The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1897-06-03
CARE OF THE BLIND.
Curious Facts About the Worlds
Sightless People.
Russia and Egypt Contain Larg-
est Proportionate Numbers.

A paragraph is travelling about to
the effect that the worlds blind are
computed to number l, 900, 000-about
one sightless person to every 1900 in
habitants If the proportion of sight
less persons were the same in every
country, or substantially SO, it would
be easier to conclude that blindness is
due to causes which neither skill nor
foresight can prevent. But the truth
of the matter, as has been pointed
out by distinguished German oculist,
is that the great majority of cases OF
blindness are due to fever, and the
same authorities declare that Is per
cent. of the afflicted persons could
have retained their sight had they
been properly treated. Some figures
| in corro boration of this are supplied
| by the official statistics of both Eng
land and France. By the last reports
there were 23, 900 sightless persons in
England. the average being $40 for
each million inhabitants. The per-
centage of blind persons among in
fants of less than five years was 166
for each million; between five and
| fifteen it rose to 29S; between twenty
and twenty-five to 422; between forty
five and sixty to 1925, and above sixty
five years of age 1000 for each million
inhabitants. Similarly il France the
official figures show that only one
sixth of the sightless were born blind,
and five-sixths became blind through
illness or accident. The French Off
cial figures further show that of those
born blind 65 per cent. were male, and
only 35 per cent. female children.
Another curious result shown by the
Fl ii % Is found in the fact, that while
tie Number of blind male and blind
female adults was substantially the
same, the number of sightless married
men in France is double the number
of sightless married women. Less
than 10 per cent. of the total number
of sightless persons in France by the
last report were under the age OF
twenty-one.
Russia and Egypt are the two coun-
tries in which blind persons consti-
tute the largest proportionate number
of the total population; in Russia on
account of the lack of experienced
medical attention, and in Egypt on
account of ophthalmia due to the
movement of the sand by the wind, or,
more properly, to the irritation caused
by this unusual local condition, which
has made opthalmia general. There
were at last accounts nearly 200, OOC
blind persons in European Russia, the
proportion being highest in the north
ern provinces, and conspicuously SC
in Finland, where the prevalence .oi
blindness, four times greater than the
general average in Europe, is ascribed
to the Aatnesa of the country, and the
imperfect ventilation of the huts used
by the peasantry, Many OF these
huts are either without chimneys, ol
are supplied with primitive chimneys
which do not draw, and the escape oi
the smoke into the living apartments
has marked tendency to aggravate
all eye troubles. Though more thar
half the blind population of Europe
is to be found in Russia, there AK
only twenty-five asylums for the
blind in that empire, one-tenth of the
total number in Europe. Though the
number of blind persons in the Unitcc
States is less than oue-third rs large
as the number in Russia, the number
of inmates of blind asylums in th'
United States is larger than in any
other country of the world. By the
last reports the total number of pu
| pills in institutions for the blind il
the United States was 34S9 and tn,
grounds and buildings devoted to thei
use we're valued at Sc, 900, 900. New
York Sun.