control to prepare tabu- lations showing various economic characteristics of the companies (" enterprises") that owned or controlled these establishments.

As in past censuses, 1954 census results were pub- lished in preliminary bulletins, final reports, and bound volumes. In addition to the usual summary reports, industry and subject reports, and area reports, special tabulations were published for "central business dis- tricts," newly defined geographic entities encompassing the downtown business areas of large cities.

The 1958 Economic Censuses followed basically similar procedures, and the scope, coverage, report forms, and tabulations closely resembled those of 1954, Again, data for retail and service nonemployers in the "nonmail universe" were extracted from income tax returns, and the other establishments (the "mail uni- verse") were canvassed in a mail-out/mail-back oper- ation. Innovations for the 1958 censuses included:

1. The use of more sophisticated" second generation" computers. Processing operations performed by computers were greatly expanded to include mailing list controls, more extensive editing, certain kinds of coding, and other operations which had been performed manually or with punchcard equipment in previous censuses.
2. The establishment of a census operations office in Jeffersonville, Ind. (v,here personnel and office space were more readily available), to perform the extensive preparatory operations and mass clerical procedures--preparation of mailing pack- ages, mailout, receipt, check-in, clerical editing and coding, and card punching. For example, the Jeffersonville office received prints of microfilmed tax returns from IRS district offices and performed the editing, coding, and card punching, after which the cards were forwarded to Bureau headquarters for conversion to electronic tape for computer processing.
3. The introduction of a new geographical area for the business census, the major retail center (outlying business districts, such as shopping centers, in standard metropolitan areas with central business districts).
4. The taking of economic censuses for the first time in Guam and the Virgin Islands. (Economic censuses were conducted in Puerto Rico beginning with a census of manufactures for 1909. The first census of business there was for 1939.)

The 1963 Economic Censuses were expanded to include censuses of transportation and commercial fisheries. Transportation censuses were authorized in 1948, when Congress passed Public Law 671 (which was incorporated into Title 13, United States Code, when the statutes were codified in 1954). However, funds to take a census were