The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-06-26
Color blindness Among Railway En-
ployees.

10 pubic attention IN TINS country. WITHIN
the last fcw years, however. the percentage
Of railway employees in Europe incapaci-
tatcd by this defect has been determined by
experiment, and the need Of providing some
remedy by legislation has been widely rec
ugnzcd. movement in the same direc-
ton has now been started in the United
States. At its recent session, the Massa-
chusctts General Court took measures 10
this end, and the attention OF Congress will
be called ut an early day. TO the subject.
The Importance of this matter has been
brought home To- our community. mainly
through the lectures and writings OF DR.. b.
II. JEFPRIEs OF Boston, who has made n
special study Of this curious visual disorder.
Few persons have suspected the extent to
which more or less serious variations from
the eyes normal chromatic power obtain
among civilized nations. Except in cx-
trcmc cases. the patients defect may re-
main for years uadrtcctcd by others. per-
haps unknown to himself Even the statis-
ties collected hy earlier Observer, were un-
trustworthy, owing TO tao inadequate tests
employed. Thus, up g. 1865 the surgeon OF
a certain French railway only rejected iiity
for color blindness cat ol five thousand can
di1tcs. ON the other hand, In the two years
ending July, 1875, when the method OF OK
animation was more rigorous and scientific,
nncty-cight out Of one Thousand and iiity
were on this score found incumpctont In
1877 DR.. FAvRG found one hundred and five
color deficient in two hundred and sixty
eight men belonging to French regiment.
and another surgeon reported scvcnty-iiVc
color blind out Of seven hundred and
scycutyi!yc French sailors. or all the
adults. indeed examined 10y FAyKE, the
average was over sixteen to one hundred,
and after comparing his own data with
other returns, he reached the conclusion
that In France the color blind amount t.
ten in one hundred OF the adult males.
The ratio would apfcarto be very much loss
IN Italy; but in Sweden. Germany. and Eng
land il is now computed nj not less than one
in twenty. We should mention that the
statistics in no Instance include females
who there Is reason to believe, are much
more seldom affected by this visual abcrra-
ton. Nevertheless, the study OF co,orbliud-
ness would seem To- interest at lcast q TWEEN
tieth OF our nal" population, and this pro-
portion measure the chances ut error I'm the
various industries where discrimination
of color is necessary or useful. II does not,
Of course. give an exact idea OF the chances
Of accident in the marine and railway SER
vices. on account - accessory circum stances
which aid thc coiorbhnd in their cmbarrnss-
inent and az which we will glance presently.
A. Il rule, color hlVldncss is congcuital and
wholly beyond rculely though II may in
some measure bc paliatod by the use 81
properly tinted glIssos. In its cungenitul
forp :his defect Is hereditary. and the re-
mafkahle certainty with which it Is OBJ
served to descend has an Obvious bearing
upon the question of It's frequency, which
in turn determines the comparative peril TO
the community at large. Besides inherited
incapacity, certain constitutional disea ,cs
may induce loss Of chrunatic sense. SO,
too, tobacco and. alcohol are found 10 fire.
quently cause "A failure Of color perception,
and ophthalmic surgeons now lay stress on
the necessity Of abstinence from these
stimulants among railway employees and
sailors. In such cases the treatment Of the
disorder is suggested by a knowledge of
the exciting cause; but art is powcrlcss TO
cure that form Of color blindness resulting
from inherited atrophy of the optic nerve.
The inability to mix or use colorcd pig
ments in certain Industries is, Of course,
speedily discovered by the parties interested.
But the perils TO which the community are
subjected from color-blnd railway en-
plOyecs and pilots can only be avcrtcd by
! the action Of the community itself through
its Legislature. Tho attention Of railroad
managers has, In Europe, been repeatedly
called TO the grave danger likely TO arise
from failure to distinguish between green
and red lights, or, in other words, between
the safety and the danger signals, 1t is
true that the majority of even color-blind
persons can discriminate bright red from
bright green when they are near the
eye and well Illuminated. But this
power dminshes with distance in very
rapid ratio, is totally frustrated by certain
atmospheric conditions, and is seriously i'm
paired even by the effect Of time in tarnsh-
! ing and darlening flag signals upon rail
roads 1t is believed that not few marine
disasters have resulted from the mistaken
color of lighthouse, beacon, or harbor
lamp, which, on strange const and with
! perhaps the accompaniment Of snow storm
or thick fog, has been wrongly deciphered
by Il cOlor-blind pilot. 1t Is plain that ON
railways the hazard attending mistakes of
signals is much greater. We might i'm
agino coor-blind railroad employee
would be Immediately detected, or would
! have, at least, discovered his own deficiency.
Il appears, however, that, like the deaf, the
victims " this incopacty learn 10 supple
mcnt weakness in one direction by develop
/ ing peculiar constituencies in another -
! the color blind. as also to the normal eye, the
/ green flag or lantern is undoubtedly deeper
/ or darker, and the red more brilliant. Tho
culorbiud employee learns to govern his
/ decision by the intensity of the light and
/ not tho hue, and may thus manage TO avoid
! accident whcn the object is perceived under
| favorable conditions Of the atmosphere,
J or a. moderate distances. 1t Ia clear that