Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-04
How the Blind Find Means to
Earn a Living.
ONE Is A PIANO TUNER
ANOTHER HAS MADE A FORTUNE
IN REAL ESTATE.
Others Are Making Comfortable In
comes From Insurance, Law
and Music.
Copyright, 1902, By Walter Morris.)

NSopyiiShe, ASV~, " Naitef npiiiS''
THE poor fellow is blind; he can't do
much of anything except depend on 9TH
ers," explained the sympathetic man in the
street car to the small boy with him.
The blind man heard. He turned toward
the speaker.
You are wrong" he answered. smiling
I'VE do a great deal Some day. when you
get time. come to this address and 1 will
| try to show you something that will inter-
est you
The blind man fumbled in a pocket and
presently handed a card to the man. 1t
read: "Armin Schotte, Piano Tuner"
A few days later the man stepped into
the piano house where Mr.. Schotte is regu-
larly employed. He asked for the tuner.
Sorry. but you can't him." said the
manager; hes upstairs with Paderewski.
tuning piano for rrfm''
The visitor showed the establishment he
felt.
Yes said the manager he always
tunes Paderewski's pianos. when he is in
this country. and other eminent piansts
and many concert singers make demands
on his time. He's the busiest man
in the store. for every one who de-
ponds on the instrument for living wants
him to keep his plano in shape. And he
is not only a tuner; he is a splendid must
clan on half dozen instruments and
Ol HluSlC. L nedTQ IaQereWSkl praise
one of his compositions not an hour ago."
Thousands Earn Their Living.
This expert piano tuner. whose yearly in
come is away up In the thousands. is only
one Of thousands of blind men and women
in this country who are earning their own
way through the world
Search for the blind in a large city-where
they are always numerous-and you will
ers. piano teachers, organists and choir
leaders, experts with all kinds of musical
instruments. repairers of clocks, mattress,
broom and brush manufacturers and upho-
StererS. In addition, you viii find several
who keep stores that retail the products of
the little manufactures run by men sim
ilarly afflicted; one or two lawyers. half
dozen real estate dealers and as many fire
and life insurance brokers and agents.
Go to the homes of these blind makers,
and to other homes. and you will find blind
women who do plain sewing. who cook.
scrub floors, take in washing and ironing,
make laces that rival the silky webs from
the old worlds lace centers. do exquisite
fancy work, and build the sort of dainty
basketware which ornaments milady's bou-
doir. You will also find blind women who
are Mattresses in private boarding houses,
blind women who teach in elocution schools
and one or two colleges. blind women who
emboss letters for other blind, and blind
women who teach music.
All told there are 6S2 blind in New York
city who are self-supporting by means of
these occupations. In Philadelphia in one
place alone-the Working Home for Blind
Men-250 men secure livelihood by manu-
featuring br oomS.
A Blind Manufacturer.
At the head of this factory, of the
largest of it's kind in the east. is blind
man. Those who have come in contact
with him say there is no shrewder dealer in
=
to be worth nearly s2o0,O0O, all made out Of
seaside land. His wife describes to him a
piece of property that he may think of
buying, tells him its environments, and
then he takes a day two to think 1t
over and draw conclusions. Sometimes he
buys, sometimes he doesn't; but he has
made a fortune out of real estate that once
was the despair Of sighted owners and
Spectators.
There is another capable blind man in the
real estate business in New York. He is a
lawyer, too. and he got his degree by at
tending lectures and having a boy read
aloud to him many heavy volumes for
eight years. He has a fair civil practice.
But he has time to dabble in real estate,
and in many suburban towns in New Jer-
sey his transactions are well known and
regarded as wise. His method of selecting
property is similar to that of the Phila-
delphia man. He has memorized numerous
law books to such a point that he rarely
finds it necessary, when getting up brief,
to have clerk look up the law for him.
Touch the Great Guide.
Scarcely any of III, working blind need
assistance business.
The newsstand man, even though the
roar of the city is all about him. can tell
the football of a customer as he approaches
the stand, and by the distinctive feel of
the paper wanted pull it out from mass
of copies of all the different local papers.
| There 2DO SUCH wage earnerS IN New
York alone.
The mattress maker sews together the
cover. He runs the hair cleaning and tear
ing machine. He does the Stuffing. not for