Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1916-01-26
Ez555,!71
IS EXTENSION DIVISION Hgas
TX 1iEATIli lHSTRllC l0R BUREAU SSssAs2N
%s5Ts/ H.EDEARHo1h 0DIsEdDs ~
Shall the Blind Lead the Blind.

Five dollars for q pair of specta-
cIes. Absurd. II the boy needs
glasses, j can take him down to the
five and ten-cent store and get him
pair"
Sounds impossible, doesn't it? Yet
that is exactly the reception which
was given one school nurse when she
went to a mother in northern Wis
cOnsin town to tell her that an exam
nation of her boys eyes proved that
the sight of one of them was nearly
gone and that proper glasses were alb
solutely essential. Yet no one had
ever thought to look III his eyes for
the reason.
The nurse was puzzled. Finally she
asked if the boy might be allowed to
earn his glasses. The mother consent
ed. The boy was eagerly enthusiastic.
1t was up to the nurse to find the work.
She went about it in the best possible
way by asking the editor of the local
newspaper if he would print an adver-
tisement for the boy. The editor did
more. He published the story of the
boy who wanted work to pay for the
glasses which would save his eyes and
within half an hour after the paper
was on the street, business man had
teIephOned the school superintendent
to get the glasses and send the bill to
him. Other offers of help made it pos
sible to provide little girl, also found
to be in need of glasses, and to outfit
a boy with school clothing.
FTyI,o IfFfI0 rfCy.xr &c ron, fy,d OF, IF 70
responsiveness of humanity to the APP
peal of those in distress, especially
if the burden bearer is a little child.
Back Of it, however, is another lesson
that should not be overlooked, for the
attitude of the mother is but an eXag-
gerated expression of an Indifference
to the dangers of eye-strain and of
false ideas concerning the care of the
eyes which are far too common.
please don't advise the use of
glasses for children" was an appeal
sent me early in the history of this
Health instruction Bureau. 'By the
time they are grown they will need
two pairs and be helplessly afflicted
at thirty. Turn them, out Of your hot,
dry school houses, rather, and let them
learn in the open with the birds and
the rabbits"
Unfortunately the trying conditions
of modern life make demands on US
which must be met and nature some
times leaves defects which science
must supply. Our correspondent points
out a danger, however, the same dan
ger of which there is warning in the
mothers assertion that she could get
a pair of glasses for ten cents. For
many a mother, anxious to do the right
thing for her child, has paid five dol
lars for glasses no more suitable to
the needs than if she had bought the
ten cent variety.
If you have reason to suspect your
child is suffering from eve strain, if
the eyes water or tire easily, if they
are bloOdshot or the eyelids are red,
if headaches are frequent or the child
seems dull and fretful and backward
without apparent reason, consult the
best oculist you can find. The effect
of properly adjusted glasses may work
a miracle
Now, at the opening Of the new year,
is the time to give your child's eyes
special thought and attention. Whether
he needs glasses or not, he should be
taught the Importance of never sub
jecting his eyes to unnecessary strain.