The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-05-30
Dictionary FOR
BLIND PEOPLE
First General Sexicon of Kind
Published
CONTAINS 100000 WORDS
World Has Taken 119 Years
to Get so Far
100000 WORDS

There is just out fresh from the pub
| Usher the first general dictionary ever
published in any country or any language
for the use of the blind. 1t is published
by the Maryland School for the Blind,
and contains 1900 words and is in eight
cen volumes. with complete diacriticaI
marks and definitions.
1t took the world just 119 years to reach
this point in the education of the blind
for it was in 1854 that Able Houay pro-
duced his first embossed books in Paris,
printed by his own pupils. There is an in
teresting chapter in book making in the
interim.
The Able Houays pupils being brought
to read before the court, the new art
created a vast sensation. and several
editions of books for the blind were
printed. They were so expensive that
very few blind could buy they, and stin
fewer could read them after they were
bought
These costly editions being thereupon
sold for waste paper, the art fell into
disuse for thirty years. Being then re-
vived by Gall, of Ediburg It ran a
checkered course for many years. almost
cause money could be got to print the
Bible when it could not be had for any
other book.
In the last ten years more books have
been printed for the blind than in all pre-
vious time. This is due largely to the
rapid spread OF the New York point sys-
TEN of printing for thebind. The new
dictionary. as well as all the books from
the Maryland school priG:ery. = printed
in New York point
The American Printing House for the
Blind at Louisville which has an annual
subsidy of $4,000 from the government
for printing text books Tor the blind ex-
ponds this sum entirely in New York
point printing. The annual appropriation
of $1,000 by the State of New York for
the publicat ton of general literature for
the blind department of the State Library
at Albany goes into New York Point The
International Sunday School Lessons go
out weekly over the United States in
New York point.
These periodicals are published in IL.
There is an excellent musical library in
it, including a dictionary of $500 musical
terms The society of st. Francs Xavier
uses the system in its publishing house
for the blind
The literature of the blind was for
years confined to a first reader. from
which it skipped straight to the Bible.
Paradise Lost" Lardner's History Of
the World" and a few strictly popular
works The hiatus between was left I'M
filled. save as now and then a religious
book was cast into the aching void, the
a - Hr~rfn~ to
be more devoted TO religious literature
than other classes Of the population
library Of embossed literature has been
growing ny leaps and bounds. world
OF delight has been laid beneath the SEN
sitive fingers 81 the blind. They may
now read for themselves Bob Son OF
Battle" Bonnie Biier Bush. Via Cru
els. "Rab and His Friends. Wild AMI
mails have known How the Other
Half Lives Two Little Confederate
Shakespeare. Homer. Dante, Schiller.
travels. adventure. biography. history
poetry. fiction. ard juvenile literature
The reason for the previous raucity
lay primarily not in lack OF interest or
Of funds. but in the simple fact that The
blind did rot TO any extent read the
books they had. II Is in The big brick
building at the corner Of Thirty-fourth
street end Ninth avenue. the New York
Institute cor the blind. that the revolu-
ton has been wrought
When Superintendent William 2. Wait
took charSe he found that practically
none Of the pupils could read. he eX-
perimented very carefully fer two years.
with a Wow 70 statistics At the end az
that time he found that only a.e could
sttain the normal standard in reading.
that is. 10 words a minute q matter
unfamiliar but y the grade OF difficulty
70 which they were accustomed
OF the remaining pupils a large num-
Der could not read at all ard among
these were some Of the brightest minds
in the school Superintendent Wait took
six months or and went - visit all m
other schools IN the United States He
found practically the same conditions pre-
vaiiiar
Pupils who could read xith facility
parts az the Bible which was the COW
con reading book failed COMPLETELY -
simple bits q reading matter put fresh
into their hands They could. IN fact
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