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The Blind And The Deaf, 1900

Creator: Alexander Graham Bell (author)
Date: 1906
Publisher: Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
Source: Available at selected libraries

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It was also found that the defects alleged by the enumerators did not, in many cases, agree with those disclosed by the personal schedules. In 561 cases reported by the enumerators simply as deaf or deaf and dumb, blindness also was shown to exist, and in 1,196 cases in which blindness was alleged by the enumerators there was no defect of vision disclosed by the personal schedules.

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The result of the correspondence with the persons alleged by the enumerators in their preliminary return , to be blind, as set forth above, indicates that the accuracy of statistics of this class based upon the enumerators' returns are likely to be seriously defective, and that the personal particulars obtained by direct correspondence with the individuals are much more reliable. It also indicates that any comparisons with the published statistics of 1890 would be misleading.

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Much of the detailed information furnished in the personal schedules is necessarily indefinite, particularly that relating to the causes of blindness, which, being stated in the language of the individuals, who are in many cases ignorant of the facts or are illiterate, does not permit a thoroughly scientific classification of the causes of blindness.

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The number of cases remaining for statistical treatment, after making the eliminations and corrections described, was 64,763, representing 35,645 totally blind and 29,118 partially blind. This number, however, can be considered only as the minimum, as an unknown proportion of the blind were not located by the enumerators, and doubtless a considerable proportion of the 19,884 persons who failed to return the personal schedules should be included in the total. The number of partially blind by no means represents the facts as to defective eyesight among people, but so far as the returns cover the field they represent verified cases, and possess a greater authenticity than any heretofore secured.

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Notwithstanding the probable deficiencies in the returns the figures furnish a basis for determining, with fair accuracy, the seat of the cause of blindness and the relative frequency of different diseases of the eye producing loss or impairment of vision.

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SUMMARY OF RESULTS.

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The principal facts concerning the blind set forth in the general tables are those relating to sex, color, general nativity, marital condition, present age and age at which blindness occurred, causes of blindness, and occupations. Consanguinity of parents, the number of the blind having blind relatives, and the educational advantages as indicated by school attendance are also shown.

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The general relation of these data to the blind, distinguished as totally and partially blind, is shown briefly in the following tables and comments:

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Sex. -- Of the 64,763 blind reported, 37,054, or 57.2 per cent, are males, and 27,709, or 42.8 per cent, are females, the number per 100,000 of corresponding population being: Total, 85.2; male, 95.5; female, 74.5. The numbers, percentages, and ratios to population are shown in relation to sex and degree of blindness in Table I.

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Regarding the degree of blindness, it is shown that 35,645, or 55 per cent, of the blind are totally blind, and 29,118, or 45 per cent, are partially blind. Of the totally blind, 56.5 per cent are males and of the partially blind, 58.1 per cent. To state these facts in another way, blind males show a smaller proportion of their number totally blind than do blind females, the respective percentages being 54.4 and 55.9. The number of totally blind per 100,000 of total population is 46.9; in the male population, 51.9; and in the female population, 41.7. The corresponding numbers per 100,000 for the partially blind are 38.3, 43.6, and 32.8, respectively. These figures indicate that blindness, both total and partial, is more common among males than females.

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Table I. -- The blind, by degree of blindness and sex.

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SEX. The blind. The totally blind. The partially blind.
Number:
Total 64,763 35,645 29,118
Male 37,054 20,144 16,910
Female 27,709 15,501 12,208
Per cent distribution:
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
Male 57.2 56.5 58.1
Female 42.8 43.5 41.9
Number per 100,000 population of same sex:
Both sexes 85.2 46.9 38.3
Male 95.5 51.9 43.6
Female 74.5 41.7 32.8

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States and territories. -- The distribution, by degree of blindness, of the blind and the number of each class per 100,000 of the population are shown for states and territories in Table II.

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Table II.-- THE BLIND, BY DEGREE OF BLINDNESS, FOR STATES AND TERRITORIES.

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STATE OR TERRITORY. The blind. The totally blind. The partially blind PER CENT: NUMBER PER 100,000 OF POPULATION:
The blind The totally blind.The blind. The totally blind.The partially blind.
Continental United States 64,763 35,645 29,118 55.0 45.0 85.2 46.9 38.2
North Atlantic division 15,777 9,257 6,520 58.7 41.3 75.0 44.0 31.0
New England 4,946 2,789 2,057 57.6 42.2 86.7 49.9 36.8
Maine 724 386 338 53.3 46.7 104.3 55.6 48.7
New Hampshire 417 262 155 62.8 37.2 101.3 63.6 37.7
Vermont 456 247 209 54.2 45.8 132.7 71.9 60.8
Massachusetts 2,217 1,260 957 56.8 43.2 79.0 44.9 34.1
Rhode Island 285 182 103 63.9 36.1 66.5 42.5 24.0
Connecticut 747 452 205 60.5 39.5 82.2 49.7 32.5
Southern North Atlantic 10,931 6,468 4,463 59.2 40.8 70.7 41.8 28.9
New York 5,486 3,287 2,199 59.9 40.1 75.5 45.2 30.3
New Jersey 1,004 612 392 61.0 39.0 53.3 32.520.8
Pennsylvania 4,441 2,569 1,872 57.8 42.270.5 40.8 29.7
South Atlantic division 9,159 5,074 4,085 55.4 44.6 87.7 48.6 39.1
Northern South Atlantic 3,841 2,104 1,737 54.8 45.2 86.0 47.1 38.9
Delaware 142 76 66 53.5 46.5 76.8 41.1 35.7
Maryland 983 560 423 57.0 43.0 82.7 47.1 35.6
District of Columbia 202 129 73 63.9 36.1 72.5 46.3 26.2
Virginia 1,589 886 703 55.8 44.2 85.7 47.8 37.9
West Virginia 925 453 472 49.0 51.0 96.5 47.3 49.2
Southern South Atlantic5,318 2,970 2,348 55.8 44.2 88.949.7 39.3
North Carolina 1,788 992 796 55.5 44.5 94.4 52.4 42.0
South Carolina 1,102 617 485 56.0 44.0 82.2 46.0 36.2
Georgia 2,034 1,138 896 55.9 44.1 91.8 51.4 40.4
Florida 394 223 171 56.6 43.4 74.5 42.2 32.3
North Central division 23,380 12,360 11,020 52.9 47.1 88.8 46.9 41.9
Eastern North Central 14,666 7,819 6,847 53.3 46.7 91.7 48.9 42.8
Ohio 4,466 2,452 2,014 54.9 45.1 107.4 59.0 48.4
Indiana 2,987 1,511 1,476 50.6 49.4 118.7 60.0 58.7
Illinois 3,767 1,990 1,777 52.8 47.2 78.1 41.3 36.8
Michigan 1,946 1,049 89753.9 46.1 80.4 43.3 37.1
Wisconsin 1,500 817 683 54.5 45.5 72.5 39.5 33.0
Western North Central 8,714 4,541 4,173 52.1 47.9 84.2 43.9 40.3
Minnesota 887 526 361 59.3 40.7 50.6 30.0 20.6
Iowa 2,014 1,027 997 50.5 49.5 90.2 45.5 44.7
Missouri 3,325 1,678 1,647 50.5 49.5 107.0 54.0 53.0
North Dakota 168 94 74 56.0 44.0 52.6 29.4 23.2
South Dakota 280 161 119 57.5 42.5 69.7 40.1 29.6
Nebraska 640 361 279 56.4 43.6 60.0 33.8 26.2
Kansas 1,400 704 696 50.3 49.7 95.2 47.9 47.3
South Central division 13,485 7,134 6,35152.9 47.1 95.8 50.7 45.1
Eastern South Central 8,221 4,256 3,965 51.8 48.2 108.9 56.4 52.5
Kentucky 2,780 1,353 1,427 48.7 51.3 129.4 63.0 66.4
Tennessee 2,400 1,170 1,230 48.8 51.2 118.8 57.9 60.9
Alabama 1,791 1,055 736 58.9 41.1 97.9 57.7 40.2
Mississippi 1,250 678 572 54.2 45.8 80.6 43.7 36,9
Western South Central 5,264 2,878 2,386 54.7 45.3 80.6 44.1 36.5
Louisiana 1,071 689 382 64.3 35.7 77.5 49.9 27.6
Arkansas 1,587 762 825 48.0 52.0 121.0 58.1 62.9
Indian Territory 261 134 127 51.3 48.7 66.6 34.2 32.4
Oklahoma 250 117 133 46.8 53.2 62.8 29.4 33.4
Texas 2,095 1,176 919 56.1 43.9 68.7 38.6 30.1
Western division 2,962 1,820 1,142 61.4 38.6 72.4 44.5 27.9
Rocky Mountain 975 650 325 66.7 33.3 79.1 52.7 26.4
Montana 99 69 30 69.7 30.3 40.7 28.4 12.3
Idaho 111 68 43 61.3 38.7 68.6 42.0 26.6
Wyoming 20 13 7 65.0 35.0 21.6 14.0 7.6
Colorado 295 190 105 64.4 35.6 54.7 35.2 19.5
New Mexico 450 310 140 68.9 31.1 230.4 158.7 71.7
Basin and Plateau 332 206 126 62.0 38.0 75.1 46.6 28.5
Arizona 69 44 25 63.8 36.2 56.1 35.8 20.3
Utah 207 118 89 57.0 43.0 74.8 42.6 32.2
Nevada 56 44 12 78.6 21.4 132.3 103.9 28.4
Pacific 1,655 964 691 58.2 41.8 68.5 39.9 28.6
Washington 210 117 93 55.7 44.3 40.5 22.6 1.9
Oregon 249 150 99 60.2 39.8 60.2 36.3 23.9
California 1,196 697 499 58.3 41.7 80.5 46.9 33.6

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