Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-03-14

Of Washington and it bumps up against the
studio Of the artist Mr Andrews, who
painted the picture of Martha Washington
which hangs IN the East Room Of
the White House 1t has large
yard. made up OF ground which is worth at
least - a SQuaD, foot, and this, at certain
hours Of the day l. filed with children. A
kindergarten occupies the lower story, and
the upper. which Is tastefullv furnished, is de
votei t0 the school Of deaf muteS. In this
school the deaf and dumb children are taught
a. speak 10y watching the liTn Of their teacher
and learning L. shape their lips i'll the same
way in utt"ring sounds which correspond To
the various words Mr. Bells father is, |
think, the author of the system used, and
there is no doubt that il Is success. The
children learn to talk. and they are able to
communicate their thoughts, but their voices
are generally harsh and loud.
Mr.. Bell thinks that deaf children should
never IL educated with deaf children And
some OF his deaf pupils are now going 10 the
kindergarten and aSSOCIating with children
who SIS-ak He does n"t believe i'll deaf and
dumb asvlum>. and says that the association
Of the deaf mutes together in these is rapidly
forming a raNe Of deaf muteS iii the United
States Deaf mut+s marry deaf mutes. and
such marriages pTuduCe deaf mute children.
He tells NE there arr now S},S1S deaf
mutes in the United States or one for
abuut every l.Jn uf population. He states
that the vocal organs of deaf people
are usually perfect and that their inability TO
speak comes from their not being able to hear
and thus initiate sounds. He has shown that
deaf mUte> can be taught TO speak. He says
that the lntelIects Of the deaf are fully as
bright those OF hearing people, and that
there are many examples Of deaf mutes who
Uy learning 10 speak have become valuable
citizens. His wife. as | have said. was at one
time deaf and dumb There Is patent law
ger in Cincinnati who was once a deaf mute
and Their, are deaf mute editors, doctors and
even poets.
Professor Bell keeps up his electrical ex
periments. though he is very close -mouthed
about what he Is doing His laboratory has
been. until last month. III u little dilapidated
brick building back among the trees. ON Con
neCtIcUt avenue within a stones throw of the
palace Of the British legation. This laboratory
has been known as the Volta laboratory and
il was founded with the Volta prize money
of $lU,OOO, winch the French academy award
I'd Bell for the telephone In it he has spent
thousands OF dollars and hours Of labor in ex-
periments. tut no one has bothered him.
The aspect Of the building l. fOrbidding 1t
stands high up from the street, and its green
blinds arr generally Cl,rsd Still, great man
siuns have been SprIHEing up all around
this, and now Professor Bell has decided
to move his workshop to Georgetown
His extreme caution Will probably be in
creased by the late suits. which have cost the
Bell company fortunes. In Mr.. Bells library
there are three volumes OF so pages each
which contain the printed testimony of the
plaintiff i'll the Drawbauyh cases, and each
of these volumes Is as big as a dictionary
Bells testimony "a defendant takes up -four
volumes OF the SAME proportions, and the ab-
stract Of the evidence IN the case makes an
other volume of the same family bible size
The Pan Electric suits MAJ cost fully as
much. and however they terminate. they will
materially add t. the fees OF a number OF
noted lawyers.
Speaking Of Bells caution, he could hardly
sleep. am told. when he was making his first
experiment with the telephone, for fear some
one would steal his invention before he could
patent it. He kept his models in his own
room i'll Boston, and had a box-hke case in
which h. locked them up whenever he went
out of his room At first the stock was sold
very low, and there are a number of men
about Washington who made fortunes by in
vestIng in il. What Bell Is worth now no one
knows, heard the figure put at 5000, 600,
and | supp"Se his father in-law, Gardiner
Hubbard, Is worth at least as much more
Professor B,Il has the long high head of the
inventor and the mathematician A reader
Of faces ~cing his portrait would pronounce
him the practical man, and not the poet OF
the dreamer.
FRANK GEORGE