crowned with success, because, according to the information furnished by the paymaster of this province, which agrees with my accounts, only about $36,000 have been spent altogether, which I understand is one-third of what was estimated.

My relations with said paymaster, Maj. James E. Wilson, have been very agreeable, as he did all that he could to prevent delay in the payments and trouble for the enumerators in the collection of their accounts.

Special mention must be made of the fact that the newspapers of this city, principally La Lucha, La Discusion, and El Diario gladly, without charge, published all the instructions to the enumerators which it was necessary to publish before and during the time of the enumeration, and that they also dispelled any doubts that the people might have with regard to the census, thus contributing to a better success of

the work.

Before concluding I wish to state, although it may injure the modesty of the Assistant Director of the Census, that the success of taking the census is due in great part to the great knowledge possessed by him, to his activity in the discharge of his duties as Assistant Director, and to the precision and clearness with which he always answered the doubts and consultations submitted to him during the course of the work.

SIR: It is a difficult task for me to comply with superior orders in the midst of the complicated and varied works of the census and faithfully remember the many details of the work which was so kindly placed in my hands and which I have so unworthily concluded; difficult also by reason of the absence of intellectual gifts, which I have always been obliged to supply with the intention and especially with the activity and the wish to succeed.

From the time we were given our orders in Washington I understood that I had the good fortune of receiving the easiest of the provinces; that having the most ample means of communication, the success depended on the personnel that I should select. Thus it was that I went over names and names in my mind for the selection of a secretary ad hoc, who should be diligent, acquainted with office work, very prudent, and who should, together with a clear intelligence, combine the honesty and the enthusiasm necessary properly to direct the work of the office. I analyzed and rejected man after man until, upon the recommendation of an illustrious Cuban residing in Washington, whose name alone is a "gem of glory," caused me to decide in favor of Mr. Tomas Cordona, with whom I was not acquainted, and whose merits were so opportunely expounded to me.

The results obtained, with the cooperation of so methodical, intelligent, and honest an employee, have surpassed all expectations.

Later came the study of maps and plans, the calculation of the population, the examination of the last census, the examination of the rural wealth, and finally the election of the personnel of the enumerators and the division of the province into enumeration districts upon the basis of the last deficient census and the few and

very inexact plans of the province. This delicate work, which required a minute study and an exact calculation, had to be done in a very short period and therefore contained defects which later, when put into practice, were noticeable. The distribution of enumerators having been made on the basis of one enumerator for every 1,000 inhabitants in the rural districts and 1,500 in the urban districts, as shown by the last census, was found to be erroneous, owing to the mortality caused by the war and reconcentration. Districts which before the war contained the said number were found to contain not more than 400, and other districts which were considered as not having many inhabitants were found to have many more than the number set. But there was another phenomenon which was not taken into consideration and which was the cause of error in the distribution. In the same locality there had been a transfusion of inhabitants, the density of the population passing from one point to another. Very densely populated wards, which were considered centers of population, are deserted, and in others the towns have increased in population to such an extent that in order to conclude their enumeration within the period fixed it was necessary to assign two assistants to them. The same change has taken place in the rural districts. The enumerators were surprised to find many residents in forests which were previously unpopulated or in valleys formerly uncultivated.

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Afterwards came tiresome days, the recollection of which saddens the spirit. Lines of applicants, an endless string of candidates for the positions of enumerators, of all classes, all abilities, with recommendations from prominent persons and close friends, invading the residence of the supervisor without suspense, without letting him rest, with endless supplications; men and women wishing to work, seeking through honest work the manner of supplying their necessities. * * * Only those who have been in similar situations can judge of the amount and character of the sufferings. After the list had been made of those who were to serve in the city, it was necessary to go to other municipal districts in order better to make the appointment of the enumerators. I therefore determined to visit the province and to collect in each municipality the plans, topographical divisions, and the limits of every district and ward.

Some days before I had forwarded a circular to the mayors, requesting them to furnish me said information, which, however, was deficient.

I left this city at 6 o'clock a. m. on the 12th of September for La Cidra, a town in the municipality of Santa Ana. I was received by the mayor and some aldermen who had the plans of the district and of the town with their limits and the names f the persons who, in their opinion, should be the enumerators of those districts.

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We left Cidra for Sabanilla, which is the seat of the municipality. I there made and modified the plan of the district and obtained a very good copy from a resident, which he presented to me.

The mayor and some of the aldermen of the municipality indicated the persons who should make the enumeration of the districts. I selected a young lady, Etelvina Sanchez, the daughter of a teacher and herself a teacher, to instruct the other enumerators, being very intelligent and active.

At every station at which I stopped I telegraphed to the mayor of the next one, requesting him to meet me, together with persons well acquainted with the locality. This facilitated my work and at the same time gave me an opportunity to address them with a view to exciting their favorable interest in the census, without taking into consideration the important data I received from the old residents of each locality.

In the town of Cabezas I made the plan of the district. I divided it into wards, calculated the population, and received very valuable information.

From there, through the kindness of the manager of the railroad, I proceeded to

Union. The mayor, the secretary, the director of the public school, and others met On the 13th I left this town for Alacranes.

me.

The distance between the two towns is short, and my stay in Alacranes was pleasant and beneficial. The limits of the district and of the wards I obtained with sufficient exactness and wealth of details. On my return to Union I stopped at Bolondron. In a short time, thanks to the kindness of all the persons around me, I accomplished my desires and the end of my visit. Four young ladies were appointed enumerators. At 12 o'clock I arrived at Macurijes, and at 1 I returned to Navajas, from which town there is a branch running through a sugar region of much importance, with its terminus at Jaguey. I passed the night in the latter town. The selection of an enumerator to take charge of the northern portion of the Zapata swamp was troubling me very much, by reason of the difficulties and dangers attending the undertaking and by the fear that the enumeration would be unsuccessful, but the kind mayor of that district, Mr. Galvez, furnished me an athlete, the man I required. Sixto Agramonte, well acquainted with those places, offered to minutely register the islets of solid land existing there and to enumerate the persons living in the same. The rest of the enumerators were indicated to me, and with a memorandum of the same and of the limits of the wards, the plan of the district and that of the city, I proceeded on the 14th instant to Cuevitas.

Here, as was the case in Jaguey, I found the work prepared, receiving a plan which I owe to the kindness of the teacher of that town, Mr. Gabriel Faget, and a large amount of important data relating to the district and its limits. With this information and with a memorandum of the enumerators, I returned to Matanzas, in order to continue my work the next day in another direction and on a different subject. The first municipality which I visited was that of Guamacaro, the seat of which is Limonar. Mr. Grave de Peralta is the mayor of this town. I have nothing but gratitude for his efforts to comply with my wishes. I there appointed a young lady, who applied to enumerate the rural ward of Coliseo, and who, without fearing the work or difficulties, promised to visit the estates situated in said district. The name of this young lady is Antonia de Leon. She is the teacher of that ward, and combines with a clear intellect an agreeable nature and great firmness. The result obtained proves that my hopes were not vain. Miss Leon, going through oceans of weeds which here covered the roads, over ground covered with brambles, fording rivers, and during rain storms, has not omitted to visit one single piece of ground nor to enumerate one single resident.

On the 16th I visited the town of Jovellanos. A select body of residents was awaiting me in the town hall. I conversed several hours with them on the importance of the census and on its transcendency. In the morning of the following day the secretary of the municipal council, in the name of the municipal mayor and some respectable residents, made the selection of the enumerators, and with few agreeable impressions I continued to Carlos Rojas, formerly called Cimarrones. My stay here was short by reason of the combination of trains, but of advantage on account of the data I collected. On the same day I proceded to Cardenas. My first visit was to the learned physician who fills the office of mayor. With the kindness that characterizes him he introduced me to practical persons, well acquainted with the locality, who gave me the dividing lines of the wards and of the district. To their good judgment do I owe the brilliant corps of enumerators who have worked so competently as well as actively. He also indicated to me the enumerators to visit the islets near the northern coast of the province of Matanzas, as well as some situated farther out.

In order to finish my trip sooner, I requested and obtained from the manager of the railroad of Cardenas and Jucaro an express train to take me over all its lines, and thus in a short time visit the municipalities remaining. In this manner I visited the