The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-07-09
FIGURES TELL OF
BLIND AND DEAF
One American in Every Twelve
Hundred Has Lost Eyeslght,
Says Census.
PROPORTION OF THE DEAF
Is SOMEWHAT GREATER
Children of Cousins Who Have
Married More Than Usual
Iy Afflicted.

WASHINGTON, July S.-About one
person in every 1900 was blind and one
in every $50 persons was deaf In the
United States in 1900, according to a
special census report on the blind and
deaf bulletin, just issued by the census
bureau. The inquiry WAS conducted
under tho direction of DR.. Alexander
Graham Bell who determined the scope
of the investigation and &'rote the text
of the report on the deaf.
The total number Of blind In the
United States In 1900 was 81 763, OF
whom 5,365 We're totally blind and
29.llS partially blind,
These figures. however, the report
says, cannot be only considered as the
minimum. as an unknown proportion
OF the blind were not located by the
enumerators. OF the total blind. 3D.
054 were males and 7.709 females. The
blindness is chiefly a defect Of adult
life, almost 65 per cent of the blind be-
coming so after 20 years OF age. About
one-tenth of the total number of blind
were born so. The number of blind
per 1000 OF population was greater
among the negroes than the whites,
and greater among the foreign-b born
whites than among the native whites.
May Have Been Inherited.
In about per cent OF the cases Of
blindness reported, the parents OF the
blind were cousins. or the blind whose
parents were so related, 25 per cent
were congenitally blind, while among
the blind whose parents were not
cousins the proportion congenitally
blind was 6.S per cent. OF the blind at
least 10 per cent were engaged in some
gainful occupation.
The percentage OF persons engaged IN
professional pursuits. trade and trans
rtnt In M aof NO nd
mechanical Industries is larger among
the totally blind than among the gen.
eral population.
Deafness. on the whole. the report
says, is more common In the northern
part Of tho United States than in the
southern, and there are more deaf
males than females. Total number of
$3.50. of whom 97.426 were totally deaf
and 81 .s61 partially deaf. From the lat
ter classes arc eliminated those merely
hard Of hearing
Probably Error In Reports.
number OF persons as deaf as 1911
and the opinion is accepted that the re-
turns for 1890 are undoubtedly exces-
sive, while those for 1900 are deficient.
OF the totally deaf. SIS per cent were
males. Negroes constitute 11.6 per cent
OF the general population and only %
per cent OF the deaf That the negroes
seem less susceptible to deafness than
the whites, the report says, Is par
ticularly due In part to less complete
relations from the negro deaf.
OF the totally deaf, 81 per cent were
so from childhood tunder 20 years OF
age) and 36 per cent from birth. or
the SO ,92S persons returned as deaf, 55.-
60l were able to speak we'll, 94l7 i'm
perfectly and the remainder not at all.
Tho report presents figures to show that
the schools for the deaf are doing ex-
cellent work In teaching articulate
speech. When the subject OF deafness
is considered from the point Of view OF
consanguinity, IT would seem heredity
has played an important part In pro-
ducing congenital deafness, whereas
deafness occurring In early childhood.
after birth and under the age OF ).
is probably TO a large extent adven-
tltious. or those at least ten years
among the deaf 9s.5 per cent were gain
fully employed, az compared with 50.2
per cent among the male population.
or the deaf who were gainfully em-
ployed s97 per cent we're found in oc-
cupations In which perfect or even
partial hearing Is not essential