Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1896-12-05
Observation-Disclosures ~, Ise9s9es,
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IS s,-- Nj :, ,deatjpr, ! - q. 5s1fef-r
s .ssiposlad ,saESsstical Nv ~ o1 e cents
Y u,noS at Berne, Bwj.Serland. AT
tissss,, .,5tance of Dp <Guillauns, the
airSS tor Of the Statistical Office OF
the deral government, commit
tee listihguishel statisticians,
scientists. travellers and geogr1phers
was appoistel tb begin work by col
'lecting AUTHORIZATION possible as to
the best methods Of taking this
world census and to report to the
institute at IFS meeting next year,
The first step in this important
ccmmitteo'klabor was to enlist the |
interest and aid of Ii Hung Chang,
They meHhim when he was in Ber-
lin and lsecured the promise Of his (
influenza in China. In no nation
will the work Of census taking be
more1difficult thanin China, n
{ Anything approximating an ac7
curate censusof the population of
the earth at the present time is, j
| without doubt, ali i'm possibility. tn
addition toa, 4hes poles, there are
many spots SaS,ths earth that have
never bsea visited. by the explorer,
and otsers from (which a census
| etfnerator would never get away
alive The population Of the earth
| is now Estimated at i, 700, 900, 600.
These figures were siven by Profs.
Benin and Wagner, 0sthe Univer-
sity of Goettingen, andStheir esti-
mates are based upon thsbest in
formation. Yet both Fankly
acknowledge that they have hSa. to
fill up many of their columns wsh
Ipothing better than guesses2
| guesses founded upon the observa.
| tions of travellers, and upon othel
guesses mentioned in treaties giver
by such countries as China, Persia
Arabia and Turkey. ~
In China, for instance, they stat,
that their figures may be 200, 900, 90,
more or less than the actual numbei
of people. In Africa they may b,
some $4,000, 900 astray, and il
Asiatic Turkey, Persia, Siam ant
Afghanistan the figures are probabi.
| equally uncertain.
China they are now assured, will
take an official census, and the gov
ernments OF, Turkey, Persia, Sian
land Afghanistan will also be asket
! to give their assistance to the agen Il
of the institute with view to max
ling some districted enumeration o
their peoples. The accomplishment
of this will require a large amount
of diplomacy, as well as of money
and the widest possible knowledge
of these half barbarous localities.
In the beginning of the next cen.
fury attn present rate Of explora-
ton, the, will hardly be square
mile of Africa that will be unsafe
for a traveller with q small guard
and an enumeration can be made
which, if not accurate, will at least
be of enormous value. By 1905
Russia will have pushed her two
transcontinental railroads nearly
through Asiatic territory, and the
! wild regions of Tibet viii be open
to the traveller
/ In the year 1900 many keen ant
! intelligent observers will be sent
into all these regions to make the
great estimate of the hitherto un.
| counted millions. .-
+ 1t is believed that a census Of
fsuch magnitude can be taken on the
same day, or week, or month, al
over the civilized world. The effort
will be made to have it taken upon
one and the same day if possible.
| s Vantilstion of Warshioe