  We have compared the X-ray--to--optical flux ratios (F_x/F_opt) of absorbed
active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the Chandra Deep Field North (CDF-N) with
those of nearby, optically classified Seyfert 2 galaxies. The comparison
provides an opportunity to explore the extent to which the local population of
absorbed AGNs can account for the properties of the distant, spectroscopically
ambiguous sources that produce the hard X-ray background. Our nearby sample
consists of 38 objects that well represent the local Seyfert 2 luminosity
function. Integrated UBVRI photometry and broadband X-ray observations are
presented. Using these data, we have simulated the F_x/F_opt ratios that local
Seyfert 2s would exhibit if they were observed in the redshift range 0.2 < z <
1.3 as part of the CDF-N. In the simulations we account for the effects of
redshift on flux measurements in fixed observed-frame bands, and the way the
luminosity function of a given population is sampled in a flux-limited survey
like the CDF-N. Overall, we find excellent agreement between our simulations
and the observed distribution of F_x/F_opt ratios for absorbed AGNs in the
CDF-N. Our analysis has thus failed to reveal any physical differences between
the local population of Seyfert 2s and CDF-N sources with similar X-ray
properties. These results support the hypothesis that the nuclear emission
lines of many distant hard X-ray galaxies are hidden in ground-based spectra
due to a combination of observational effects: signal-to-noise ratio,
wavelength coverage, and dilution by host-galaxy light.
