Omaha daily bee., 1915-11-05
FallacieS About Blindness


The writer was blinded by an accident In 1883.
THERE is probably abnormal condition Of life
i 90 little understood and appreciated and about
which much that Is erroneous has been writ
ten AZ that OF blindness
The very conditions under which the blind live
extreme and startling that there has gradually
been built up about them world OF fable and fancy
as extravagant, II not as thrilling as the world OF
fairy stories
1t Is to correct some OF these erroneous ideas, as
we'll TO point out other facts which little less
remarkable though truthful, that this article Is
written.
have had hundreds Of people ask II could
tell color by the Of touch. How any sensible
could get the idea that II is possible to tell
color from the OF touch Is amazing II is prob
ably partly due TO the fact that the public wants TO
be all sorts Of wild things about the blind, and
also because blind folks. partly in fun and be-
they like TO asonish their friends. have prac-
ticed sort OF magic at their expense. l knew a
blind horse dealer could really tell the color of
a horse by the sense OF feeling. but the color itself
had nothing to do with the feat 1t all performed
through the fact that different coored horses had
different textured coats With some cOors the hair
was fine, while others coarse; some coats were
smooth and others rough Most blind people know
the colors OF the common flowers. and when friend
places bouquet in your hand always able TO
recognize the flower by either the perfume the
touch, so usually make good guess as
to the color. although in these days OF new shades
and widely varegated flora even that little artifce
is rather dangerous
IL Is also a very common question TO have seeing
people ask the blind they can tell the denomination
Of different bills by the Of touch. and many
folks have told me that they knew blind people who
could
There is only general rule concerning bills
that gives any clue at all 70 their denomination.
and this has so many exceptions as to be entirely
worthless
Bills larger than one dollar are usually printed
upon heavier than dollar bills-or that
has been my impression. the Treasury department
might tell that that conclusion is erroneous,
Most blind people carry pocketbook with several
compartments and keep their bills of different denom
nations in different compartments they know
where they In that way they readily make
change and give the impression that they tell
bills by the sense OF touch.
There are things that they can do by the sense
of touch which remarkable such
threading needle by placing the end OF the thread
the tongue and showing the head OF the nede along
un the thread is thrust through the eye replacing
delicate springs in typewriter and keeping the ma
chine in order. recently successfully adjusted
reproducer on a graphonola which had become dis
cordant-
This is a very delicate piece Of mechanism and
its adjustment is usually attempted only by an ex-
pert.
II would almost a wonderful for one without
the sight to trace the margin on a printed
page OF book or newspaper to feel where the type
leaves off and the imprinted page begins Yet 1 can
do that while have known blind people who would
read raised print through four thicknesses of a silk
handkerchief, play plano with a spread placed
over the keyboard.
To tell the weight paper In ream lots within five
or ten pounds merely from feeling sheet would
seem to call for expert TOUCH yet that
Is possible well to tell much about the
and quality OF the paper and how IL was prepared
for book
1t is probably due as much to the extravaEant
things that have been written about them as to the
rather harmless practices OF the blind people them
selves that 80 many erroneous statements have goa
abroad.