Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-09-25
FINDING JJBS FOR CRlPPLES
Employment Bureaus for the Handi-
capped Supply the Want.
NEED FOR SPECIAL TRAINING
Many Avenues of Employment Open
20 Those who seem TO ne Help
less In the StruEsIe for
Existence.

begssr holds out in mute appeal two
haunting stumps OF arms Miserable apollo
gies for arms; both hands are missing.
Poor fellow! he'll never be able to do any
thing. people think and he reaps toll
from the passing crowd.
Well. what can he do? More things than
at first seem possible. He can learn stenog-
raphy. This is not a flippant Joke. August
Grembel Of Munich. Germany, was born
without hands. with the aid Of special
apparatus he writes with a pen and has
become fairly proficient as a stenographer.
Other kinds Of possible work are tending
news-stands or serving as tmekeepers and
watchmen. IL the man Is intelligent he
could answer questions at the Information
window in a railroad station.
When il is realized that every minute
some one In the United States is being
killed or injured, the need of an agency TO
find suitable jobs for the disabled is obvi-
Gus. Approximately 5O0,00O people a year
are injured in factories, mills and foundries.
by accidents on railroads. trolley cars, and
boats. and In mines and in other industrial
catastrophes
Help for the Helpless.
How are we to help the handicapped TO
earn a living? The special employment
bureaus for the handicapped IN New York
and Chicago partially answer the question.
"A porter who has lost "a foot must change
his work. The bureau finds him a posi-
ton minding private telephone exchange.
A typesetter lost his right hand from
blood poisoning His friends pided him and
thought he would never be able to work
again. 1t did seem so. He could not dress
himself or cut his own food. His self
reliance was gone. At the bureau he was
met with a braclng contempt you've
got two legs and two eyes and strength.
| Why, you might have lost both hands.
Then you would have been in a fix" The
Dpesetter was sent to a farmer on trial.
month later he was seen by the manager
of the bureau driving four-in-hand.
Often it is difficult to get a man into
self-reliant frame of mind. If he is suing
some company for damages he believes
that he will get more if he can plead that
he is unable to work. While waiting weeks,
months, and even years for the trial. he is
acquiring the habit of not working.
~ man who loses an arm is industrially
more seriously handicapped than one who
lacks a leg. Almost any trade calls for
two hands. There are possibilities open,
however such man can serve a tele-
phone operator in a small private exchange,
or theater usher or messenger, not to
mention tending a newsstand or serving
as timekeeper or Waterman. a armed
man is one of the telegraph operators on
great daily paper In New York receiv-
ing newspaper copy is one OF the hardest
tasks in the te!egrapher's trade outside Of
work in Wall street
when Age Comes On.
The disability of old age is the heaviest
| handicap of all. Two years ago many men
/ who had held steady jobs for decades lost
their work clerk who has labored for
thirty years in house dealing in wool is
practically unable to get out of the rut.
For such men places as errand boys,
| elevator operators, or hall porters are
some times secured. The choice is limited
and it is depressing to see men who have
held responsible posts reduced to work
! that is such a contrast to their past.
! Special employment bureaus are not
sufficient solution OF the problem. The
man with one leg, the woman with hip
disease, the girl with heart tIouble-these
! cannot compete on equality with the
! able bodied. Yet they may often be capable
! Of good work and worthy of more than the
! economic waste of mere dependence. To
overcome the handicap of physical and
mental defects special training is needed
| BY becoming expert in some trade they
/ will not nave to earn a precarious living
! as newsboys or drift into institutions
Two years ago 200 factories were can
vassed. Many excellent openings were
found for the handicapped in work which
permits the operator to labor while seated
and does not require unusual strain In
stitutions for training the blind, and the
deaf and dumb have already shown their
usefulness. Similar methods will succeed
with the handicapped. Factory work may
seem undesirable but the drudgery OF fixed
hours is Offset by the number of light
tasks that can be performed while seated.
Special Vacations.
Among occupations open to the handi-
capped apprentice. the artistic jewelry and
leather trades are foremost. The work
is done while seated. The materials are
J light The shops are we'll lit and sanitary
and the wages and hours good The artisan
has an opportunity to use creative talent
The manufacture OF flowers and feathers
is not so highly paid, unless the worker
becomes expert at making roses or ostrich
feathers.
In a piano factory the small parts OF
the machinery can be made by one who /.
]
ing skill, exacts no physical strength In
, the action department" hammers are Gu
. and covered with felt, keys overlaid with
ivory and valves made. all OF which II
light work. Hand folding is another pos
sioiity. In book binding case making.
or gluing and setting the covers int,
the binding, requires little physical strain
y Candy dipping is another skilled task tina
e does not require strength.
n A number Of occupations can be pursued
D either at home o. in small shop by thos
a who are unfit for factory life. Rugs, soft
I cushions piazza mats, etc, can be mad
> on small hand looms, The manufaetur
Of flannel and wooly toy animals or o
e Jig saw animals are other callings tina
: can be developed,
= The training necessary to fit cripples 10
= these callings must be furnished In specis
trade schools The school should conforT
in hours and regulations as far as possibl
to those prevailing in factories OF hig
!, standard Wages must be regulated b
the pay given in the trade. The step I
p the factory must be marked by an apprec
able increase OF pay. Wages may /
covered partly by sale. but before n
student can make saleable articles N
Hon r,ttat onuna from,