Note 647 — Chapter X · ABOLITION AND DISEASE
Reading edition
Blaschko’s summary of the defects of the statistical procedure is well worth reproducing. Three methods have been employed:
(1)
Comparison of amount of disease found among inscribed prostitutes with that found among non-inscribed prostitutes. The latter is higher, but that is due less to lack of medical control than to the lower age.
(2)
Inquiry as to source of infection. Not significant since we know nothing of the ratio of the two groups (registered and non-registered) to the number of their customers respectively.
(3) a.
Comparison of the incidence of venereal disease in places with and without regulation.
b.
Comparison before and after abolition.
c.
Comparison of places where regulation has been strict with places where it has fluctuated. These ignore other factors that greatly influence the phenomenon in question. (Art. Die Prostitution, pp. 1243–44, abridged).