Omaha daily bee., 1909-05-29
TEACHING THE BLIND TO WRITE
siRhtless Man ~Invents an Ingenious
syvtem of Tracing with Pen
or Pencil.

or Pencil.
A new system of teaching the blind to
write and a machine to aid them in the use
of pen or pencil nave been invented by Grin
C. Frost, a ~farsighted blind man, we'll
known in business and political circles of
the upper West Side Of New York. BY
means of the system and it's mechanical
auxiliary, the inventor, who has been him
self sightless for twenty-five years, Is con-
fident that any deprived of vision even
from birth can soon learn to write correctly
and rapidly. While three-fourths Of the
blind. having lost their sight comparatively
late in life, are able to write from recol-
lection, and require only mechanical aid in
making straight and separate lines, the mi
nority, who never practiced the art or saw
a written line, nave been seriously handi-
capped. 1t would seem, indeed, an i'm
possible task to instruct a congenitally
blind man In the art of chirography.
Mr.. Frost, who has been a governor of
the West Side Republican club for more
than two decades, early applied himself tn
the problem, and now believes he has solved
1t. He has already taught several con-
CENTRALLY sightless persons how to write.
Taking the hand of a pupil, he traces with
his forefinger on the palm a short, slant
@Ho AhAC AAOlh NHC uIeCllOu o. the WTlSI
downward. This line, he explains, is the
first element Of the alphabet. Another line,
Joining the first at the top and ~sIanting in
the opposite direction below, with a cross
bar at the middle, constitutes A. When
the side lines are straight and Joined by a
cross bar, as before. the letter H is formed.
Not more than one or two letters are given
In the first lesson, and the pupil is required
to write down Immediately what he has
learned. After acquiring the capital letters
In this fashion, aided by wooden alphabet
blocks with knifelike edges, the student
proceeds to learn lower case letters and
script. These forms are traced on the palm
as before, and In addition the student feels
or the three styles of letters carved on a
lead plate one below the other, as c~apitals.
lower case and script. The rough edges of
the letters inscribed on lead are easily fol-
lowed by sensitive fingers. and the memory
OF the blind Is notably good, so that shapes
once learned are not lost.
But without some mechanical device to
insure proper spacing and the like theo-
retical knowledge is vain. The evolution
OF Mr.. Frost's device began ten years ago,
when he Improved on corrugated card
board divisions will a stencil-like sheet
OF tin, through the regular spaces of
"hiSh no wrote on a sheet OF paper. Then
ne used successfully rubber bands, Irvine
and wire on a cigar cover frame to form
an equitable division Of spaces in which
he wrote.
The perfected device is the 'blindo-
graph 1t consists OF a wooden board,
with rubber and steel rollers at the upper
end which draw a sheet of paper between
steel guides and upder three cross wires,
about half an inch apart. The operator
uses the space above the first wire foI
name and address, If ne is writing a let
ter, and then has two spaces below for
two lines of writing, After filling these
spaces he presses a lever at the upper
left hand corner OF the board, and the
rollers move upward the sheet OF paper
an exact distance, giving two new spaces
for writing. The ends of the two lower
wires rest on springs, so that the wires
yield freely when the operator wishes &c
put the tail of q 'y" or ''g'' below the
line. The lowest wire. moreover has {
sliding ring. which serves as a marker 4
indicate wheye the sightless writer is in.
terrupted or stops TO think.
William II. Prescott, the American his
torian, who was practically blind, used
primitive writing device from 1916 until hi
death, in 1859. This apparatus. which wa.
invented by a member of the Wedgwoo,
family OF English potters for his own use
was called the photograph. II consistet
of a frame crossed by sixteen parable
wires, fastened into the sides, and holdin,
down a sheet OF blackened paper, like tn,
carbon paper now used in typewriter
and copying machines. Under this black
ened paper was placed a sheet of plat
: white note paper. Lead pencils bein
then comparatively unknown. a person US
ing the photograph wrote with a sort O
stylus OF ivory, agate or some other has,
substance upon the blackened paper, whic.
conveyed the impression to the white pa
per underneath. The brass wires guide,
the writer's hand and kept the point of tn
stylus somewhere near the line, The Mas
sachusetts Historical society has preserve,
the photograph used by Prescott.-Ney
Uorlx T-{h.,a