The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-24


summer. while standing near z
| wire fence in the midst of a thun,
/ derstorm, a 14-year-old boy was
stunned by lightning. A common
enough occurrence, you may think
but there was something most I'M
common about this one. The bos
had always had very poor vision
was nearly blind, in fact-but when
he recovered consciousness after
! the lightning bolt and looked about
| for his glasses, he found that he
did not need them. He could see
PERFECTLY
This case gives support to the
new ophthalmology, which declares
that the eye is perfect instrument
and that If we only learn to use it
perfectly we can all throw away
| our glasses. Myopia, hypern.etro-
pia and astagmatism are all de-
facts caused by eyestrain, it says,
and not by diseased or imperfect
visual organs. They are therefore
durable by proper methods of re-
Taxation, whereas the old ophthal-
motogy held that they were incur
able, being caused by imperfect ap-
paratus, defective from birth.
According to DR.. William II.
Bates, the father Of the new oph-
Technology, who has examined and
treated the eyes Of hundreds of
thousands of patients at his clinic
at the Harlem hospital here in New
York, seeing is a passive perform
ance, and with perfect vision there
is not the least effort. 1t is only
when we strain to see at distance
that we become myopic or near
sighted, and when We strain to see
at close quarters that We become
hypermetropic or far-sighted. I'll
we would only relax the eyes and |
not put forth such tremendous eff
fort, We would find our vision |
greatly improved
But how to relax the eyes? DIR.
Bates prescribes remembering !
black as one of the most efficac-;
ious methods. Close your eyes, put |
the palms of your hands across |
them, being careful to exert no |
pressure on the eyeballs, and re-
member black. Think of the black
est thing you know-a mans silk
hat, totally black cat or a black
velour curtain. This sounds easy,
but as a matter OF cat it is quite
the opposite. Few people can i'm
ag1ne perfectly without mental
strain; if they could they would
not have defective vision. For one
OF the strange discoveries of the
new ophthalmology is that if you
can remember perfectly, or imag-
Inc perfectly, you can see per
fectly.
Remember Black.
Some people must practice for a
long time before they can remem-t
Der black without at the same time
thinking of other c0lors. and it is
almost impossible to hold the i'm
age OF any one black object in the
mind for more than a coupIe of
1t is therefore best not |
o dwell upon one object but to
skip from one black article to an |
'therVshoes, coat, umbrella, muf- /
Ter, cat, curtain, etc. ii
When you can remember black I
perfectly with your eyes closed, ! '
'ou must learn to do so with your '
yes open. You may next be asked {
o remember the whiteness of snow {
With the sun shining on it, afteri
Which you are to look at a card OFT
quail Whiteness in order to see a ]
cry small and very black 20" ors |
erhaps merely a period. When s
GU look at the test card again you &
7ill doubtless be surprised to find {
hat you can read the bottom line, f
Thieh formerly was only a blur. I
1t is simply matter of reIaxa-i /
ion. The boy who was stunned /
y lightning had the process done
Or him. DR.. Bates does not L
now the boy and he is unable to b
orm any definite opinion without v
aYing a complete history of the t
ase, but it is possible, he thinks. g
lat the lightning stroke and the a
oy's subsequent Inconsistencies a
rought about a relaxed condition
the eyes which relieved them of f
leir habitual strain and produced n
ormal vision as if by a miracle. i.
DR.. Bates has written book on b
lie correction of imperfect vision e
lthout glasses in which he del c
tribes many patients who were D
Die to discard their glasses in peF- a
ds ranging from hours to weeks. a
0me felt immediate relief after a c
,.mlHdte period of relaxation | D
Tiers had to keep it up for two o