The Cordova daily times., 1921-09-13
BAD EYES BRING
 INSANITY

By international News service) LOUISVILLE, Ky, Sept. 13.- The startling statement that poor eye sight leads to development of crim- inals and insane persons was made here by Dr. Reginald C. Augustine, president of the American Optome- tric Association. Dr. Augustine is on a lecture tour in the interests of American Eye Conservation" and insanity of the United States
 Fifty per cent of the criminality an dinsanity of the United States could be done away with by proper eye treatment in youth" he said
 Every advance of civilization in- creases the proportion of criminals md wealklings-all directly trace able to improper care of the eyes.
 Ninety per cent of the industrial accidents, as well as motor-car and train wrecks, are due to poor eyes.
 "One of the crimes of our civili zation is the attempt to make right handed children of those who are naturally left handed. People do not know that this is an eye condition.
 Eighty per cent of the educated people of the United States have curvature of the spine. with its ac- companying ills, due to improper "are during the physical formative periods.
 1 Neglect of a boys eyes when he s in the earlier grades of school ef 1 fleets his entire health, and he finds difficulty in mastering his studies" he said. He leaves school untrained, uneducated and becomes hanger on on the fringe of society. He tation for any kind of easy money | Neglect of the eyes in youth is re- | sponsible for more than half the in mates of our penal institutions.
 "A large precentage of those now in asylums would never have been there had their eys been properly cared for in youth.
 Eye strain brings on poor health, nervousness, insomnia and other con ditions which result in insanity.
 With our increasing high special ization in occupations. our high ilu- imitation in cities and our mcchan- 1 ical devices We are rapidly build ing up a condition of strain which can only result in more criminals and insane unless we adopt some sane method of overcoming this tre- mendous strain which the eyes were never fitted to stand"
 One of the interesting facts brought out by Dr. Augustine in his work is that school children are being placed in serious danger of permanent dis ability through the use of school l desks now in vogue. Children are forced to bend far over to get their eyes in focus. with a resulting cur | ''A'Alt 'l tllt 9IlHt. i'i. -AHSN llnt 1 is urging the adoption of desks which will place books at right angles to a child's eyes while studying.
 Out Of g list of 1I4 occupations from trapper to diamond ponsher, i in the order of their strain on the eyes, school children are placed eighty-fifth
 To these declarations Dr. Augus- tine adds some interesting data on "city blindness" condition from which most city dwellers are be- lieved to suffer
 The question is frequently raised'' he points out "as to why our grand fathers had much better eyes than We; how they could see for great distances and for so many years. It's simple. They lived in the open coun. try, with nothing to block their vision. Their eyes became tuned to distances We of the cities have our view cut off by huge buildings where ever we turn, and our vision is thus hindered."