The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-02-18

The report then continues as folows-
"The accompanying letter from the gifted
Miss Montgomery, teacher IN the New YORK
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, cannot
fail TO be read with deep interest"
Miss Montgomery sletter reads asfollows-
"INsrrruTfoN FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB,
NEW YoRK Nov. 25th, 1S69.-Mr. Barclay
Dear Sir.-I WAS very much surprised and
flattered at the receipt of your letter astdng
nv opinion on the vexed and vexatlous
question of articulation. should not be half
n woman IL did not have an opinion on the
subject-a very decided one, too-and one
that am in no wise 10th to express. 1t is
inst this. that special instruction in articula-
tion. even to the classes you mention (the
semi deaf and semi-mute), is simply special
instruction in O very pretty and expensive,
and in some rare cases rather useful, accom-
plishment.
'.In answer to your other question, whether
/ prefer the sign or written language to
speech, l say most emphatically that 1 do.
Indeed, aside from a reluctance which ] can
not overcome, to use my vocal powers, they
are SO limited, and / speak with so much eff
fort, mental and physical, that beyond few
sentences of commonplace, or few words in
an emergency, rarely. attempt to use my
voice, and never succeed in making myself
understood Persons of average qulckness
of apprehension fail to understand me at all,
until they have become familiar with my
peculiarities of speech. / do not, in fact,
know single individual with whom ! could
carry on q conversation of any considerable
length, without having recourse to the manual
alphabet or to writing.
''Since the receipt of your letter have in
quired of ten semi-mutes, six OF whom are
employed as teachers here (the remainder are
members of the high class), their preference
in this matter, and nine unhesltatlngly and
unequivocally declared that either the manual
alphabet or writing was more agreeable to
them than speech, as a mode OF communlca.
ton; and that they habitually made use OF
one or the other of these modes in preference
to speech. The tenth was undecided; but as
know that he very rarely uses his voice when
he can get pencil and paper, 1 think MS IN,
decision is more of theory than OF fact. All
of the ten / have mentioned have as good
q command of the voice as l have, and four
speak with remarkable ease and distinctness
for deaf persons. One, in particular, is
marvel to all her hearing friends on account
of the clearness and grace of her enunciation,
and vet in talking with hearing persons who
can read from her fingers, she almost invari-
ably makes use of them. This lady is, by
those most competent to decide in such a
matter, adjudged to speak better than any
other deaf person they have ever heard; and
yet in the street or in a shop she finds it
almost impossible, often quite SO, to make
her simplest remarks or inquiries understood.
However distinct the utterance may be
made, doubt if art can ever so supply the
lost guidance of the ear, as to make speech
to the deaf of any practical value, outside of
the immediate circle of family and friends.
And when the manual alphabet, which fur
nishes a sure, rapid, and unobtrusive means
of communication can be learned in few
hours, it seems to be, to use the mildest word,
extremely selfish to require deaf child to
perfect or acquire, by slow and painful effort,
means of communication, in which he can,
from the very fact of his deafness, take no
real pleasure. And when we consider how
| much our pupils have to accomplish in the
very limited time given them, the question is.
not is articulation practicable, but, rs 1T
right to attempt to teach it?"
'"The record of DR.. Kitto, in this matter,
Lost Senses, PIP. 2031, is, in substance, the
| experience of every semi-mute OF my ac-
! quaintance. His opinion should, I think,
from the position to which he attained and
the peculiar circumstances of his life, have
great weight. Becoming totally deaf at the
age of twelve, he retained his vocal powers,
SO far as any deaf person can retain them, and
was able to improve them very much by de-
termined and persevering use; yet on page
III of the work to which have referred, he
says:-'My own present facility of speech
stands me in little stead, beyond the walls o.
my own house. do not find real occasion
for it ten times In year.
''The dear friends who have labored ani
sacrificed so much for us cannot, by thei
utmost endeavors, restore to us our los
sense and since the same mighty physica
convulsion that threw up an impassable bar
rier to sound turned the spontaneous flow o
thought from its natural channel into a ney
one, let them not, in mistaken kindness, tr,
to force it back to the old, but as heretofore
endeayor to smooth and widen the new.
II have been constrained to answer you
questions at much greater length than I in
tended, and the fact that the subject is ont
in which am greatly interested must be m,
excuse. have been teaching dumb mute
and semi-mutes with all my might since tn
day graduated, and no one, think, woul
hail with more delight or adopt with create
zeal any system which gave reasonabl
promise of broader and deeper culture or in
creased social facilities for the deaf. Thi
old-new system holds out no such hope; it ha
been tried, and it failed.
"Hoping that l have not taken up to-
much of your time, and that you will no
attribute my earnestness to lack of respec
for those who differ with me in this matter
but to an impatience that eau hardly cor
troll when see time spent that cannot be re
gained, and money that is so much needle
elsewhere expended in attempts that seer
utterly futile. a .E as. atlaao 10 I'D
81 ann, dear sir, very truly yours,
tIDA MONTGOMERY.
The report then continues;- Ffa
| SIT may be added that instruction i
| articulation hoe baan ahandonAd in most {