The evening times., 1899-09-25
THE PORTO RICAN CENSUS
Mr.. Dingman's Departure Delayed
by the Customs Question.
He Holds a Conference With the
Secretary of War-An Important
Reached by the Insular Commits
sion in Regard to the Matter.

DluSuldu, WHO udS pteu dp-
pointed to superintend the taking of the
census of Porto Rico, will be able to leave
for that country next Wednesday, as pro-
posed. Mr.. Dingman held a conference
with the Secretary of War this morning
and reported the progress Of his arrange
ments to direct the first census Of the ISL
and under the auspices of the United
States. Practically all the appointments
for this census, including supervisors.
enumerators, and clerical force, remain
to be made.
There will be seven supervisors appoint
ed by Mr.. Dingman in Porto Rico. These
Will be selected from the very best ma
terial available. Local physicians will he
preferred on account of their intelligence
and knowledge of the people. Mr.. Ding
man will be accompanied by clerical staff
from this city. Only three or four OF these
have been selected. He estimates that it
will require about 500 or 900 enumerators
TO take the statistics of the Porto Rican
population, which is said TO embrace be-
tween 100000 and 100000 persons. He
will be allowed enumerators, however, on
the basis of a population of 100000.
All the maps, blanks, and other station
cry have been shipped by a Government
transport TO the census headquarters,
which will be at Ponce. The blanks are
all printed in the Spanish language. Mr..
Dingman thinks il will require between
| three and four months to complete the
census of Porto Rico, some weeks being
allowed for organization of the force after
he reaches that country.
The supervisors and enumerators will,
of course, have to speak and write the
Spanish language, and a number OF trans
lators will be employed in the cereal
force at headquarters. The Porto Rican
census Will be printed both in Spanish and
English. The greatest obstacle anticipat-
| ed is in the selection of an efficient force
of superintendents and enumerators, To
meet these difficulties, however, the nu-
merous blanks to be filled in by the prac-
| teal census takers have been mode,ed as
closely as possible after the b anks used
| by the Spanish Government in the former
census of Porto Rico. AS the Spanish sys-
TEN of census enumeration is much Ike
| the American, il is thought that an or
ganiZation can promptly be effected with
out resorting TO the employment of per-
sons who do not appreciate the census pro-
ject.
The Insular Commission. which went 10
| Porto Rico last spring under the orders OF
the President and investigated ell civil
! matters with the intention of pToposin Z
might deem necessary, has reported TO the
! President that there is no reliable census
! statistics of the island. The Spanish made
| some attempt in this direction in 1889, and
began one III 1898; but this is not COM
plete and is not reliable.
There is no question" said President
! Kennedy, of the Commission, but there
is great ignorance throughout the entire
| island. or a population of over SC00C0 it
has arin rirfa1f fal fhaf Tr,v
to 20 per cent only of the psople can read
and write. After full enquiry and careful
estimate of the question, the Insnlar Com
mission is of the opinion that not more
than 10 per cent OF the people can read
and write. The country people have been
mostly deprived of school advantages and
compulsory education is unknown. We
found that the people are now anxious TO
have their children educated and are ex-
/ ceedingly soliciUous for the establishment
I Of public schools"
Upon this question and the question of
the new customs laws for the island the
/ President, il is said. is anxious TO receive
. information from the census of Porto Rico,
which he would like to have furnished be-
fore Congress meets in December. He
! wants reliable data upon which TO base his
/ recommendations on the report of the In
| sular Commission which Will go to Con-
new code of laws for the island, one of the
most important features of which is the
J customs. The President wants Mr. Ding
man TO furnish him all the facts in this
connection. and it was primarily for this
! pressing necessity that advantage was tax
en- of the War Department, through which
| a census could be taken in advance of the
session Of Congress, the President having
| no power TO take one in the meantime TN
der civil auspices
/ In connection with the census a Times
| reporter was Informed by the highest au-
| thtority that the problem of the proposed
| customs laws for Porto Rico remains un-
| settled by the Insular Commission, whose
recommendations upon this subject were
! necessarily vague on account Of the lack of
reliable statistics. The Commission says
| in its report to the President:
The customs question presents more
difficulties for a proper solution than any
other in advance of the action of Congress-
! The people of Porto Rico find themselves
| in an anomalous position. By the cession
of the island to the United States they are
as TO Spain now a foreign country and de-
priyed of many advantages they possess
! ed before in dealing with Spain. Now pro-
| hibitive duties are in many cases assessed
! in the ports of that country. They nat
urally expected greater benefits by becom-
ing part of the United States possessions,
| but so far they find they are still regard
! ed as foreign state by the customs laws
| of the United States. They are not an in
dependent province, and but very few, if
| any, desire to become such. No law has
| been passed by Congress making the ISL
and a collection district, and no officers
provided 10 grant clearances between diff
| ferent ports of the United States for coast
| wise service. and no law has been pre-
pared fixing the duties between this coun-
try proper and dependencies outlying
possessions, as doubtless may be done un-
| der the wording of the Constitution. So
duties on the goods imported into the Uni
| ted States are still as though Porto Rico
| were a foreign country.
Duties are likewise demanded, though
at different rates, in some instances as
before the cession from Spain, on all goods
imported into Porto Rico from the United
| States. Since the cession has become COM
plete by ratification by the Senate and
| full recognition made by the proper au-
| thority of the United States of the fact
| that Porto Rico is now part of our pos
sessions, it cannot be longer regarded as
| foreign
I'VE have no doubt of the power of the
President as Commander-in- Chief of the
| Army of the United States, to prescribe
the rates of duty on goods imported from
! all countries into the island, inc,uding 2
! those coming from this country as we'll
| But whether the President can make diff
! ferent rates on goods from the United
| States than from other countries is diff
ferent and more perpleXing question.
Since the provisions of the reciprocity
| laws of the United States provide for a
treaty to be made by the President with