New-York tribune., 1909-03-25
z YPE FOR BLIND PUPILS
HELEN KELLER QUOTED.
Board of Education Discusses n. Y.
Point and Braille Systems.

IN trying 10 decide whether the American brallIe
or New York point system should be adopted by
the Board OF Education in teaching blind children
In the public schools a number OF advocates OF =
both styles of type submitted their views before
the elementary schools committee at the Board OF
Education Building last night Considerable feel
Ing was exhibited. New York point was charac-
terized worn out and decayed; the Braille was
said to be too expensive a system to think or
adopting here.
There was prevailing sentiment, however. that
the advocates of the American BrailIe system had
distinct advantage when Miss wnifred Holt
secretary OF the New York Association for the
Blind. read letter from Miss Helen Keller IN
which she anayzed her reasons for preferrng the
Braille method, and said that she had always
found New York point "a difficult unsatisfactory
system"
Miss Holt prefaced the reading Of the letter by
say ying that Miss Keller would have addressed the
committee in person, her interest In the question
was strong. but that illness prevented Miss
Keller reads all types. she said. and was there
fore interested not much for her own advan-
tage as for that of the large number OF blind per-
sons who might not share in her good fortune
Between these two systems" the letter said. 1t
seems to me there can be question when the
facts are all properly presented to the committee
II continued
New York Point is much harder for me to read
than American Braile II wears my readlng ms s9
to travel over letters three dots wide and Two
letters two dots wide and three high. they are
IN Aeresn m esnheT snv Of the letters which get
ia New York Point. The writer's evidently have
Of the letters which receive in the two systems.
far larger proportion are well written IN Amer
note too. that In the great world Of the the blind
chimes for It are made only in New York, and
write only New York Point On the other hand
England and America have owned German and
American machines which placed me in com
I am sure that in all important respects Ameri-
sse Ha # MEETS e sTPe4e to the sGw needs of * caP3a
reading
Miss Holt said:
| For years in japan. England and elsewhere, for
slider has been decided by giving the blind children
and "A American Braile ali Of these Braiiies first
so ! taas csp t99 Sa9 a6ta 6niG 6f Bacsn
by studying further on the same lines s IateT read
postage for T the Blind is free now in places
and will soon probably be so generally the x 9lI1: md
beautiful world, stilI have the consolation OF OF
eomPanionsRp hSRR Of the wise men and Of ali
| The blind make admirable secretaries and stenog-
raphers. These notes were taken sna wrltIsn zen %, Dy
+ On nay az rem Is empIoved on technical work
for a lawyer. These shorthand notes are taken IN
If We keep our ideal of giving fair chance to
the blind can we afioTd 10 resa SiSdng Fl S 4eien
Keller-to be inadequate IN reading ana WIRING ing 81
and which is also unrelated any of the prints in
| tbe because
blind child has heritage of New YORK PolnJ nGoKs
in the libraries? Do We force the seeing child 10
! read ANYTHING but the best printed ana up 10 ddte
| textbooks? Some of the Board OF Education 5 own
textbooks can be had in Braille There are alreduy
| many publications in IT, and money for more
There were present about hundred teachers
sl!perintendents Of blind schools and blind stu
dents Although the point system IS now IN use
,n this citv the recognition which has been given
IN the Braille system by Massachusetts. Pennsyi-
vania and Michigan has drawn the attention OF the
educational authorities their relative merits
Those who spoke for the point system were Dr-
Horace Waite superintendent of the New York
School for the Blind; John F Bledsoe, or the Mary
| land school for the Blind. at Baltimore; the Rev
Henry q Dwight OF the American Bible Society;
the Rev Henry Dale Gantz, secretary or the so
| cietv ~ Religious Literature for the Blind, and
| Reniamin Bernstein and Arthur Baker Two olnd
| students at Columbia University
! Superintendent Waite said that II would cost
s3no 00 to duplicate In Braille the literature extan
| in point type. He said that the latter system
/ had been success for forty years He exhibited
| some dictionaries to reproduce which In Bralile
he said could only be done at great outlay OF time
and money. , -,
Arthur Jewett of thesIinois School for the blInu'
caused much interest by reading his address by
| the aid Of his fingers. which he moved rapidly
| across the manuscript
Mt bernstein said that the blind should be al
| lowed to choose
The board will take up the question soon