CENSUS FIGURES AFFIRM GROWTH OF CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY

Cape Girardeau, long feeling victimized by the U.S. Census Bureau, has reason to embrace recent findings by that body. Numbers released by the census authority Monday showed the city's population growing by nearly 2 percent between 1990 and 1992; the number of Cape Girardeau residents, as recognized by the federal government, is 35,047. We see the census report as good news, not to mention affirmation of our belief that Cape Girardeau is very much a blossoming community.

It is perhaps hollow for Cape Girardeau, as well as this newspaper, to so readily welcome the upbeat report of an agency whose math skills were regarded as suspect here in the past. In November 1980, then-City Manager W.G. Lawley requested the Census Bureau recount the Cape Girardeau population, saying the preliminary number for that year's census, 34,318, might be off by 5,000 or more. The request was not granted. Ten years later, when this community discovered its population, by federal count, had grown just .34 percent during the 1980s, eyebrows and ire were again raised. The figure was perfectly contrary to what could be witnessed with one's own eyes: construction was up significantly and more people had to be the reason.

Thus, turning census workers into heroes because of a more favorable report seems an empty gesture.

Still, it is important to hail these recent figures, particularly in context of what is happening elsewhere in the state. Of Missouri's 114 counties, 41 lost population between 1990 and 1992. By contrast, Cape Girardeau County's population grew nearly 3 percent, to 63,318 people, during that time period. And though many of the population declines were in the northern portion of the state, even some Southeast Missouri communities, notably Sikeston, suffered in the recent report.

Is population a measuring stick of civic success? Not entirely, but it can not be overlooked. Certainly, it makes a difference in the eyes of the various government agencies, who apportion resources according to community population. In this regard, Cape Girardeau could do itself some good -- as previously stated in this space -- by looking at the annexation of certain tracts of land abutting the current boundaries. The extension of the city limits to some nearby subdivisions, as was the case with Twin Lakes most recently, could further elevate population figures here. We believe the city has the ability to provide services to additional residents in these areas.

We might rightfully ask the question whether Cape Girardeau has lived up to its population potential. Certainly, there were high hopes. A 1968 comprehensive plan prepared for the city by Harland Bartholomew and Associates, using various models based on local, state and national growth, forecast the 1985 Cape Girardeau population to be anywhere from 37,000 to 50,000. Projections made in a comprehensive plan done for the city by the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission in 1975 showed a 1995 Cape Girardeau population as high as 60,950. Was the forecast merely wishful thinking, or did something go awry in Cape Girardeau?

Perhaps this community did not live up to expectations, but we prefer a "glass half full" view of the current situation. Cape Girardeau has grown and continues to grow. It remains positioned for more growth. And we see the census report as an optimistic sign.