ity to
speak, or to use vocal language. Hence our attention may be said to be
directed to that part of the community which, by the want of the sense
of hearing and oftentimes also of the power of speech, forms a special
and distinct class; and is known, more or less inaccurately, as the
"deaf and dumb" or "deaf-mutes" or "mutes."

In our discussion it is with deafness that we are primarily concerned.
_Deafness_ and _dumbness_ are, physically, two essentially different
things. There is no anatomical connection between the organs of hearing
and those of speech; and the structure and functioning of each are such
as to preclude any direct pathological relation. The number of the
so-called deaf and dumb, moreover, who are really dumb is very small--so
small actually as to be negligible. Almost all who are spoken of as deaf
and dumb have organs of speech that are quite intact, and are, indeed,
constructively perfect. It comes about, however, that dumbness--considered
as the want of normal and usual locution--though organically separate
from deafness, is a natural consequence of it; and does, as a matter of
fact, in most cases to a greater or less extent, accompany or co-exist
with it. The reason of this is that the deaf, particularly those who
have always been so, being unable to hear, do not know how to use their
organs of speech, and especially are unable to modulate their speech by
the ear, as the hearing do. If the deaf could regain their hearing, they
would have back their speech in short order. The character of the human
voice depends thus on the ear to an unrealized degree.

NUMBER OF THE DEAF IN THE UNITED STATES

According to the census of 1900 there were 37,426 persons in the United
States enumerated as totally deaf;[2] and according to that of 1910
there were 43,812 enumerated as "deaf and dumb."[3] Hence we may assume
that there are between forty and fifty thousand deaf persons in the
United States forming a special class.[4]

The following table will give the number of the deaf in the several
states and the number per million of population, according to the census
of 1910.[5]

NUMBER OF THE DEAF IN THE SEVERAL STATES

NO. PER NO. PER
MILLION OF MILLION OF
NO. POPULATION NO. POPULATION

United States 43,812 476 Montana 117