The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-02
NATIONAL MOVEMENT FOR
 CONSERVATION OF VISION

That a large proportion of the blind
 ness existing at the present time could ! have been easily prevented, is main i tained in a recent bulletin issued by | serVation of Vision. This bulletin
 goes on to state that there is aIsc | a very large amount of defective wis ion, the American people being con- spicuous for poor eyesight and for the high proportion of the population who
 are slaves to eyeglasses and specta- cIes.
 The same measures, says the Asso- ciation, will tend toward both the pre- vention of blindness and the proven tion of poor eyesight, which 1t calls conservation Of vision. The general ignorance regarding the care and
 proper use of the eyes is responsible
 for most of the harm. While people know considerable about caring for their ether faculties, the person who
 knows much about his eyes is unusual
 trous at the present time on account of the ever growing demands through
 the increase of printed matter and the
 necessity for close eye work.
 Efforts to better the situation were
 started first by workers for the blind
 and then spread rapidly, the work be-
 ing taken up by the Russell Sage
 Foundation. Many prominent people
 of officers of the American Association
 for the Conservation of Vision com
 prising the following names: Presi- dent William H. Taft, Theodore Roose-
 welt, Joseph H. Choate, Louisa Lee
 Schuyler, Helen Keller, Jane Addams,
 Winifred Holt, Dr. Abraham Jacobi,
 Ella Fagg Young, David Starr Jor- dan, F. Park Lewis, Douglas c. Mo
 Murtrie and T. Commerford Martin The work will consist largely of pub lie education and the encourag cement of legislation for the protection of eye sight.
 At a recent meeting in New York city, the secretary, Douglas c. Me Murtrie, thus outlined some improve ments which the Association would attempt to accomplish: "One of the the possibility of babies being born blind. There are ten thousand per sons in the United States blind from this cause alone, yet the danger of such blindness can be entirely prevent ed by the simple operation of putting certain drops in the eyes of the baby at birth Fortunately the practice is spreading and it should be still further encouraged. Much harm results from industrial eye accidents and these can he prevented by various safety de vices
 Improper illumination is responsible for much harm, brilliant light sources which are visible causing eye strain and permanent injury. All lights of shaded so that the illumination is In places where the eyes are used to any great extent, as in scholos and factories, particular at tention should be paid to the condi- ton under which eye-work is done Tn many schools it has been found that the proportion of pupils with de- ,ective eyesight increases as the chill ] iren advance in the grades. This is, l of course, a matter of grave import | ance. Good eyesight is vital to the | pest efficiency in any line and it is | poor policy to permit it to be injured | unnecessarily.
 ''Tyhe eye is one of the most import l mt organs of the body as most Of our | is dependent upon it. When | people come to realize this and begin | o give attention to the care of their | yes conditions will rapidly improve" |