21,3 Abriol: Death Rates and Economic Factors 307 
eases per 1,000 population in the various provinces have been 
correlated with certain economic and housing factors. Thus, 
should the results warrant following up this problem, there 
would be a satisfactory basis for comparative work. 
SOURCE AND NATURE OF DATA 
The data in this work are drawn from the Philippine Census 
of 1903, taken in March of that year. Therefore, the figures 
on economic factors, dwellings, and families represent those 
existing during the early part of 1908. For that year only par- 
tial and rather incomplete data on vital statistics are included, 
while for 1902 comprehensive figures are available. As the 
census gives figures on the economic, dwelling, and family factors 
for the early part of 1903, it is considered that the statistics on 
mortality for 1902 are sufficiently closely related in point of 
time. Therefore, the data of vital statistics for 1902 and the 
figures for the economic, dwelling, and family factors for 1903 
are herein analyzed. 
In considering the provinces with reference to their popula- 
tion and relative wealth, a difficulty presents itself. The ob- 
jective is the finding of the ratio between the wealth of the 
provinces and their respective population that will give a con- 
crete measure for statistical use. As the determination of the 
income of the people is not feasible, the valuation of taxes and 
personal property and real estate are primarily considered. It 
seems fairly reasonable to assume that the taxes paid by a com- 
munity furnish a measure of its wealth. Likewise, the valuation 
of the personal property and real estate must serve a similar 
purpose. However, the question that arises is: To what degree 
can these elements be properly regarded as the measure of the 
economic status of the province and its people? Total taxes 
paid or the total value of personal property and real estate does 
not seem to furnish as true an index of the wealth of the com- 
munity as when these values are considered with respect to 
the individuals inhabiting the province. Consequently, the 
figures have been taken on a per capita basis, and both taxes 
and property valuations have been used for the correlations. 
~The property values include personal and real property as 
given in the census. The taxes do not include customs collec- 
tions; they do, however, cover the amount of taxes paid for 
insular, provincial, municipal (town or city), and road purposes. 
Both the property and the tax values were estimated in the 
various parts of the Islands by tax assessors, appraisers, the 
