462 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. V., No. 122. 



as many if you happened to select 10, or even 

 2J times as many (an excess of 126 %) if you 

 selected 60, as the age. 



The comparison of this average ' 10 exag- 

 geration ' for the total population , with that for 

 the native whites, the foreign-born, and the 

 colored inhabitants, — making, in each case, 

 the distinction between male and female, — will 

 serve as a good starting-point. Fig. 1 ex- 

 presses the result graphically. The first of 

 each group of three lines shows the ' 10 exag- 

 geration ' of the total number of the class 

 which it represents ; the second line that of 

 the male, and the third that of the female, por- 

 tion of it. The first set of three lines repre- 

 sents these averages for the total population ; 

 the second, for the native whites ; the third, for 

 the foreign- born ; the fourth, for the colored 

 population. 



The enormous exaggeration of the colored 1 

 people is the first striking, appalling fact. 

 Their average ' 10 exaggeration 'is 432 % : 

 in other words, there are 5^ times as many 

 colored persons recorded at any age containing 

 a multiple of 10 as at the preceding age. 

 The native whites, as one would expect, are 

 the most reliable class, their average excess 

 being 28 % . The average of the foreign-born 

 (103 %), while not in all strictness comparable 

 with the others, may yet be considered so for 

 our purposes. It is evident that the negro is 

 the being upon whom all the various causes 

 tending to produce this peculiar falsity of re- 

 turns are the most active. The foreign-born 

 are also very susceptible to these tendencies ; 

 and doubtless misunderstandings between the 

 foreigner and the census official, owing to a 

 meagre acquaintance with the language, enter 

 as an additional disturbing influence. More- 

 over, in both these classes the general illiteracy 

 is decidedly above the average.' 2 



The next consideration is that of sex. The 

 gentler sex in each case exaggerates more than 

 the male sex, and, in the case of the colored 

 people, considerably more. For the total pop- 

 ulation, the male average is 61 %, the female 

 81% ; for the native whites, male 22.;") %, 

 female 33.5 % ; for the foreign-born, male 

 92.6 %, female 113.8 % ; for the colored, male 

 352%, female 536.5%. The average excess 

 of the native white, males (22.5 %), and that 

 of the colored females (536.5%), serve as a 

 significant contrast. Next to the exaggeration 



1 It should be mentioned that under this head are included 

 the Chinese, Japanese, and civilized Indians; but the exclusion 

 of these would not appreciably alter the results. 



2 I have traced out in detail the close relation between this 

 1 10 exaggeration ' and illiteracy, which, however, would be too 

 long to give here. A set of lines representing the illiteracy for 

 the several races and sexes would closely resemble fig. 1. 



at the ages containing multiples of 10, natu- 

 rally comes that at the ages containing multi- 

 ples of 5. This ' 5 exaggeration ' follows the 



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same course with reference to race and sex as 

 the ' 10 exaggeration,' and is represented in 

 fig. 1. by the part of each line cut off between 

 the cross-mark and the foot of the line. For 

 the total population it is 26 % , as compared 



