The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-05-22
TAKING COUNT OF
MEXICAN CENSUS
TabuIation of 1900 Is Believed
to Have Been 5000, 600
Short.
DIAz WILL AID IN COUNT
PRESIDENT WILL ENUME RATE
PERSONS IN HIS BLOCK.

City OF Mexico, May 22.-The first
complete census OF. the population of
Mexico ever taken is TO be made In
October Of this year. The preliminary
plans for the work are already well
advanced. and the arrangements will
provide for making the entire count
during a period OF three days. Presi-
dent Diaz Is deeply interested in hav-
ing a complete and accurate nSuS
taken. and as an encoura cement along
this line he has volunteered to make
block where his city residence is stu
ated. Prominent men all over the
country are being urged to give the
matter their personal attention.
The census OF 1900 gave Mexico a
population of 1s,607,25s. It is believed
that this count is nearly 1900, 900 short
of the actual number of people who
make their home in Mexico. As an evi-
dence of the incompleteness of that
and former censuSes, 1t Is pointed out
that there are great areas of populous
territory in the remote sections of the
country where census enumerators
were not appointed, and further, that
the department OF the interior of the
federal government discovered in the
course Of a recent investigation that
there are a number of towns and VII
lagos in the recesses of the Sierra
Madres some of them having a popula-
ton of 10000 TO $4,000 people. of whose
existence there was no previous official
knowledge.
Natives Feared EnumeratOrs.
Not only were the people of these in
accessible communities not counted IN
the census, but they were not in any
way subject TO any federal or state
jurisdiction. In most instances even
the state authorities had no knowledge
of the existence Of such villages and
towns. Far removed from the ordinary
routes Of travel the natives composing
these communities lived in little worlds
to themselves. In most instances they
are of almost pure Indian blood, and
their primitive customs and ways of
living are practically the same as they
were at the time Of the Spanish con-
quest.
Another thing that added to the in
efficiency Of the last and all previous
censuses in Mexico was the suspicion
of the ignorant natives IS to the pur-
pose OF the enumerators In taking their
names. Thousands OF these natives be-
lieved that the object of the govern
ment officials was to obtain this In
formation so as to draft them into the
army or levy taxes against them The
spread that whole villages were desert
ed by the inhabitants when one of
these government representatives made
his appearance in their locality. 1t is
known that even in the city OF Mexico
thousands OF people were omitted from
the census in 1900.
Seek to AfIay Fears.
The government has been carrying on
a campaign of education among the
people in all parts of the country in
regard to the coming census taking for
several months, and it is believed that
the fears OF the ignorant natives as
to the purpose Of the count viii have
been aiIeved before the enumeratOrs
begin their work.
Il is confidently expected by the
higher government authorities that the
new census will show Mexico to have q
population of nearly 100000 people
In connection with the census, impor-