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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 1899)
OMAHA ILLUSTRATED 33JBE. December 2-1 , 1899. CHRISTMAS , 1898 , WITH THE FIRST NEBRASKA BOYS AT SANTA MESA. Taking Cuba's Census ( Continued from Thirteenth Page. ) every part of Cuba on the day set and In a way which would have sot the old Spanish census men quite aghast. In , the first place a Cuban supervisor was appointed In each of the six provinces men of education , worth and honcety. For instance , the supervisor of Matanzas was Prof. Claudia Dumas of the College of Ma tanzas , a gentleman of high attainments and culture. Sabas Mcncscs of Santiago was a well-known engineer and BO on. Then came the task of appointing the enumerators. The pay for enumeration was to bo ? 5 a day , a salary of such generous proportions to the avoraga Cuban that It looked like an abso lute fortune. Consequently , half the men of Cuba wished to be enumerators and the examinations and Inquisitions which fol lowed wcrp > full of excitement. Finally the requisite 1,000 wore chosen. In Havana province there wore 380 , In Santiago 32G , In Matanzas 202. all of the most Intelligent men of Cuba. There were women , too , In Matanzas to the number of fifty-four. The choice of women for such positions was a dletlnct novelty , but a novelty which was highly popular as well as a distinct advantage to the service , for the women were fully equal to the men In their work. Indeed , the ap pointment of the women gave the Cubans anew now gllmpsa Into the meaning of American rule and made warm friends of thousands of Cuban woman. ISxvcrlcucvn of KiiumeriitorN. Each enumerator was supplied with a deep brown canvas bag In which ho carried his portfolio of blanks , a bottle of Ink , pens and blotting pads. These In the country rodc horseback , visiting every little thatched hut In the land. Down In the southern part of the province of Santa Clara , there Is a great swamp knows as the Lapata marsh. The enumerator to whom this district fell re ported whllo I was at Matanzas. Ho limped from a severe wound In his log where ho had , been bitten by an alligator , and he re ported that in his Journeys through the deep everglades ho bad been forced to kill twenty- two alligators that disputed his way. Here ho found natives who had not heard of the closing of the war with Spain and some of them had never oven heard of America and tho'Amerlcans. In Plnar del Ulo an enumer ator found a settlement of nearly 000 per- tunb "ongrooved In the mountains , " as he expressed It , entirely out of touch with the outfitda world , living on plantains and sweet potatoes and governing themselves In a sort of primitive republic. An almost unheard of settlement among the mountains of Santiago puzzled the enumerators fur in ore than any thing else. The people were not Cubans , nor Spaniards , nor nogroeo , but Indiana , the only remnant loft of the once powerful tribes which Inhabited the Island whoa Columbus dlscbvored America. They are few In num- berb and shy , and tboy live In the most primitive manner. The blanks used were exceedingly simple They were three In number , all headed "Censo do la Isla do Cuba bajo la Dlrccul n do los Estndoe Unidos" "Census of the' ' Island of Cuba under the Direction of the United States. " The first dealt with pop ulation , the second with schools and the third with * agricultural statistics. The pop ulation blank contained spaces for twenty- flve names , the first spaces being devoted to the usual questions ae to the place of residence , name of person , color , BOX , age and whether married or single. Of these questions that of color was the most diffi cult. The enumerators made three classi fications white , mestizo and black but If three colors of complexion In Cuba there are a. hundred. Moreover , the blacks wanted to bo mestizos and the mestizos white. Score of times a black negro would answer the question "What color are you ? " with the answer "white. " "But you are black you are a negro , " the enumerator would insist. "No , wo are free ; didn't wo fight to be whlto men ? Wo are independent white men. " And no amount of persuasion could per suade him that ho woo not really a "white man , " and the enumerator put him down black in splta of himself. The Inquiries as to nativity and occupa tion wcro easily answered , but that of cit izenship came very hard. Throe divisions are given In the blank Cuban , Spanish or "suspense , " in suspense. To these the enumerator added "cxtranjoro" stranger or foreigner. It la often difficult to know just where the dividing line comes between Spaniards and Cubans , and in the present bitterness of feeling the difficulty Is doubled. Besides that , many Spaniards have not yet registered their intention of remaining Spanish subjects. They nro , therefore , "In suspense. " Others call themselves Cubans. Those classifications of citizenship have been watched very closely by the Cubans , for the "suspenses" may play an Important part in the elections when they take place. School mid Siiiildiry ilueNtloiiM. Very close attention was also given to the sducatlonal questions. Where there was any doubt as to the ability of a person to read or write , the enumerator v > as Instructed to test him In the writing of a sentence , not containing his name , and In reading porno simple paragraph. It Is hoped , therefore - fore , that the statistics as to the literacy will bo absolutely accurate. The last department of the population blank was devoted to san itary conditions and consisted of these ques tions : "Origin of the water used ? " "What do you do with your garbage ? " "Conditions of closets ? " If those questions are fully answered , the result will bo some very startling facts about Cuban homo conditions , some of which shocked the officers who tried to clean San tiago In the early days after the war. The school statistics blank Is also likely to reveal the sad conditions of Cuban educa tion. It Is simple enough , requiring the name and situation of the school. Whether public , private or religious , whether the pu pils live in the building or outside , the capacity , the number of teachers , the num- ( Contlnued on Fifteenth Page. ) DINNER ON TUB PLAINS IN PJQNBBR DAY SECTION OF TYPEWRITING DEPARTMENT OF BOYLES' COMMERCIAL AND SHORT HAND COLLEGE , BEE BUILDING PEOPLE TYho are not already In school cannot be too strongly urged to inako arrangements at once to enter some YOUNG Institution. Let January 2 be the date to begin to make an earnest effort to secure a business education. Students are now being rapidly enrolled at Boyles' College for the winter term , which opens January 2nd. This Is a echoDl of pri vate Instruction and a sufficient number of teachers are employed that every student may have Individual attention. Trial week Is free. A CIGAR TO PLEASE . . . . "El Dictador" Genuine Havana Filler and Wrapper Made in Omaha. II13NI2 & CO. , 910 Farnam. Peculiar Woes Suffered by Authors Detroit Journal : It la well known among cultivated people that an author Is qulto unable to control his characters after he has created them. Here , for Instance , Is an humorous author who cannot make the cow In his pastoral pleasantry look up and glare at the summer girl with the red parasol , So there Is no point In having the girl ex claim : "I know my parasol Is out of style , but I didn't suppose a country cow would notice It ! " That Is to eay , the whole Joke collapsea , An Artist's Masterpiece subject treats of a group THJ3 peasants In a harvest field. The peasants have spent the morning raking and stacking liny , the sun Is at Its zenith , not a breath of air Is stirring , you can almost hear the bees as they buzz from flower to llower , and away off in the distance is seen a bal loon majestically In the clear , blue sky. Evidently the villagers are holding their country fair , and a balloon ascension Is ono of the fea tures. The group , consisting of the peasant and his family , are in the picturesque costume of the country. They have all stopped work , and stand with their rakes In their hands gazing Intently at the distant balloon. Wonder , awe and admiration are blended In their expressive faces , and revealed In their attitudes. The subject has been treated with those soft , mel low tints which the artist knows so well how to paint , and recalls to the mind many Just such Incidents In our childhood life , It Is Justly popular both on account of Its artistic quality and the deep human Interest with which It has been THE BALLOON ( By Jullen Dupre. ) clothed. This famous work of art has been beautifully reproduced In a handsome colored photogravure. The size of the reproduction of this picture , which la probably the most | famous of the paintings of Jullen Dupre , Is 22x30 Inches. This will be sent to any address - dross for Jl.GO , or It will bo sent free with any prepaid subscription to The Omaha Illus trated Bee , In combination with The Omaha Sunday Bee , both for | 2.00 per year or to The Omaha Illustrated Bee , with The Omaha Weekly Bee , both for Jl-EO per year , by remitting lEc extra for postage and packing to THE BEE PUBLISHING CO. . Omaha , Neb , F. P. Kirketidall . . & Co. MANUFACTURERS AND JOBBERS Boots and Shoes OMAHA. . . Selllnn Anents for4 D ° ston and Bay State Rubber Co. ior\ \ , | oed and 0d , 0ony | nubterCO )