The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-04

Z The Americans people have been lib- eral in their gifts to the blind. Their attitude has been one of sincere tn- terest and kindly expectation of suc- cess. There has been generous pro- vision to educate the children and to surround the aged with comfort. Yet the truth forces itself upon those who study the problem that much remains to be done, that there is some import ant work which has not been even started in many of our States.
 Much Blindness Unnecessary.
 To begin at the beginning. we have found that much blindness is unnec- the result of disease which can be averted by timely treatment. Then the instruction of parents and friends in the care of blind children needs to be carried to every corner of the country. We have before us a long campaign of education to teach parents that they must encourage sightless children to romp and play and grow strong as their seeing brothers and sis ters do Failure to understand this, and the natural inclination to shield and pamper defective chill dren impose upon the schools the un- necessary burden of straightening crooked backs and deformed limbs and correcting nervous habits. engendercd
 
 home. The backward condition of the pupils when they enter the schools for the blind accounts in part for the fail- ure of some of our institutions in the work they are intended to do. The failure is due partly to the inade- quacy of the schools themselves. Thus we find need of improvement in -ra!n- ing from babyhood to adult life: and finally we discover a large class of adult blind persons for whom, as yet, no provision has been made in most American communities.
 The records recently gathered by in- vestigators show that even the edu- cated. industrious blind cannot earn their living without more special as- are so severely handicapped through out life that they cannot shift for themselves. Even after careful train ing and apprenticeship, they still need help to find their place in the world of workers, a world which often does not believe that they can work. Step by step they must prove their ability. American men and women are living idle. dependent lives. The cause of their unproductive dependence is the error of not carrying their education far enough. and of not providing them with suitable employment I can ex- plain the situation by outlining what seems to be in the main tendency of the education of the blind in Europe.
 The effort there Is to give them trades and handicrafts by means of which they can earn their bread, or part of it. The aim of the best Euro- pean education is to make each indi- vidual self-supporting. The blind re. quire special teaching to enable them to use the senses of hearing and touch in the place of sight, to live and toll in the dark.
 Odd Beliefs About Powers of the Blind.
 When philanthropists first approach the problem, they expect that educa- ton will develop in the blind extraor- dinary mental capacities. They reason that blind persons shut out from every day distractions will enjoy great con- centration of mind, and as a result will be poets, musicians and thinkers. Such was the dream of valetin Hauy in France and pr. s. G. Howe in Boston. and such today Is the dream of the good Queen of Roumania. But experf- ence taught Hauy and Howe that the poets the musicians, and the philoso- phers were not forthcoming. We have to deal with a miscellaneous class of defective persons who are often not only blind, but weak from the very cause that destroyed their sight. From confinement and want of exercise they are often deficient in vitality and dulled in mind. In such conditions of body and mind genius can hardly four ish, It is true that blind men some- times have the divine spark in them. They have become distinguished in art. in science. in literature. But what ever eminence they have attained has been in spite of their misfortune, and not because of 1t. The great excep- tions cheer and encourage us; but they remain exceptions. The question is what shall be done with the uninspired majority? In Europe 1t was soon de- termiried that the wisest course is not to direct their instruction wholly to- ward things of the intellect, but pro- vide trades and industries by means of which they can earn Livelihood The more advanced schools of Europe try to give them an education suited to their common intelligence and their uncommon infirmity, find the work of the schools is supplemented and made practical by societies which help them to put their education to the best use as ordinary, industrious, self-respect- ing citizens. The vicissitudes of busi- ness are so complicated that they easi- ly miss their few chances of self-sup- port, unless they have special organ izations to find positions for them. to advertise their abilities and persuade the community to give the blind mu
 sician, or teacher, or broom ker, or