I t has long been a c o n v e n t i o n in t h e l i t e r a t u r e to exc lude e las t ic cross-sect ions w h e n ca l cu la t ing ave rage mul t ip l ic i t ies . I n p a r t t h i s is due to t h e fac t t h a t t he obse rved Po i s son n a t u r e (in mul t ip l ic i t ies ) of ine las t ic cross-sect ions a t h igh energies does n o t app ly to t he t o t a l cross-sect ions. The reason for t h i s t heo re t i c a l l y is mos t s imply seen b y cons ide r ing t h e Po isson d i s t r i b u t i o n