Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1921-12-10
Operates Lathes, Drill Presses,
Grinders and Other Machines
in Machine Shop.
TAKING UNIVERSITY COURSE
FoOunan in Shop Says He Is as aooo
an the Best and Better Than Many
Reads Micrometer
Readily.

Ann Arbor, Mich.-Blind Geraia
Enslng of Grand Rapids Is working
In the engineering shops of the Uni
yersity of Michigan. and daily OPP
crates Iathes, drill presses, grinders
shapers and planners, and according TO
the shop foreman, e. NJ. Sweet, he Is
doing ii as well as the best, n bet
ter than nos of the other students In
the shop.
Ensing has been blind since he was
eight years old. He Is studying In the
university on a Red Cross scholarship
for. the blind, given by the Detroit
chapter of the national organization.
He has pledged himself to devote him-
self to teaching other blind people
how to become seif-supportlng after
he has completed his work here. Fol
the past FIVE years he has taught the
blind the art of basketry, which he
himself learned In the Michigan
School for the Blind, and has taught
them other trades also.
Help for Sishtless.
II demonstrated to my own salts
faction that blind men could work on
factory machines" he said, 'but ! had
difficulty In getting places for the
blind. Then came the Red Cross
scholarship offer. | will get to know
the men and they to know me and my
work. They will see what a blind
man a do, and / believe they will
help to open the doors of the manu-
featuring plants to the sightless. OF
course in shops Of special production
where the work must be done from
a blue print, the blind mar would be
too greatly handicapped, and In shops
where there is a great deal Of noise
there is a great hazard for him."
Ensing came to The university about
six months ago and was led through
the shops, past the whirling ma
chinery, and told where each piece set,
and what 1t was and where there were
belts in which his clothing might get
tangled. After that he threaded his
way among the machines without help,
and operated his own machine with
out accident. Some of the machinery
he operates makes above 800 revolu-
tions a minute.
Ensing believes drill pressure ma
chimes lend themselves especially well
to blind operators. Woodworking
factories offer greater opportunities
to the sightless than the woodworking
Industries do. The greatest possibili-
ties for the blind operators, he be-
fieves. will be found in the plant Of
quantity production of small articles.
Foreman Sweet says: "Mr. Ensing's
work is not performed automatically.
as n might suppose. 1t can't be
done that way On some of the ma
chimes. He reasons, and he e with
his sensitive fingers what another man
sees with his eyes. We allow every
student a limit of $1,000 of an inch
In the work he does, but Mr.. Ensing
never uses up that margin. | can't
say the same of most of them"
Proves His Efficiency.
The foreman admitted that he saw
Easing come into the shops with dread.
"When he wanted to be put on the
planer ! rebelled, but after the first
day on the planer | forgot all about 1t.
He reads a micrometer as accurately
and as seadfiy as any other student.
he has rugged up a little contrlvance
that he attaches to the Instrument
Just two rubber bands and a needle