Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-05
LIGHT THROUGH WORK"---A METHOD
TO SECURE NEW LIFE FOR THE. BLIND

wife. Mr. -. his employer is so much
pleased with him that he sends him to
and from the office in a motor. have
never seen any human being who could
radiate JOY and success as this young man
does: who year ago thought that with
blindness. he had lost everything.
|
1.-The clubs for blind men and women of
the New York association are doing SPLEEN
didly. We recognize the Importance of
| keeping the work and play of blind men
and women entirely separate. Blind mar
riages are discouraged by the real friends
of the blind and by the best blind them
selves. Each family needs pair of
windows in it, says one Of our great
blind teachers know many blind
| couples who have been reduced to worse
| than beggary by their inability to help
know one blind family where there have
| been six blind children and in another
where for four generations, there have
been blind people. Encouragement of
| blind marriages is not cruel, it is the
greatest kindness to the blind themselves
and to the communities in which they
| live.
| The officers Of the Blind Mems Club are
| all blind. blind secretaries read the
minutes as at any other well-conducted
| meeting. The men are very Keen IN
keeping posted on up-to-date subjects.
There are political discussions and
speeches. by the members. their sighted
guests, or the sighted associate members.
The Women's Club is. as far as l
know. the first organization Of the kind.
Though its policy is completely directed
by it's blind officers. they have insisted
on having a sighted honorary president
and vice president and many sighted as
| sociate members, being faithful to their
policy of not segregating the blind. The
first movement suggested at the Women's
Club was to form committee to help the
poor blind. The first outing that the
club had. it raised money for. and in
vited over forty INDECENT blind women to
go to the country and to take sail on
naphtha launch. That sail and conse-
quent shipwreck Is among the historic
and dramatic episodes Of the organiza-
ton. At first we only had twelve blind
women who had the courage to go to the
club. at one meeting recently; there were
year old and it has branch in Brooklyn
that promises also to be an infant Her
cules. The very fact Of a blind person
having some place to go to where he or
she must appear clean and cheerful and
where they will meet intelligent and in
teresting people changes the attitude OF
the Individual. who for years has sat
useless and unwanted in the corner. be-
cause he was blind. The same effect OF
bringing a blind person out of his shell is
obtained through the ticket bureau. which
was the origin Of the New York Associa-
ton for the Blind. and which now has ten
branches. the latest in Switzerland. The
first ticket bureau has distributed over
5000 tickets for dramatic and musical
entertainments to blind persons suited to
receive these privileges. We have had
dirty impotent blind people who at first
have been refused tickets, but who later
through their desire to fit themselves to
receive them. have become clean, prompt.
even energetic individuals. ever since they
recognized the great truth that the asso-
citation no more than the world in general
gives something for nothing. that II you
wish to apply yourself to the Joys Of SYM
phonies and oratorios, you must first ap-
ply the shoe brush and the tooth brush
to yourself.
Perhaps one Of the most satisfactory
parts of our work in New York is the
fact that we have employed three blind
stenographers. The associations first re-
port was dictated and written by my pri-
vate secretary. who is totally without
sight. She also write this. She has re-
Gently had a pupil who learned stenog-
raphy in one week. when she wrote q
perfect letter for me.
MY secretary regards her blindness as
a privilege and talent given her by God.
how great their opportunities are.
There should not be a doctor, or a
nurse or q police officer or human be-
ing who has not the importance Impress
ed upon him of helping to prevent the
over 30 per cent of unnecessary blindness
in children. There should not be
an employer in a factory or a mine
where explosives, glass or steel filings and
quick lime are used who should not be
held responsible for the lack of providing
safety devices for the prevention Of blind
ness to his workmen.
THE blind can be beggars, and, as
among the sighted, some are failures.
They can also. however, be sculptors,
philosophers and architects in stone or
rhyme. Blind people are only seeing peo-
pie in the dark.
"A brilliant lawyer whom I had known
for some time came to see me the other
day at the Office of the association. I
told him Of a young man who had re-
recently lost his sight and pluck. Before I
realized 1t the lawyer was crying. He
tried to cover his embarrassment by say
ing: Excuse me. but I am not quite
used to it yet. 1 have just come from my
oculist. GU see. I cannot read now, and
the darkness is growing quickly for me,
too 1t may be some day for you or for
me.
blindness without opportunity is one of
the worst forms of slavery. Opportunity
to give new opportunities to every blind
child, to every blind man or woman. SO
that they may be able to do their best,
despite their handicap. to develop whatso-
ever ability God has given them
"a recent co-operator of the New York
Association for the Blind wrote this verse:
/" Though darkness comes.
None OF us here may shlrk.
Thou Light of Lights
Then give light through work."