The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-08-16
ONE BLIND IN EtEs.i i4Jv.
One h,af in Every 800, SO a Recent
Census Report Shows.

One yerson In every 1900 was blind
and one in every $50 was deaf In the
United States in 1900, according to
a special census report just issued
from Washington. The inquiry was
conducted under the direction of DR..
Alexander Graham Bell
The total blind in the United
States in 1900 was 64,763, of whom
36,645 we.D totally blind and 29,11S
partially blind. OF the total blind
37,054 were males and 27,709 fe-
males. Blindness is chiefly defect
of adult life, almost sixty-five per
cent. of the blind becoming so after
twenty years of age. About one
tenth of the total blind were born so.
The number of blind per 1000 of
population was greater among the
negroes than among the whites, and
greater among the foreign-born
whites than among the native whites
In about six per cent. of the cases of
blindness reported the parents of the
blind were cousins. OF the blind
whose parents were so related twen-
ty-five per cent. were congenitally
blind, while among the blind whose
parents were not cousins the proper
tion congenitally blind was only 6.S
per cent.
OF the blind at least ten years Of
age, twenty per cent. were engaged in
some gainful occupation. The per-
centage of persons engaged in pro-
fessional pursuits, trade and trans
portation and in manufacturing and
mechanical industries is larger
among the totally blind than among
the general population.
Deafness, the report says, is more
common in the northern part of the
United States than in the southern,
and there are more deaf males than
females. The total deaf in the
United States is given as S9,2S7, of
whom 37,426 were totally deaf and
51,S61 partially deaf. From the lat
ter class. however, are eliminated
those merely hard of hearing"
The census report of 1890 gave
the number of deaf as 121, ITS, and
the opinion is expressed that the re-
turns for 1890 are undoubtedly ex-
cessive, while those for 1900 are de-
ficient. OF the totally deaf 52.5 per
cent. were males. Negroes consti-
tute 11.6 per cent. of the general
population and only SO per cent. of
the deaf That the negroes seem less
susceptible to deafness than the
whites, the report says, is probably
due in part to less complete returns
from the negro deaf.
OF the totally deaf ninety-one per
cent. were so from childhood (under
twenty years of age) and thirty-six
per cent. from birth. OF the S9,2S7
persons returned as deaf, 55,501
were able to speak we'll, 9417 inn
perfectly and the remainder not ar
all. The report presents figures to
show that the schools for the deaf
are doing excellent work in teaching
articulate speech.
1t would seem that heredity has
played a part in producing congeni-
tai deafness and the deafness occur
ring in adult life whereas deafness.
occurring in early childhood, after
birth and under the age of five. is
probably to a large extent adventi-
tious.
OF those at least ten years of age
among the deaf, 3S.5 per cent, were
gainfully employed, as compared
with 502 per cent among the gen.
eral population. OF the deaf who
were gainfully employed, S9.7 per
cent. were found in occupations in
which perfect or even partial hear
ing is not essential.