The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-15
THE BLIND ARE
NOW INDEPENDENT
Michigan's Sightless Are Self
Supporting
TAUGHT TO USE HANDS
At the state Employment Institution.
Books and Plays Are offered for
Their Especial Amusement-A
Fine Library
TAUGHT TO USE HANDS
From the Detroit News-Tribune.

r From the Detroit News-Trlbune.
The blind of Michigan have for ma n,
2 years had an association for the com
< mon good among themselves. 1t earis
, began an agitation for the establish
ment of an industrial home for the
} blind which should be harbor o
refuge to those who might otherwise
despair. AS early as 1900 an attempt
was made by the Blind Peoples Wei
/, fare association to establish an employ
ment bureau for the blind. but the en-
terprise failed for lack of funds. inc
influential among the blind, however
among whom were number OF alumni
of the University of Michigan, never
ceased their activities in benalf OF their
fellow unfortunates, with the result
that three years later a law was Sc
cured founding the Michigan Employ
lnent Institution for the Blind. Sagi-
nav was selected as the seat of the In
stitution and $4,000 was appropriated
for the erection of buildings.
Two things impress the visitor to
the institution at every turn: The re-
lsiliency of human nature and the mar
velous adaptability of the human body.
1t would be natural to expect that the
Totally blind would become morose and
sad Quite the contrary. The long line
of sightless men will march in to din
ner talking and laughing gayly, as
would any group of men in thu posses
sion of all their senses and In tie most
favorable circumstances. 1t is mar
velous to see with what freedom they
thread tn cir way among obstacles In
rooms with which they are familiar.
Each man goes directly to his place at
the table without the least hesitation
or fumbling. One reaches his chair by
passing around an upright post. How
The knows that it Is there has never
been explained. Even the blind man
himself cannot tell more than tDat he
seems to feel an obstacle. The Amos :
phere near a wall seems different to
him. 1t may be the eddying back o.
currents of air, it may be the reflection
lof the sound of his footballs, II may be
| some sixth sense not yet explained,
some attribute of that mysterious sub
CONSCIOUS self of which we hear SO much
and know SO little, but whatever 1t is,
it operates almost infallibly to protect
the blind.
| They Learn Quickly
The rapidity with which these men
and women learn to do work requiring
considerable technical skill even In
those who can see. Is another source of
wonder to all visitors to the institu-
ton. On the upper floor of the mems
worksh op are the apprentices. WatcL
the young fellow who Is beginning the
making of a broom. He is a new ar
rival. and the consciousness of his ter
rible loss is still strong within him.
His sightless eyes are bent upon tho.
work through force of habit, and the
tense drawn muscles of the face show
THAT the VIII ole physical nature is strain
ling to visualize. On the floor below a
man is working who came to the insti-
tuition several years ago, quite as hope
less and bungling. Now he is maxim &
five or six dozen brooms a day.
He no longer defects his eyes to mis-
| work. His working eyes are in the tips
of his fingers. Deity he catches the corn,
| the wire whirs round and round, the
product grows clean and even and
| smooth while the workman with placid
brow gazes away into those infinite Wis
las which seem to open up to the blind
a vision unhampered by the sordid work
| Of the hands. The man has been lifted
up from hopelessness and restitution to
the ability to support himself and his
| family. This facility in work is the one
| thing that impreses the visitor most deep
matically. The mind seems to be left
free to- an extent hardly possible to those
| who direct their activities by sight.
Here Is a woman weaving. The shuttle
| fairly flies back and forth and the web
| grows smooth and beautiful, but all the
| time the workers real spirit seems to be
| unfettered by the exacting details of her
work Another Is sorting broom corn; a
whole room full of merry chattering
| women are making feather busters.
| Cheerfulness and good humor seem 10
pervade the whole institution in marked
contrast to the doleful expression asso-
Iciated with the faces of the solitary blind
occasionally seen on city streets. The Sc
cret seems to lie in the feeling of conf
dence and the sense of usefulness which
the possession OF skill brings to those
who are thus afflicted.
Fine Library
There are occasional pathetic instances
of the clnging of the blind to the asso-
Citations of the life before their anlcton
came upon them. Every woman's room
is fitted up with all the little bits OF Or
namenation so dear to the feminine heart
The walls must have their pictures,
though the eyes can never again sec
j them. Some subtle satisfaction Is found
in passing the delicate hands over the
frames and smooth glass; some associa-
ton which reaches back into the GLAD
sunlight before the long night CLOSED H.
The chapel in the administration building
is used a sa place OF entertainment, ano
frequent amateur concerts given by the
blino. together with the long series OF re-
hearsals, help to relieve the monotony
of life outside of working hours. In an
other part of the building is library OF
several thousand volumes In the curious
raised letters which the blind read
Among these books are found large
number of standard works, Including
some of the best fiction. To supplement
this necessarily restricted collection OF
reaCing matter, an officer devotes five
evening hours a week reading aloud from
Gull emit newspapers and magazines to al
who care to listen. Lectures. too, are
frequently given by outside talent, ana
religious services are regularly held by
pastors of the various city churches.
With head and hand thus occupied, the
general cheerfulness and varied daily ex'
periences of the students for SO they
MAJ be called in this institution SO dear
! Nv approach those of the average either
in normal communities as to render exist
!, encc not merely tolerable, but r1ch II
! Joyous appreciation of life
Hunter Vaughn Dies