Letter of the Day: October 26

Department of the Interior
Census Office
Washington, D.C.
October 26, 1891

Dear Sir:

In response to your verbal request, I beg leave to say that the figures given below, representing the total number of veterans returned to this office for the country at large, and for the states of Ohio and Massachusetts, are somewhat better than an approximation. For all practical purposes they are accurate, the actual number probably being slightly in the excess.

Veterans of Civil War returned for United States, 1,076,162
" " " " " " Ohio, 106,328
'' " " " " " Massachusetts, 39, 996

With reference to your inquiry as to what would be shown in regard to families and dwellings, I omitted to say that in addition to showing them in detail by wards of the one hundred and twenty-four (124) principal cities, --or down to the limit of twenty-five thousand (25,000),--and countries, they will be shown for the totals of cities of eight thousand (8,000) or more inhabitants. This is now the intention and the plan will not be altered materially.

For those cities which we are furnishing you population data by sanitary districts, do you wish the totals of families and dwellings for wards, or do you want them in the detail of size and number developed in the count?

Very respectfully,
Howard Sutherland
Chief of Fourth Division.

Dr. John S. Billings, U.S.A.,
Army and Medical Museum
Washington, D.C.