The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-09-02
BAD EYES BRING INSANITY
SAYS WELL KNOWN EXPERT
Fiffy Per ceat of crininaEsy Would
Be Prevented If Eyes Were
Treated.

q, Louisville, KY, Aug. 29.-The
startling statement that poor eye
sight leads to development Of crimi-
mails and insane persons was made
here by Or. Reginald C. Augustine
president Of the American Optome'
trc Association. DR.. Augustine is on
a lecture tour in the interest OF
american Eye Conservation"
"Fifty per cent Of the criminality
and insanity Of the United States
could be one away with by proper
eye treatment in youth" he said.
: 'fEvery advance Of civilization in
creases the proportion Of criminals
and weaklings-all directly trace
sble to improper care Of the eyes.
....eNinety per cent Of the industrial
accidents, as well as motor car and
train wrecks, are due to poor eyes.
zone Of the crimes Of our civil
Ssift ssaitiion is the attempt to make right
i6snded children of those who are
naturally ieft 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 &C.
esmpsnying ills due TO improper
care during the physical formative
periods. =: 2l. ':.:e-2- ...a:-. ..
ga,1Negiect of q boys eyes when he
is in the .esrfer health, and he finds
difficulty in mastering his studies"
he said. ssHe leaves school unframed
and becomes q hanger-on
,on. the fringe Of society. He knows
mo trade and is open to temptation
,fop! any kinds Of easy money. Neglect
iof the eyes in youth is responsible
for more than, half the inmates Of
our penal institutions. ....'
fihA large percentage Of those now
Ia, yasyluns.l would never have been
there haistheir eyes, been properly
searedlfor IN youth. :tas 49, >s. .
!. /. ss..s:Eye strain brings on poor health
,aeryousness, insomnia. and other con-
qsitions wAieh, result in insanity. !
aour Increasing Bigger
specialization in occupations, our
high illunlnation in cities and our
mechanical devices we are rapidly
;huildins up aHcondition Of strain
which, can only result in more crimi-
naas andsinsane nnless we adopt some
:ssre method Of overcoming this tre-
mendous strain which the eyes were
never fitted to stand. p .... :.
bi.ene aaof the, interesting . facts
brought OUT by Dr.. Augustine in his
work is that school children are be-
ing placed in serious danger of per-
u,anent disability through the use Of
school desks now in vogue. Children
are forced to bend far over to get
their eyes in focus, with a resulting
curvature Of the spine. DR.. Angus
tine is urging the aoption Of desks
which will place books at high angles
to a child's eyes while studying.
: Out, of list of ia occupations
from trapper to diamond polisher,
in the order Of their strain on the
eyes, school children are placed
eighty-ffth. .
To these declarations DR.. Angus
tine adds some interesting data on
"city blindness" a condition from
which most city dwellers are be-
ieted to suffer.
,s'"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 wher-
ever we Turn. and our vision is thus