The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1910-01-07

N> ises to make blindness a
WNMAN thing of the past. In fact,
SNEG the eminent eye specialists
nT Of New York say that there
- Y is a bright outlook for the
human eye by reason Of the great
progress made in the treatment of eye
diseases.
Medical regulations making the care
of the eyes in babies and the constant
inspection of the eyes of school chill
dren obligatory by law are rapidly
diminishing the causes which. in
years zone by, resulted in blindness,
says the New York Herald.
Nevertheless experts are agreed
that the distinctive feature of the
American eye is hyperopic astigmatism,
or farsightedness, due to the nervous
strain of American life, which causes
a shortness of the eyeball, as a result
of arrested development, as differenti-
ating from Germans, among whom
myiopia, or near-sightedness, is most
prevalent.
H%yperopia. or farsightedness, is,
however, not IN eye disease but mere
~ q COllOlllOll WllCl CduSGS lSdudCuCS,
nausea and nervous ailments peculiar
to the nervous tension of American
life. There is another cause, how
ever. that has much to do with the
strain on American eyes. and that is
the habit of reading badly printed
newspapers, books and magazines on
railway trains and street cars.
Too Close Print to Blame.
Even in the home the reading of
close print is acknowledged to be a
prolific cause of eye weakness. There
fore the action of the Herald in using
larger type in its news columns has
been widely commended.
So eminent an authority as DR.. J.
Herbert Claiborne in the treatment of
the eyes says: 1T was the rational
and reasonable thing to do in view of
the existing conditions. | have for a
long time been preaching in favor of
having all newspapers and books,
!. especially those devoted to educational
purposes. printed in large type
Spaces between letters and between
printed lines should be wider in order
to give ease to the eyes when reading
This fact has been at last recog
nized by the board of education, which
is 10Y taking care that all schoo.
: books shall be printed in larger type
l DR.. William II. Maxwell, city superin
4 tendent of schools, in speaking on this
t subject said: II have read a grea'
many things written by doctors on the
subject of the effect of illegible typ,
on the eyesight. The board of educa
ton adopted a new list of books las
> June, and in doing so care was takel
that all the books accepted wer'
printed in large type"
Furthermore, one of the chief care
- of the department of health of New
= York city is to see that the eyes O
~ the school children shall be in perfec
. condition. Mr.. Thomas Darlington
commissioner Of health, says: 9TH
a child of to-day will be the man Of t.
a morrow. and the hope mi outcome
q our existence as a people rests upo
8. that assurance of physical virilit
=. which we can offer to the future.
Service of Patriotism.
is 1.-THE world is awake as never b.
fore to the import of this danger thu
i. threatens. Saving the babies an
keeping the children healthy is M
merely humanitarian impulse. 1t
a. civic and national service and tn
10 highest type of patriotic duty.
VI "In considering the health of tn
0t baby and its chance for life, we mu.
10 take into account the conditions su
rounding its birth. For this purpos
- the division of child hygiene We
formed. This year five difere,
agencies have volunteered the servic,
Of nurses who have worked under O,
direction. The department has had
stan Of it, own. numbering IL. Du