Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-04-15

population, Taeploes occupy the pro
vlnces IN the vicinity Of Manila. They
rank second, with a little more than
one-fifth Of the civilized peoples, and
llocanos rank third, with approximate
~ one-eighth Among the Wild tribes
the Moros are the most numerous,
comprising about twoliflhs of the
non'christian population.
Even among The Christian tribes
The tribal distinctions are clearly
marked. The members OF the differ
ent tribes rarely mix IN villages or
ntermarry, and, with the exception
Of tho nocanos, Who have migrated
from their orlginal territory ana SET,
tied in ncishborlng provinces, the
people show little tendency toward
expansion or colonization
Proportion Of the Sexes.
The sexes in The Philippine islands
are divided very nearly equally; this
facl results 10 some extent from the
presence OF foreigners, almost all or
whom are males, In Manila. where
the alien population Is large, about
,hree-fifths Of the inhabitants are
males. The Chinese population is al
most entirely male, but the Japanese
though few in number. are divided al
most equally between the two sexes.
The average age Of the population Is
23.9 years. while that for continental
United States is 26.3 years, and that
for the negro population Of the United
States is 23.2 years.
Age and conjugal Condition.
OF The civilized population over
one.thrid are of school age (between
5 and ~ and two-thirds are under
thirty years OF age. Ffty-siX and
four-tenthS per cent are Unmarried,
a proportion slightly less than that OF
| the United States and far below tina,
| of the West Indies and countries OF
| Europe. The legally married constit
| tute almost one-third of The civilized
population. a proportion less than that
| of the United States and more than
| twice as great as that Of Cuba. The
number 'consensually" married Is
about 3.3 per cent of the poulation and
forms a much smaller proportion o.
! the entire number than the CORES
ponding rate in Cuba. The inhabi
tants Of the Philippine islands marry
young. One.fifth Of the males ant
! two.fifths of the females between thu
ages of Is and "a years are married.
Ability to Read and Write.
In the Philippine censu %literac.
was defined as ability 10 read ant
write in any language, such a
English. Spanish, or a Malay dialect
The reading of Spanish was d~iscourae
ed from the earliest times by tn
%friars. who felt that it would resul
in a diminution Of their authority
Therefore the majority of those re
ported as literate can read and writ
only in their native language. Nor
than half of the population can neitf
or read nor write in any language
and Of the4i5 per cent able to rea
less than one-half can write. Will
the number able to both read an
write constitutes only one-fifth of tn
population at least 10 years of age
Only Is per cenl have received
superior education. Thus the cond
ton regarding literacy closely resen
bles that Of Porto Rico. Limited a
are the educational facilities in tn
Philippine islands under the best col
ditions, it is interesting to observ
tndJ the ieHldieS nave received Id
less advantages than the males, fC
while about iwo-thirds of the male
who were taught TO read were ais
:, taught to write, only one-fourth of tn
males received equal instruction. A
the lower age periods the proportio
of those who know how to read an
write Increases, reflecting the marke
increase in educational facilities f
both sexes. The increase In the pr
portion for girls is especially not
worthy. The number attending scho
as shown by the population schedule
, Is S1l.715. This number far exceed
+ the returns shown on theschool sche
1 ules. probably because the caland'
/ year does not conform the scho