Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-02-03
Frederic Haskin's Letter
MUTE WORKMEN

Washington, D. c.. Jan. 31.-The
theory that the individual who has
suffered some misfortune and lost
some faculty which seems fndis-
pensable to industrial usefulness Is
not . good buy on the labor mar
ket has again been dispfoven. One
Of the big rubber companies in
Akron, Ohio, has placed on its pay
roll 800 people who can neither
hear nor speak, and these handi-
capped individuals have demon
strated that they are as efficient as
any other group in the entire or
ganization.
About this group of actual work
ers is granted IS many more Of
their kind, dependents upon them,
and thus there has developed at
Akron the largest colony Of
"silents" that is to be found In the
industrial life Of the nation. They
take their places as independent,
self-reliant citizens, who ask NO
more indulgence than do the best
equipped members OF society.
The successful employment Of
this group Of mute workers is an
additional proof of a theory that has
been developing in the west in the
past few years. theory that here
are places in industry into which
handicapped individuals can be
fitted and in which they will serve
as effectively as though they we're
in every way normal.
The handicap bureau Of Chicago
gave this theory the best demon
stration. 1t persuaded employees to
look over their plants and find the
places into which one-legged peo-
pie, and old people would fit as
we'll as the young and strong. 1t
supplied these handicapped per-
sons for these special positions.
The handicaps were so earnest in
their attempts to make good, be-
cause it was almost a matter of
life and death with them, that they
often proved better workmen at
certain tasks than normal workers.
This is found to be true of the
mutes at Akron. In a big plant
there are many posts in which
hearing and speech are unneces-
sary. The person without hearing
escapes annoyance from the noise.
The person without speech is less
likely to be diverted from a task
which required concentration, if he
cannot join in the talk about him.
The lack Of speech and hearing
does not necessarily diminish mel
tai or physical alertness. On the
contrary such deprivation may be
conducive to even keener mentality
finer degree Of sensitiveness and
higher sensibility, all Of which in
hcrit traits make the deaf mute
unusually efficient and highly de-
sirable for certain kinds Of indus
trial work.
AS strikingly corroborative OF the
contention that a high degree OF
general mentality is found among
deaf mute employees, are records
showing that in the psychological
tests given in this factory, similar
to the army's psychological tests
deaf mute men and women in the
factory and main offices in Akron
attained higher average grades than
any other group Of workers.
Recently officials OF the company
were persuaded to give deaf mute
factory girls chance at Office
work. Skeptical at first, they were
agreeably surprised at the rapidity
with which the deaf mute girls
grasped details and successfully
overcame their handicaps. Sc
mentally alert, SO quick to grasp
ideas, so painstakingly efficient and
so determined to succeed was one
Of these deaf mute girls, that with
in two weeks she was performing
unassisted and in a highly salts
factory manner, work which 1t had
taken her immediate predecessor, 3
girl who could both speak and hear
nearly seven weeks to master. And