HASTINGS H. HART, LL. D. 61 



The fallacy of this method of computing death rates is illus- 

 trated in the following statement, taken from an official record 

 of the board of health of one of the largest cities in the Union, 

 relative to an infant asylum : 



DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 

 Mortality Statistics Infant Asylum 



,Onhand Received Total Died Percentage 



Date beginning during for during O f 



month month month month deaths 

 1908 



September 250 108 358 18 5.0 



October 251 114 355 16 4.4 



November 265 65 330 16 4.8 



December 241 78 319 15 4.7 



1909 



January 256 54 310 17 5.5 



February 229 64 293 16 5.5 



March 230 51 281 13 4.6 



April 220 67 287 9 3.1 



May 221 54 275 13 4.7 



June 163 78 241 12 5.0 



July 175 52 227 7 3.1 



August 182 77 259 15 5.8 



Year 250 1,122 1,362 167 12.3 



(a) These percentages are our figures, not contained in the original 

 report. 



In the foregoing table we have an apparent death rate taken 

 by months of 4.7 per cent., but an apparent yearly rate of 12.3 

 per cent. Neither is right. There were on hand 250 children at 

 the beginning of the year and 259 at the end of the year. Of 

 these 259 probably 40 died under 1 year of age. 



The nearest practicable way would be to figure the number 

 died as against the number of children actually received during 

 the year. This would give a mortality rate for the year of 15 

 per cent., which is an extremely low institutional death rate, and 

 is sufficiently creditable without juggling figures to produce an 

 artificial result by counting the same children over and over 

 again. 



Any intelligent study of the subject of infant mortality should 

 deal with infants under the age of 1 year. If the number is 

 taken to the age of 2 years, the showing is necessarily unsatis- 

 factory. What we need to know is the actual number of babies 

 that die under 1 year of age out of the total number dealt with. 

 At the present time that fact is not ascertainable, in so far as 

 we have been able to discover, with reference to any institution 

 or any set of institutions in the United States. 



