Daily public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1892-191?, 1896-10-31
CENSUS OF The WORD.
rae Celebration of the Advent Of the
Twentieth Century.

Twentieth Century.
A census of the worldl 1t seems inn
possible, but it is going to be under
taken. This unparalleled labor is to be
one of the gigantic projects to celebrate
the advent of the Twentieth century.
and it is safe to say that more stupen.
dous undertaking has never before been
devised.
The scheme had its real inception al
the biennial meeting of the Interna.
tional Statistical institute. recently hello
at Berne. Switzerland. At the instance
of Dr. Guillaume, the director of the
statistical Office of the federal govern
ment, committee of distinguished sta
tisticians, scientists, travellers and ge-
ographers was appointed to begin work
by collecting all information possible
as to the best methods of taking this
world census and to report to the insti.
tute at its meeting next year.
The first step in this important com.
mittee's labor was to enlist the interest
and aid of III Chung Tong. They met
him when he was in Berlin and secured
the promise of his influence in China
In no nation will the work of census
taking be more difficult than in China
where the people ace as the sands of the
sea.
Anything approXimating an accurate
census of the population of the earth
at the present time is, without doubt.
an impossibility In addition to the
poles, there are many spots on the earth
that have never been visited by the ex.
plorer, and others from which census
enumerator would never get away alive.
The population of the earth is now esti.
mated at LOO, 100000. These figures
were given by Profs. Benin and Wagner
of the University of Goettingen. and
their estimates are based upon the best
information. Yet both frankly ac-
knowledge that they have had to fill ur
many of their columns with nothing
better than guesses-guesses founded
upon the observations of travellers and
upon other guesses mentioned in
treaties given by such countries as
China, Persia, Arabia and Turkey.
In China, for instance, they state
that their figures may be 2O0,0OO,00C
more or less than the actual number OF
people. In Africa they may be some
50,0OO,OOO astray, and in Asiatic Turkey
Persia, Siam and Afghanistan the fig
ures are probably equally uncertain.
China, they are now assured. will take
an official census. and the governments
of Turkey, Persia, Siam and Afghan.
istan will also be asked to give their as.
sistance to the agents of the institute
with view to making some districted
enumeration of their peoples.
The accomplishment of this will re.
quire a large amount of diplomacy as
well as of money, and the widest posi-
BILE knowledge of these half-barbarous
localities.
In the beginning of the next century
at the present rate of exploration. there
will hardly be n square mile of Africa
that will be unsafe for traveller with
a small guard. and an enumeration can
be made which, if not accurate. will al
least be of enormous value. BY 1900
Russia will have pushed her two trans.
railroads nearly through
Asiatic territory, and the wild regions
of Thibet will be open to the traveller
In the year 1900 many keen and intelli-
gent observers will be sent into all these
regions to make the great estimate OF
the hitherto uncounted millions.
1t is believed that a census of such !
can be taken on the same |
day, or week, or month, all over the |
civilized world. The effort will be made |
to have it taken upon one and the same
daY, il possible.-London Mail.