24 JOHN KOREN 



December 31, 1904, was 347, and the number of persons ad- 

 mitted during the year in each 100,000 of population was 

 2,509.6. So far as the individual state or territory is con- 

 cerned these proportions are clearly determined not so much by 

 the number of institutions as by their kind. States with a pre- 

 ponderance of institutions having a stable population, such as 

 orphanages and homes for the aged and incurable, naturally 

 show a higher proportion of inmates to population on a given 

 date than a state whose institutions are mostly in the hospital 

 class. On the other hand, the ratio of admissions to popula- 

 tion is largely influenced by the extent of hospital conveniences, 

 and where these are especially abimdant the state will rank 

 accordingly. Oregon furnishes an illustration in point. In 

 ratio of inmates of institutions on December 31, 1904, to the 

 general population, it stands twenty fifth in the order of states, 

 but in ratio of admissions to the general population during 

 1904 it stands third. 



California is first among the states and territories in the 

 ratio of institution inmates to general population on the date 

 specified, having proportionately twice as many as all but the 

 first nine states. And among the first twenty five are the 

 other young states, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Wash- 

 ington, Montana, and Oregon. Again, among the first twenty 

 five in number of admissions to institutions per 100,000 in- 

 habitants are Oregon, which stands as number 3, Colorado, 

 Washington, Montana, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. The 

 fact deserves mention, however, that in some of the newest 

 communities, for instance, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, 

 many of the hospitals are maintained by mining corporations 

 and are not intended for the general public. 



Although the number of admissions to institutions per 

 100,000 inhabitants is largely governed by existing hospital 

 provisions, the extent of the latter does not always appear to 

 stand in direct relation to the percentages of the urban popu- 

 lation found in the different states. If that were the case, 

 Rhode Island would stand at the top of the Ust instead of 

 fourteenth, New Jersey would move down a few places, Oregon 

 be relegated from the third to the twentieth place, etc. Yet 

 in many instances there is a fairly close correspondence be- 



