The sun., 1909-01-31

there were about I 100 sightless persons
In Greater New York. The census dis
covered ., 800. and there are some add
lions TO that number every year.
Information as TO the whereabouts OF
the blind was sought from public REQ
ords. charitable organizations and In
sttutions and from the blind themselves.
Many who were described a. blind were
found not to be blind at all. and some
who we're said 10 be living had died.
0thsrs had moved. and II was difiicult
TO trace them. Altogether II vas u job
for the patient and the industrious.
When Il was over there we're 800 cards
showing whore the blind lived. how they
lost their sight. what relatives and friends
they had. what their vOcstions had been.
what their circumstances were and much
else that II was desirable for statistic loians
to know. All this was on the printed
formal side Of the card.
On the Other side was little intimate
personal history. IL told about tho
blind mans hopes and fears-whethsr
he was well treated at homo. whether he
was despondent or cheerful. what he
specially needed and 30 on.
The census didn't end with the first
enumeration. II hasn't ended yet. end
will not end as long a. the association
exists. At stated times. according TO the
necessities OF the case. a visitor from
the association calls on each OF the $500
blind folks. The f,rst enumerstors were
nearly all sighted persons, but the visi-
tors Are themselves blind. and all the
more valuable in their work for that
reason. They are able because OF their
common misfortune 10 establish more
intimate relations with those whom they
visit and TO bring back more useful In
formation.
The result Of this system is that the
growing II will note the fact that the
blind man has learned 10 read and write,
then that he has gone TO work and Is on
the way to self -sup pport, then that he is
much happier and healthier and some
times that when he begins 10 pay for hi-
own bed and board his relatives become
more kindly in their treatment OF him.
They are Illuminating documents, these
census cards.
The frst headquarters OF the associa-
ton was the homo Of Miss Holt, but when
the work expanded and It's resources in
creased they rented the building at IFS
Fast Fifty-ninth street and made II their
Office. school and salcsroom. and lately
they have tucked In q little workshop
for blind women, That In their most
recent development. There is a work
shop for blind men too
Much Of the associations work 90 far
hss been exploration and discovery. II
takes experiment TO nnd out what the
blind can do and what they can't. Often
the sightless devise new occupations for
themselves. and then the task Of the Asso-
citation Ia to At that industry into the
Affairs OF the practical world.
rere 10 an example: A blind girl was
a patient in . Nov York hospital. When
she was convalesoent she used to spend
much OF her time around the telephone
exchange OF the institution. Partly by
observation ear observation partly
by the kindness OF the operator she lear
the mechanism OF the switchboard apd
soon was capable Of operating it.
uht Wus uDooN"y' hCNaB upon W.
an offcer OF the association went to the
telephone company and asked for the
installation OF . switchboard at the once
in Fifty ninth street. The manager Of
the company vas inorsdulous. Il was
folly, he said 10 think OF employing the
blind as telephone operators and Il would
be unfair to encourage such hope.
But demonstration IL q hard arRum ent
to beat. and in the face Of il the telephone
man yielded. The girl from the hospital
went down to Cortiandt street and oper-
ated a switchboard. and the discussion
was over. The association got its own
switchboard and by means Of it has trained |
other men and women TO the trade.
AT rHE TELEPHONE AND TYPEweITER.
The girl who learned at the hospital !
became operator for q Wholesale dry
goods house downtown which keeps Q
dozen Telephones busy. She made an
alphabetical list in Brsills type OF the
calls which il WAS necessary for her to
know and arranged them on the wall
at her back. and whenever she wanted
ono Of these numbers she could find il
with her fingers more readily than you
could nnd 1t in the book. On the right
end OF her desk was . typewriter attached
by Q bracket. and whom messages came in
which had to be written she took them
with the machine. Memoranda for her
own use she kept on Braille slate.
When that woman resigned her posi- ton.
IL was to take better place with the Ziegler
Magazine for he Blind, but she kept IL
long enough to prove her fitness for the
work and inierentially the capacity OF
other blind people for the same employ
ment. Since then q blind telephone
operator has been engaged by a New
York newspaper. another does the i'm
portant work Of a hospital, including the
ambulance calls: the telephoning Of the
Association for the Blind is all intrusted
to the sightless. and several other places
have been found for them
But the demand is far below the possible
supply. Comparatively few employers
know that this work can be done by the
blind. and only q few OF those who do
know it have genuine confidence in the
fact. The blind man seeking work has
to prove Q great deal.
Another occupation in which the blind
can compete with the seeing is type
writing and stenography. Their unerring
fingers hnd the right keys and their acute
ears get the right words in diotation.
The FIRST annual report Of the association,
covering sevsnty-six printed pages. was
ell written in this way.
The blind use OF the typewriter il quite