Vital statistics : an introduction to the science of demography / by George Chandler Whipple.

  • George C. Whipple
Date:
1923
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Vital statistics : an introduction to the science of demography / by George Chandler Whipple. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    32/612 page 10
    There are numerous works on logic. One of the best is an old one, — ‘‘ The Principles of Science,’’ by W. Stanley Jevons. It treats not only of logic but of th^ scientific method in general. The national value of ‘‘Vital Bookkeeping.” — It is of the greatest importance to a nation that accurate records be kept of its vital capital, of its gains- by birth and immi¬ gration and of its losses by death and emigration, for a nation’s true wealth lies not in its lands and waters, not in its forests and mines, not in its flocks and herds, not in its dollars, but in its healthy and happy men, women and children. A well man is worth more to a nation than a sick man; a man in the prime of life is of more immediate worth than an old man or a child, a married man is poten¬ tially a greater asset than a single man. Hence, in a na¬ tion’s vital bookkeeping the number of people, their age and sex and conjugal condition, their parentage, their health, the rate of births and deaths, are matters of great, moment. Their environment is also important; their con¬ centration in cities and villages and congested areas, their mode of housing, their occupation, their state of intelli¬ gence, their economic condition, their knowledge of sani¬ tation, all contribute to the sum total of their usefulness to themselves and to society. Vital bookkeeping is carried on much as ordinary book¬ keeping; there are daily entries of accessions and losses as they occur, corresponding to receipts and payments; there are weekly statements, monthly statements and annual statements; and at longer intervals there is a taking account of stock, that is, a census. One important differ¬ ence, however, should be noted. Accounts are accurate records of transactions and if properlv kept an exact bal¬ ance will be obtained Vital statistics are not always accurate, the individual data are incomplete and subject
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