The evening times., 1900-09-07
THEPORTO RICAN CENSUS
Inhabitants Classified by Race, Ma
tivity. and Litertcy.
Compiled With View of Detern,iu.
ing the Effect of Making the AbiI.
ifE to Read and Write IA Condition
of the Elective Franchise-Soms
Interesting Comparisons Made

Gen. J. P. Sanger, Director of the Gem
sus of Porto Rico, has just completed
compilation of the complete census OF tne
island, presenting a study OF the potential
votes, classified by race, by country ol
birth, and by iiteracy, with a view of de-
teTmining the effect upon them OF making
the ability TO read and write condition
of the elective franchise. It shows that
among the males of voting age only ga
per cent were of alien birth. 2.S per cent
being Spanish. The males OF voting age IN
Porto Rico numbered 201.071, OF which
73G10 were eolored, 120. .2S5 were whites
born in Porto Rico, 1862 born in Spain,
and 2,104 in other countries OF the whites
Of Porto Rican birth, 35, ,397 were iiterate;
OF the colored, 1856 could read
Under this educational qualification,
says General Sanger. '-the number of those
entitled to vote in the island would be 81
973, or % per cent of the native born males
of voting age and 24 per cent of all males
OF voting age. Thus suffrage would be re-
stricted to about one-fourth of the males
OF voting age.
The effect of such a provision upon ths
people OF the several departments is next
10 be considered.
The whites Of Porto Rican birth range
from AZ Per cent in Bayamon up 10 $40
IN Aguadilla; the persons of Spanish birth
range from 1-6 per cent in Humacao up t0
90 Der cent in Bayamon, and persons OF
other foreign birth range from A per cent
IN Arecibo up 10 Z-1 per cent in Bayamon-
The high percentage of persons of Spanish
and other foreign birth in this department
| IS due to the fact Of course that il con-
JdiHs the large and important commercial
city Of San Juan. The coIored range from
Z IN,
cent in Humacao. the latter department
having four times as many proportionate-
Iy as the former
Including the coIored. the proportion
OF males Of voting age who .vere of Ra-
tive birth was smallest in Bayam0n,
where il was S2-3 per cent and highest IN
Humacao where it was g7S per cent
With the exception of Bayamon. 10 de-
partment contains more than IS per
cent CT foreign bern, Ponce containing this
proportion, Mayaguez 3.5, while the Other
provinces contain less than 3 per cent
each.
Among the native whites the proper
ton of lterates 10 all native white
males Of voting age ranged from 20.5 Ier
cent in Aguadilla up to 35-5 per cent IN
Bayamon- AguadiIIa and Arecibo seem
10 be together with low percentage Of
liteTates, all the other departments con
aiming 80 or more per cent in that class
centage Of Hterates is found in the De-
partment OF Guayama. where il is 12-3 per
cent; or, in other words. fewer than / IN 8
could read. From this il ranges up 10 III
per cent in Mayaguez, at the west end of
the island. Here rather more than I in
) were able 10 read.
The numbers OF Iiterates among those
born in Spain and other countries are Civ
en- for the puTpG-c Of comparison with the
liteTates Of native birth and show that ne
latter far outrumbeTs them. Indeed. tae
only department in which the natives arc
not many times as numerous as the for
eign born is Bayamon and here the latter
are outnumbered in the proportion 0f So
TO ].
The proportion which, under a Iiterary
qualification. the number of actual ySl-
ers will bear 10 the total number Of M
tive born males over twenty-one years or
age. ranges from twenty-five in AreeIbo
and Humacao up to thirty-thTee in Baya-
mon, which department. therefore, has the
proud distinction of possessing the small
est proportion of illiterates among its na-
tive population
In the cities OF san Juan and Ponce Is
concentrated Il considerable part OF the
foreign element of the island and here.
If anywhere, will the restriction of sli-
frage to literates give the foreign born
an advantage Il is we'll. therefore, 10
anime the conditions Ill these two cit
les.
1T appears that in the city CT san
Juan the native whites and the coIcreI
each outnumber the foreign element.
while together they ouJnumber- them
nearly % T. /
In Ponce this proportion is even gres:-
er, the native whites being more than
three times as numerous as the for IN
element while the colored are double its
number.