The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-27
MISS KELLER AT FAIR
HIGH HoN0Rs PAID woNDERFuL
 ALABAMA GIRL.
Remarkable Speech by Her, Though Deaf, Dumb And Blind, Has Conquered in Fight
 for Knowledge.

Tor hnoWle0Ge.
 St.. Louis Oct 2s.---(special l-- With eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear. Helen Keller had by the sensitive touch of her hand and the wonderous sympathy of her intellect realised all the sights and melodies of the great Worlds Far. She was accorded an honor at St. Louis that belongs to no other living person--that of special day at the exposition. The event was one of the most memorable of the many record ed in the last six months.
 Long before the hour for the open. ing of Congress hall. where the exer- cises were held, the crowd began to gather. It came in the early hours of the morning at first by twos and threes and later in groups. At 10 o'clock 1t was a solid mass Of push ing humanity all intent upon reaching Congress hall. Those who were first to arrive crowded the hall to its ut most capacity and the guards kept back the 800 to 500 people eager to enter.
 some contemplating individuals bad se- cured stepiadders and climbed In. a number of very sedate old gentlemen and ladies coming by this entrance while the window seats, at least eight feet above the floor, were all filled.
 The front seats in the hall were reserved for the blind. deaf and dumb schools, and the afflicted ones formed a pathetic contrast to the hustle mass of not too well-mannered men ana wo- men who pressed forward. Tho guards were unable to manage the crowd. and President Francis, pil- oting Miss Keller. was obliged to slowly work his way to the front. Miss Keller seemed blissfully uncon- scious of it and as happy as a child out for holiday. She followed. one hand clasping that of her friend and teacher Miss Sullivan Her hair curl- ed about her face and her pretty flow CT hat was somewhat awry from the ordeal through which she had passed Her dainty pink and gray linen gown | was crushed and pulled. Her face | was flushed from the effort hut thero was a smile upon 1t as she took her place on the platform.
 ! President Francis occupied very | little time in his address of welcome, but after a few touching remarks, in which he showed how earnestly he ap- predicted the situation he introduced | Miss Keller.
 With a smile upon her lips she ad. vanced and breathless silence fell upon the audience. As Miss Keller l spoke in a low voice natural to her Miss Sullivan repeated the words: l "f had been asked to como here to- day." she said. land lend my. voice to I what is being done in the world for | the uplifting of those who struggle in unequal and untoward circumstances. | All these great halls of machinery power and art are the achievement of the strength of man when hls arm Is
 firm and his spirit unbound. In the midst of so much might achievement the presence of our convention here dem ons.rates that on his triumphant way
 man has not forgotten his weak vro. ther The many thousand people who have been invited to come here have
 been invited because of learning, skin
 or contributions to the wealth and duty of the world.
 T come not for sught that have done, but for what has been done for
 who see and hear. testify to what the | good and strong have done for deprIya ton and inf1rmfty. bring my evE- dence that able men and women are
 doing their best to unstop the ears of | the deaf. open the eyes of. the blind put
 speech on dumb lips, bring light and intelligence to darkened minds en-
 ter with you into the communion of
 living speech and in the joy of speech | express my heartfelt gratitude that the impeachment of dumbness has been re- moved from my tongue. Such Is my brief, but earnest message to those who have asked us to come here and those who sit before us
 The message of this Exposition is
 to work for the education of all peo-
 pie. including the sightless, the deaf
 and the dumb.
 Now within the great halls stand | pn nnIrr A~f f,ak -a
 art. Wonder stands the locomotive, an
 initiating distance, and the illustration Of the process of irrigation, which | has reclaimed the desert and in the
 has reclaimed his fellowmen and anri- lhilated darkness. The Louisiana Pur- chase is a great manifestation of all the
 forces of enlightenment and all mans
 thousand torches burn here at once The value of everything here is educa- .
 ton. This Exposition Is what it's dis ltinguished founder intended 1t to be Cat this point President Francis hesitated and Dr. Dobyn of Mississippi. took up
 the sentence and repeated It to the au-
 dience), world university. Here we
 see the machinery side by side with the intellectual processes that begot them. The root, the process, the fruit The Fair is an epitome of what the world is. Here all nations of the earth
 are brought together, so that each profits by the experience of all.
 We think no country since Eden has
 been so good to live in as ours. No nation, however, is as great as the sum
 of the achievements of all nations. All that is gathered here symbolizes the will Of the American people that there
 shall be an open way of education to all. no matter how poor their circum-
 stances or limited their capacities
 | 'The service of man to man shines ali the brighter They appeal to the
 instincts to help, more deeply and firmly implanted in our civilization than in any other age. All that these great halls contain tells us that the world Is on our side. The forces here displayed lift up my hands and support my weak feet. Science, nature and art
 say unto me. Thou art deaf and blind. but enter thou Into the kingdom of God. God bless the nation that pro-
 vides education for all her children. '" Following the talk of Miss Keller the | two talented blind twins, Lester and Tessie Van Zant. of the Kansas School | for the Blind. were lifted to the top | of the table. They played several vio- | lin solos. The scene was affecting and all over the crowded house men and | women were wiping their tears of sym l pathy. The only ones who did not seem more or less affected were the unfor- tunates themselves. Miss Keller smiled all the while the twins" in their im- passive way. fingered the strings of | their instruments. The last nImber | was a composition of their own. which | the little fellows played in the same | stoical fashion. At the close Miss Kel- | 1ar ImpyfaiveJv rushAd toWarda them