Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-29
iE. cfAMD CLASS .a OFFICERS &the CoN6RE5sloNAL

group IS very touching incident in sup
port OF this In the course of telling tho
local secretary where Esperanto books
for the blind may he obtained tho wr1re1
mentions one source which is very highly
recommended. This source Is An old man
in Sweden He Is deaf and he has been
Blind from his birth But he has learned
the. fnser-;ip method Of reading. and haS1
become expert in writing the raised char
actsrs. Moreover, he has become an eE~;
pert Esperantist- Now he offers his Servs
Ices to his similarly affiicted brethren md
printing Esperanto books in the Englishi
Braiile for all groups that will ordoul
them. He hopes to make a living IN this
way. but II there Is any group that can
not afford 10 pay him for his labor he wile!
furnish il with the book II II will do no
NOR" than provide the material He do
mates his time ard his labor, which Is not
incon sdera BILE fer the good Of the cause
From Instances like this il can be seen
that the educators do not underestimate
the value OF Esperanto in bringing to-
gether the gentle people who although
they cannot see. have minds keen a.
their more fortunate fellow-men- The
blind Esperanto groups all over the world
are coming into touch with each other
more and more every day. The leaders Of
the movement. like Miss Giffen. hope that
soon all these groups Will be In CORE
spondeuce with each other and will be
mutually exchanging publications. and
thus counterbalancing by this extensive
Esperanto literature printed in suitable
characters for the sightless.
The Washington Esperanto group. the
members of which are all endowed with
the blessing of good sight. has not been
behindhand in extending a welcoming and
a helping hand to the blind students. The
club Of seeing people is the larger and
the older It includes in it's membership
some men and women who are very
prominent in government affairs and in
the social life of the nations capital.
Last month the members Of the Capitol
Club were invited to attend the regular
meeting of the larger organization. which
was held at the home of the correspond
ing secretary. Mrs. Wilbur f. Crafts.
The meeting was OF social character
as well for the purpose Of the Gus
tomary lesson The blind students demon
strated that they were not whit behind
the others in their aptitude for the
language. and received many compliments
from tie members of the older urganza-
ton for the remarkable progress which
they had already made An evidence or
this progress Is given by the fact that
the corresponding secretary of the capitol
Club Miss Katie Grady. afterward &C
knowledged Mrs. Crafts hospitality III
charming note written in the most correct
Esperanto.
Here in Washington the Library Of Con-
gresS has for many years had special
department set apart for those readers
who could not see. \ large room on the
first floor OF the magnificent library build
ing was set apart for this purpose, ana
here for the last eleven years. since the
Ton of Ia ne Z.
Miss Esther Josslyn G:tfan has lovingly
and sympathetically aided the sightess
persons who must depend on her. the
SUPERINTENDENT of the reading room for
the blind for guidance in their reading.
All the books in the reading room are
naturally in the raised characters which
the Blind read by passing their finger
tips over the surface of the thick paper
on which the characters have been made.
Miss Giffen is an expert at reading this
peculiar photography and teaches the
blind how TO decpher it, Her long and
useful work here has made her known
as one Of the most skillful teachers in the
United States. One feature of her
methods which has perhaps attracted
more attention than. any other is the
practice which she established i'm connec-
ton with the reading room. OF having
readings ny prominent authors and must
Gals by well known musicians for her
blind charges. These are held Several
times n week and are source of great
comfort 10 the sightleSs ones. Her eN-
ample has now been followed at a great
many other similar reading rooms in this
country.