The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1897-03-05
BOON TO THE BLIND.
Eyezight Iday Bo Restored by
Edi5on's Scientific Skill
Remarkable Results Follow the First
Experiments In This Direction
The Eay the Agency
EmnlOye-l.


to the world so many marvels Of elec-
trio science, has paused to 10 another
good de5d for humanity. Through his
Horoscope the man who breaks his leg
can watch the surgeon tit together the
ragged fracture with d certainty that
the work is being done rightly. Mr..
Edison now demands that the blind
shall lee allowed to see. He W0s led
into this train of thought in quite an
accidental way. Some little tine ago,
while at work in the Roentgen ray room,
he happened to lean his head upon his
hands, with his palms pressed against
his closed eyes.
At the time his head was in the neigh
borhocd of a Roentgen tube and to his
astonshment he found that he could
see through his closed eyelds and
hands. This astonishing result caused
Mr.. Edison to reason that if the X ray
would penetrate through his closed
eyelids, why should it not penetrate
through n cataract in the eye or any
similar obstruction and inform the
optic nerve, provided the latter were
still intact? luthe. case of o. deaf man,
where the tympanum has been de-
stroyed but the aural nerve remains,
sounds can be transmitted through the
teeth. So much for theory and the next
step was to make a practical test
Interested friends offered to bring
before him some persons afflicted with
blindness. The offer was quickly ac-
crpted by the wizard, and it was not
long afterward when Jacob Mahr-
bacher and Otto Kallensee, of Newark,
walked into the laboratory. Mr., Ed
son patiently heard the story of their
affections and then went to work.
Mahrbacher was the first to be tried by
Mr.. Edison. The light was flashed be-
fore his eyes and gradually the opera
tor turned on the y ray current strong
er and stronger. Finally, as the strong
est light was reached Mahrbacher
tremblingly announced that he could
see glittering substance. Mr.. Edison's
face frightened and again the tube was
changed.
Kallensee then stood before the X
ray and gazed unblinkingly at it for
some time Another light was
thrown, and with almost a sob the man
cried: 81 can see a light. It's burning
now, isn't it? can see"
The best result was reached by the
incandescent light in red globe, and
this gave Edison a clew that may be
important. Many experiments were
tried, by the use of direct rays and also
the Horoscope, but with no better re-
suits.
After working for two hours Mr. Ed
ison concluded to postpone the expert
ments for time. AS the men left him
he said to them:
Don't he discouraged, men. know
it is awfully bard to be blind, but we
will find a cure for you yet"
The result of this test was not as sat
sfactory as it might have been had the
persons experimental with been of
hirG order of intelligence. Comment
ing upon this Mr.. Edison said:
"Jacob Mahrh0 cher and Otto Kalleu-
see were not the right kind of subjects.
| want thoroughly intelligent man,
one who can explain his sensations to
me as / go along, for without knowing
these ! am as much in the dark as he is.
These men could not tell me what they
saw. They we're hystcrical withdelight
at being able to see anything, and were
sure they would soon be able to read
fine print by candle light. All knew
is what they could tell me, and that
wasn't much. They said they saw
points of fire daaee before their eye4
when the current was on, and we're in
Egyptian darkness when it was off.
did net have the apparatus to make the
test that VIII he made later on. I have
Simply pointed the way and there is no
tclli5E Who viii make the final discoy-
cry. Ii may be made in Germany, San
Francisco, or France, or here in West
Orapge.'
Why should not these persons use
your flUorescope?" was asked of the
NiHA'O.
That is out of the question" Mr.. Ed
ison replied. "The tlourescope is ordi-
nary daylight. Ii simply converts the
uneErlairahle Roentgen ray into or
linary light by rejecting Il on particles
Of calcium turgstate. This mineral has
the property OF converting the invisible
ray into light. Put the Rocntgen ray
into a dark box and you have ateo.nte
night. Put into that box cyeta!s OF tie
simple calcium tungstate and you haze
light. If we had always known the
Roant tgen ray we should have regarded
the tungstate calcium as o phosphores'
cent mineral they have such an affinity
for each other. These two make the
| flouregcope; 50, you see, they would do
| the blind man no good.
! Tremendous interest was aroused