FEW MISSED IN '90 CENSUS, SAYS BUREAU

Few Southeast Missourians were missed in the 1990 census, the Census Bureau says.

Statewide, the count was off just over one-half of 1 percent out of a population of slightly more than 5 million, Census Bureau figures show. The undercount totaled nearly 32,000, the bureau calculated.

The Census Bureau counted 325,046 people in 13 counties of Southeast Missouri combined. The bureau's subsequent sampling efforts indicate that 1,419 people were missed, census records show.

In Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties, the bureau says it counted more people than live there. The adjusted census lowered Perry County's population by six and Ste. Genevieve County's by 24.

Even bureau officials admit the adjusted census figures for 1990 aren't 100 percent accurate.

The numbers show Wayne and Bollinger counties each were undercounted by one person. But John Groth of the bureau's St. Louis office said that doesn't mean the agency can point to a particular individual that was missed in either county.

Census numbers have been questioned ever since the first census in 1790, Groth said.

The first census reported a population of some 3.9 million. But President George Washington felt sure the new nation had more than 4 million inhabitants.

Today, the Census Bureau adjusts its figures. The adjusted figures are calculated by sampling the initial census numbers in every congressional district in the country, Groth said.

A percentage of households are contacted in a particular census track or block by the bureau.

The sampling effort nationwide probably involves fewer than 10 percent of the households, said Groth.

The effort is costly but helps uncover counting errors, he said. "In the 1990 census, we found out we overcounted the whole state of New Jersey."

Sampling also has uncovered instances where residents lied on the census forms, Groth said.

Debbie Pitts is coordinator of the state's census data center and a member of Missouri's Complete Count Committee. The committee has been working to ensure a more accurate census this year.

Pitts said the adjusted census figures as calculated by the federal government shouldn't be considered as set in stone. "The undercount could be off too. That is just an estimate," she said.

The Census Bureau concluded that it missed 286 people in Cape Girardeau County in the 1990 census.

But local officials believe the undercount was even higher. Cape Girardeau City Councilman Melvin Gateley said census workers failed to count hundreds of people in the city alone, and a number of the discrepancies were in apartment units.

Gateley led the city's effort to get a more accurate revised count. But Gateley said the city's efforts had little impact on the census numbers. "We were disappointed in the final number," said Gateley. "They didn't adjust it up very much."

The county ended up with an adjusted census of 61,919.

Gateley said he hopes the 2000 census will be more accurate.

John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, said the Census Bureau has a list of verified addresses this time. Mehner said that should improve census accuracy.

Regardless of their accuracy, the Census Bureau numbers are what counts, Mehner said. They're used in everything from legislative reapportionment to federal funding and industrial recruitment.

"The critical part is, we have to live with the numbers essentially for 10 years," Mehner said.