The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1906-07-12
BLIND PERSONS
0UTNUMBER DEAF
sIxTY-FIvE PER CENT. BECOME
sIGHTLEss AFTER 90.
SHOW DECREASE FROM 1900
About Two-Fifths of Those Afflicted
I, Are Totally Deprived of Hearing, !.
with Negroes Less Susceptible
to Deafness Than Whites.

Washin gton, July 9.-About one per
son In every 1900 was blind and one
an every $50 persons was deaf in the
United States in 1900, according to q
special census report ON the blind and
deaf in the United States in that year
Just issued by the census Office.
The inquiry was conducted under
the direction of DIR. Alexander Ora
ham Bell, who determined the scope
of the investigation and wrote the
text of the report ON the deaf.
The total number of blind in the
United States in 1900 was 64,763 Of
whom S5.645 were totally blind and
2s,l1S partially blind. These figures
however, the report says, can be only
considered as the minimum as an un.
known proportion of the blind were
not located by the enumerators.
OF the total blind 37,054 were males
and 27,709 females
Blindness is chiefly defect of adult
life almost 60 per cent. of the blind
becoming so after 20 years of age.
W one-Tenth Born Blind.
4 About one-tenth of the total number
~ blind were born so. The number
poi 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 five per
cent. of the cases Of blindness report
ed the parents of the blind were con.
sins. OF the blind whose parents
were SO related 25 per cent. were con.
genitally blind, while among the blind
whose parents were not cousins the
proportion congenitally blind was only
6.S per cent.
OF the blind at least ten years OF
age, 20 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 gen.
eral population.
Fewer Deaf IN South.
Deafness on the whole. 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 nun.
Der of deaf in the United States is
given as S9,2S7, of whom 37,426 were
totally deaf and 51,S61 partially deaf
From the latter class, however, are
eliminated those merely hard Of
hearing"
The census report of 1890 gave the
number Of persons as deaf as 121,l7s
and the opinion is expressed that the
returns for 1890 are undoubtedly ex
cessive while those for 1900 are de
ficient. OF the totally deaf 52.5 pei
cent. We're males.
Negroes constitute lie per cent. OF
the general population and only SO
per cent Of the deaf That the ne
groes seem less susceptible to deaf
ness than the whites, the report says
is probably due in part to less com.
plete returns from the negro deaf.
OF the totally deaf, 81 per cent. were
80 from childhood (under 20 years OF
age) and SO per cent. from birth. OF
the S9,2S7 persons returned as deaf,
b5,5Ol were able to speak well, 9,411
imperfectly and the remainder not al
all.
Schools for the Deaf.
The report presents figures to show
that the schools for the deaf are doing
excellent work in teaching articulate
speech.
When the subject of deafness is
considered from the point Of view OF
consanguinity, it would seem that
heredity has played a part in pro
DUCKS congenital deafness and the
deafness occurring in adult life;
whereas deafness occurring in early
childhood, after BIRTH and under the
age OF five, is probably to large ex.
tent adventious.
OF those at least ten years Of age
among the deaf, 3s.5 per cent. were
gainfully employed, as compared with
50.2 per cent among the general pop
ulation. OF the deaf who were gain.
fully employed 1877 per cent. were
found in occupations in which per
feet or even partial hearing is not es.