The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-04-02
M E N, W o M E N
 A ND THIN c s


 It extends cordial invitation to any one interested to join it's membership. The annual membership fee of $1 can be mailed or handed to Mrs Caroline P. Engsfeldt, chairman of the membership committee, at the public library.
 Your dollar will help it provide recre- ation and aid for the blind of Birmins- ham, Jefferson county and the entire state of Alabama. Did you know that Birmin gham is the official southern de- pository for Braille books for the blind people of the south, and that every day at the public library calls for books are received from blind people from South Carolina to Texas?
 It is interesting to learn that recently Nadopted for use in the entire United States, and that this system will be hereafter employed in the publishing Of all books for the blind and will be taught in all schools for the blind. This will standardize the literature for the blind, and will go a long ways towards making it possible for them to get the best possible books.
 The work of Louis Braille, a pupil and afterwards a professor of tho Institution National des Jeunes Aveugles, Paris, studied all the various methods in which arbitrary characters were used, reduc- ing the number of dots, Barbier's let ter, giving large number of ~eombina- tions. was too large to be covered by the finger in reading. It was as far back as 1884 that Braille perfected his system which has recently been revised, as stated, in the United States. I cant here go into the Braille alphabet but urge all who are interested to visit the public H. trary and let Mrs. Engsfeldt show you books and explain them to you.
 At present, however. Birmingham has no books in this revised Braille, the as sociation's first aim being to provide working library of such books to Il. the needs and requirements of as wide g range of the unfortunate blind as pos
 
 a definite need and provide for both in struction and recreation for many peo- pie in many communities The govern ment makes no charge for postage oii these books. But books for the blind are expensive and a large sum of money is needed to buy them.
 avg ay1,ip F1r fha it's size and make up will easily con vince you of it's greater cost than ordi- nary volumes set up in type from which plates are made. For instance. "A Book of Nursery Rhymes in Braille costs S. %, and How To Make Baskets" $. Enemy" cannot be purchased for less than $1650, and one copy of Theodore Roosevelt's Letters To His. Children" will cost S12.5o No publisher issuing novel for the blind expects it to be listed as "one of the best sellers" If you are slightly interested your dollar will es- tablish the fact; but if you are really anxious to help the blind to get IT. brary you can do it by consulting Mrs. Engsfeldt and arrange to donate a book, selecting title for yourself or letting her pick out one.
 Another definite aim of the association 1 is to provide instruction for blind peo- pie, and especially children, in the Bir- mingham district. 1t is> believed that there are also many children throughout the state who are unable to avail them selves of the education provided at our state school at Talladega, because of lack of transportation expenses and proper clothing. It is the desire of the association to aid any such children. This is blessed work and ought to make great appeal to fathers and mothers whose little ones are blessed with sight.
 We have a group of voluntary read CTS who read to them every Sunday aft ernoon from to o'clock, and there is an attendance of about 15, most of whom are men, About 40 are on our rolls, but acording to government reports about one out of every thousand are blind, so we should have almost 200. We would like to have visiting teacher to give adults instruction in the raised 1 type, and urge any children to avail themselves of the state school in Tai Iadega Talladega should have larger appropria ton so that they could do more effective work, although they are doing tha hest thai they can now
 l Miss Virginia Kelley ok Baltimore. who is the state organizer for the blind association for Maryland, has recently passed through Birmingham. says Mrs Engsfeldt, and chanced to see her for a few meonmts as she was changing cars She tells me that Maryland has or ganized an association for the blind in every county in the state and raised s1l0,0 900 for their work. Their idea is to far as possible by keping in touch with them and teaching them to care for 1 t,ierns elves. Women can be taught to care for their homes sweep, dust, cook or even raise chickens. She insists upon all learning to read the raised type. told past 70 as well as young. Vocational training should be compulsory. Boston and New York are making great pro- gress in their work, and we should do more of this work in the south, and particularly in Birmingham, as it is such an industrial, growing city.