The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-07-09
BLIND AND DEAF.
One in Every 1900 of Population
Cannot See.

Washington, July about one
person in 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 in the report just issued. The in
quiry was conducted under the direc-
ton of DR.. Alexander Graham Bell,
who determined the scope of the IN
Vestigation and wrote the text of the
report on the deaf.
The total mum Der of blind in the
United States in 1900 was 64,763 of
whom 1906 We're totally blind and
29,11S partially blind.
These figures. report says, can be
only considered as the minimum as an
unknown proportion of the blind were
not located by the enumerator-
OF the total blind 37,054 were male
and 27,709 female. The blindness is
chiefly defect of adult life. almost So
per cent Of the blind becoming 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 ne
groes than among the whites, and
greater among the foreign born whites
than among the native whites. In
about about per cent of the cases of
blindness reported the parents of the
blind were cousins. OF the blind
whose parents who were SO related rs
per cent were congenitally blind, while
among the blind whose parents were
not cousins the proportion con-
the blind at least ten years old, 20 per
cent were engaged in some gainful Oc-
cupation.
The percentage of persons engaged
in professional pursuits, trade and the
manufacturing and mechanical lndus-
tries is larger among the totally blind
than among the general population.
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 number
of deaf in the United States is given
as S9,287, of whom 37.426 were to-
tally deaf and 1861 partially deaf
From the latter class are eliminated
the merely hard of hearing" The
census report of 1890 gave the number
of persons as deaf as 121,17S, and the
opinion is expressed that the returns
for 1890 are undoubtedly excessive
while those for 1900 are deficient. OF
the totally deaf 52.5 per cent. were
males. Negroes constitute 11.6 per
cent Of the general population and
only So per cent of the deaf
OF the totally deaf, 81 per cent were
so from childhood (under 20 years of
age) and SO per cent from birth. OF
the SO, 1928 persons returned as deaf, 3d.
sol We're able to speak well. 9,417 imper-
fectly and the remainder not at all. 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 cOnsid-
cred from the point OF view of con-
sanguinity It would seem that heredity
has played part in producing congeni-
tai deafness and the deafness occurred
in adult lives; whereas deafness occur
ring in early childhood. after birth and
under age of five IS probably to a large
extent adventurous. OF those at least
10 years old among the deaf 3S5 per
cent were gainfully employed as com
pared with 5O.2 per cent among the
sound population. Of the deaf who
were gainfully employed 89.7 per cent
were found in occupations in which per-
feet or even partial hearing is not es-
sential