Missourians are in the midst of a biennial, off-year election campaign which thus far has yielded far more heat than light, and only optimists can be persuaded that the substance will materially improve before November 3. No one should really be surprised that candidates seeking important offices would prefer to address issues they feel most comfortable in confronting, and no one can fairly criticize this year's crop of candidates who, after all, are simply following tradition.

Although the general election is nearly two months away, candidates for most of the offices to be filled have participated in little or no discussion of the problems confronting Missourians as a whole, and media coverage has primarily centered on the degree of organized support and contribution totals raised by the participants. This, too, is in the tradition of past campaigns and candidates. Media attention thus far has focused almost entirely on groups endorsing candidates, while little of this so-called "news" has contributed anything to a discussion of public concerns, and none of the events brings any significance to the lives of 4.4 million Missourians, almost all of them understandably becoming less and less involved in today's political process.

Anyone who believes the current political climate will continue to foster U.S. democracy should recall the disastrous 16 percent voter turnout in the August primaries, yet what is interesting is that no one is examining or seeking answers to the reason why only 548,472 citizens from a field of 3,430,000 went to the polls August 4. This would be at least one issue this fall's candidates could discuss that would have far more significance than anything mentioned to date.

Rather than complain about the process and its failure to stir the lethargic, let me recommend a book to both the voters and the candidates that should stimulate the currently inchoate campaign dialogue of today and create a climate in which every Missourian has a natural interest.

Believe it or not, that book, which offers a real opportunity to revitalize our democratic traditions, bears the title "Missouri Vital Statistics," compiled by the Center for Health Information Management & Epidemiology in the Missouri Department of Health.

All right, I know you're probably wondering why a book with a title that would put an insomniac to sleep should provide meaningful insight into today's problems, but I guarantee you that this book, as difficult as it is to read and as dull as it first appears to be, offers the best insight I can imagine into the problems of average Missourians and the factors that presently shape and control our modern environment.

Although space limits a desirable in-depth inspection of the state's vital statistics, let's examine some of the critical information it brings, including statistical evidence of conditions we have long since begun to accept as inevitable factors in the lives of millions of Missourians.

On page 112 to 166, "Missouri Vital Statistics" records the shocking increase in the state's divorce rate, which as recently as 1960 numbered 11,320 in that 12-month period and represented but 2.6 percent per 1,000 married Missourians. Thirty-six years later, the number of divorces granted in Missouri had more than doubled, totaling 25,438 and representing 4.7 percent per 1,000. In case you're wondering how on earth there could be so many divorces in our state, there were also 44,473 marriages, and I'll leave it to the mathematical geniuses out there to figure how long it will take before there are as many divorces as marriages in Missouri.

If you believe this statistic is frightening, you haven't seen anything yet. Let's turn to out-of-wedlock births in Missouri. For the latest year for reliable statistics, 1996, there were 73,733 births recorded, and out of this number, 24,454 births were illegitimate, representing 33.2 percent of the total for the year. One out of three, dear readers, and the percentage has been escalating for more than a decade.

This statistic uncovers still another societal concern, namely the high rate of out-of-wedlock births among African Americans. In 1996 there were 11,089 African American births, and 8,667 of these were out-of-wedlock. That's a 78.2 percent of the total; more than three out of four. The illegitimacy rate for Caucasians was 25.2 percent. Note this: 87.2 percent of all black babies born in the City of St. Louis in this period were out-of-wedlock.

Let's turn to other statistics: abortions. In our state in 1996, there were 13,989 such procedures, and of this number 6,535 women had previously had one or two abortions. Of the total number performed less than two years ago, 124 were on young girls under 15 and 1,064 were performed on young girls not yet old enough to vote, from age 15 to 17. Nearly 4,500 were 20 to 24 years old. Furthermore, the vast bulk of these procedures took place in our two largest cities, where sociologists tell us much of our state's cultural, intellectual and societal influences can be found. Kansas City's culture gave us 3,325 abortions of the state's total and St. Louis City and County cultures gave us even more, 4,985.

One last statistic: among deaths of our 15- to 24-year-olds, 17.8 percent were caused by homicide or legal intervention, which means they were killed while perpetrating a crime, and 15.6 percent resulted from suicide. The only positive fact about these statistics is that they don't include drug and alcohol abuse.

Have you head any of the nearly 400 candidates for state and federal offices mention any of these statistics and the problems they are creating? Wouldn't you prefer they discuss these issues rather than argue about which candidate has more contributions or endorsements? I rest my case.

~Jack Stapleton of Kennett is the editor of Missouri News and Editorial Service.