1990 Census

Baltimore's preliminary census count fell far short of projections. The mayor was annoyed and went door to door seeking residents missed in the head count. The city sued to keep Census Bureau offices here open longer than planned.Despite resemblances to 1990, this was 1980. Fresh evidence of Baltimore's plummeting population battered city pride. It has become a decennial ritual.For all the horror stories and gnashing of teeth engendered by the 1990 census, the 1980 head count was even unkinder to Baltimore, save in one respect: People did participate.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- As the Census Bureau geared up to visit the 35 percent or so of U.S. households that did not mail back their forms, as many as 500,000 census workers are training this week. They will begin knocking on doors tomorrow, part of an effort that Clinton administration officials have frequently called the largest peacetime mobilization in U.S. history. Census takers will visit homes through July as they attempt to locate the millions of individuals still unaccounted for in what the Census Bureau calls its nonresponse follow-up.

The 1990 census was worse than anybody thought. It was a much worse job of counting than in 1980. There can be no disputing now those who say the official figures must be adjusted.The Constitution requires an "enumeration" of Americans ever10 years for apportioning seats in the House of Representatives. That language has been taken by Census Bureau officials and most members of Congress to mean that there had to be a head count and only a head count for official purposes.This consensus view was arrived at even even though almost all experts agreed a head count always fell short, and even though by the 1970s and 1980s it had become possible to use advanced statistical techniques to get an estimate much more accurate than a head count.

With the start of the 2000 census less than 90 days away and millions of federal dollars at stake, local officials are working to make sure every household in Carroll County is counted. "The information from the census is used to support the county's grant requests for any number of programs for a whole decade," said county spokeswoman Maggy MacPherson. "That's why it's so critical to have the most accurate count possible." MacPherson said several projects for the elderly and disabled receive funding based on population figures.

When the 1990 census left them with no options for describing their race other than black, Asian-Pacific Islander, white or American Indian, half of California's Hispanics identified themselves as "other."In fact, so many checked "other" that the category -- intended as a tiny fraction of the whole -- swelled to include 13 percent of the state's population.Now -- finally, some say -- the federal government is rethinking the categories as congressional hearings begin Wednesday into redefining the way the federal government pigeonholes Americans.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Census Bureau, under fire from Congress for the high cost and inaccuracy of the 1990 count, is contemplating some radical changes in the next tabulation.The planning is spurred by lawmakers' threats to reduce the census in the year 2000 to a simple population count, eliminating the data on housing, education, transportation and employment that has been used extensively by city planners, telemarketers, academics and others.In the past, such information has been collected from one of every six households on a census "long form."

HOUSTON -- President Clinton plunged into the debate over race, politics and the U.S. Census yesterday, urging Congress to permit the use of a new method for counting the population that Democrats say is more accurate but Republicans contend is unconstitutional.The president, joining forces with other members of his party and Census officials, contended that the 1990 Census missed whole segments of the population, largely members of minority groups, thereby throwing off decisions by government and business on issues from health care to advertising.

Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher refused this week to ''abandon a 200-year tradition of how we actually count people.''But the U.S. census will never be the same.The federal government spent $2.6 billion on the 1990 census and wound up with a result about as popular as an infectious disease. In fact, a top official of the Census Bureau's parent agency likened the census to cancer.''We've known about cancer for a long time and still can't cure it. This is not a whole lot easier problem,'' said Michael Darby, assistant secretary of commerce.

THE SUPREME Court last week agreed to consider the dispute between those who believe the Census should stick to counting people and those who favor using sophisticated statistical analysis to arrive at total population. Since much depends on Census Bureau population figures, this is an important political, social and economic issue.It has also been treated as something of a partisan one in the past. Big cities are Democratic turf. But New York City and Los Angeles are Republican-run today, so perhaps partisanship will fade away.

The count is coming.And with less than 21 months before it starts, city planners gearing up for Census 2000 are finding it's not as simple as counting heads.In fact, enumerating urban dwellers is one of the most complex challenges involved in the national census, which the Constitution requires every 10 years. "Most big cities have an undercount," said Richard Krummerich, an aide to Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke. "We have a big stake in this."City planners are taking steps to avoid missing residents.