Las Vegas daily optic., 1906-07-09
MORE Blind men
NOW, Than WOMEN
Census Burean Issues Special Re-
pom @ SshIess and
Deal.
6RElIEl lneN6 EE6laEs
4 Fne Pueenl q Casrs Ps<as
u ID
4 Fne Paeen 4 Casrs Pssas
Ase R~ialed d-Prdes.oas
Led,

The bureau u Census has Just ~
sued ! special report en the hind and
he deas II the unised States II iseo
The inquiry as conducted unaer me
direction ~ III. Alexander GrzAsm
Bell. who determined the scope os
the Investigation and wrpte the tsyt
q the report.
The report % the blind gives nos
only data concerning color. ser. nssis.
ity. marital condition, school stsen.
dance and occupations, hnt aIso much
Information IN regard 10 the aee when
blindness occurred and the cSases of
blindness.
The total number IL blind persons
In the United States IN 1900 was sS..
IG5--or about one 10 every i.zoo q
the total population. There we're IS.
CAS- totally blind. and ss.lis partially
blind. These figures. however. can be
considered only an the minimum. a. IN
unknown proportion Of the blind we're
not located BY the enumeratorr. The
number 81 partially blind ~ no
means represents the facts 81 20 de-
fecsive eycsixht. but represents only
verified cases.
inssrsseIne Statistics
OF the total number of blind. s7.Nss.
or s7.e per cent we're males. and 81.
700. or t2.s per cent. were females.
Since in the general population only
Sill per cent were males and as per
cent were females. Il n evident that
blindness occurs more frequently
among males.
About s5 per cent Of the blind re-
ported were totally blind. and about
Is per cent were partially blind. a
slightly smaller proportion Of blind
males than of blind females were 10.
tally blind.
Almost SIS per cent or the blind BE-
came blind after 20 years of age. and
only a little more than 30 per cent
before 20 years. Thus II Ia seen that
blindness 4 chiefly q defect Of adult
life. u u interesting 70 note that
about one.fourth of the persons blind
from childhood. or about onc-tenth
Of the total number OF blind, werc
born blind.
The number of blind per I0o, 900 II
population was greater among the ne
eroes than among the whites, and
greater among the foreign born whites
than among the native whites, the
difference In each case being more
amrked for the totally blind than for
the partially blind. The differences
n the proportions for the native and
the foreign horn whites are dne very
largely to the difference IN the are
distribution of the two classes. the
great majority OF the foreign horn
whites being adults, among whom
blindness Is more common.
Important Cases
The most important causes OF blind.
hess we're, cataract. Injuries, accI-
dents and operations: cosenital blind.
ness; old age; aid sore eyes. Un.
known causes were responsible for i
slightly greater proportion 81 cases
Than any Of the above causes.
The principal causes OF blindness
occurring after birth and under 20
years Of age were. injuries. accidents.
and operations; sore eyes: catarrh:
measles and scrofula. The principal
canses Of blindness occurring In adult
life were cataract. injuries. accidents
and operations; old age: affections of
The nervous apparatus; military ser.
vice; sore eyes and neuralgia.
n about s per cent Of the eases of
blindness reported the parents Of the
blind were related % cousins. OF the
blind whose parents were 10 related
q per cent were cogenitally blind,
while among the blind whose parents
we're not cousins, the proportion con.
blind was only SIS per cent. |
or the blind 81 least 10 years Of age.