The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-12-24

the midst of a thunder storm -
year-old boy was stunned by lightning.
A common enough occurrence, you
may think, but there was something
most uncommon about this one. TIE
boy had always had very poor vision
was nearly blind, in fact-but when
ne 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 per
fectly we can all throw away our
glasses. Myopia, hypermetropia and
astigmatism are all defects caused by
eve strain, it says, and not by diseased
or imperfect visual organs. They are
therefore durable by proper methods
of relaxation, whereas the old opll-
Technology held that they were in
durable, being caused by imperfect
apparatus, defective from birth.
According to Dr. William II. Bates,
the father of the ophthalmology, 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 per
Torrance, and with perfect vision
there is not the least effort. 1t is
only when we strain to see at dis
lance that we become myopic or near
sighted. and when we strain to see at
close quarters that we become hyper
metropic or far sighted. If we would
only relax the eyes and not put forth
such tremendous effort. we would find
our eyes greatly improved.
But how TO relax the eyes? DR..
Bates prescribes remembering black
as one of the most efficauious meth
DDS Close your eyes. put the palms
of your hands across them, being care
full to exert no pressure on the eye
balls. and remember black. Think
Of the blacklist thing you know
mans silk hat, a totally black cat, or
2 black velour curtain. This sounds
easy, but as a matter of fact it is quite
the opposite. Few people can imagine
Derfectly without mental strain; II
they would they would not have de-
fective vision. For one of the strange
discoveries of the new ophthalmOlogy
is that if you can remember perfectly
or imagine perfectly, you can see per
fectly.
Remember Black.
Some people must practice for
long time before they can remember
black without at the same time think
ing of other colors, and 1t is almost
impossible to hold the image of any
black object in the mind for more
than a couple of seconds. 1t is there
fore best not to dwell upon one OBJ
ject, but to skip from one black ar
ticle to another-shoes, coat, umbrella.
muffler. cat. curtain, etc.
When you can remember black per
tectly with your eyes closed. you must
learn to do it with your eyes open.
You may next be asked to remember
the wilderness of snow with the sun
shining on it. after which you are to
look ut card of equal wilderness
in order to see a very small black
% or perhaps merely period. When
you look at the test card again you
will doubtless be surprised to find
that you can read the bottom line
which formerly was only a blur
1t is simply a matter of relaxation
TIE boz who was stunned by light
ming had the process done for him.
DR.. Bates does not know the boy and
he is unable to form any definite opiE-
ion hithout having a complete history
Of the case, but it is possible, he
thinks. that the lightning stroke and
the boys subsequent Inconsistencies
brought about relaxed condition Of
he eyes which relieved them of their
habitual strain and produced normal
vision as if by miracle.
DR. Bates has written a book on the
correction OF imperfect vision without
glasses, in which he describes many
patients who were able to disCal d
their glasses in periods ranging from
hours to weeks Some felt immediate
relief after Commute period of re-
taxation. Others had to keep it VI
for two or three 1C-minute periods
each day over n long period. One
man. who had always suffered from
defective vision and who had worn
glasses since he was n boy devoted
one entire day to the relaxation pro-
cess. sitting quietly in a darkened
room and languidly summoning long
procession of black objects TO mind
At the end of the day he was amazed
10 find that he could see perfectly
without the use of his horn-rimmcd
spectacles.
"Ophthamoioeists tell US that the
visual organ of man was never intend.
ed for the uses TO which lit is now
put" DR.. Bates explains in his book
Long before there were any schools
or printing presses, electric lights OF
moving pictures, it was complete. In
those days il served the need of the
human animal perfectly Man was &
hunter. herdsman. farmer. a
fighter. He needed, We are told. main.
" distant vision and since the eye AT
rest is adjusted for distant vision
sight is supposed TO have been ordi-
narily as passive as the perception o.
sound, requiring no muscular action
whatever.
Civilization Injuries Eyes.
While primitive man appears to
have suffered but little from defects
of vision. it is estimated that of per
sons over 81, living under civilized
conditions, nine out of every 10 have
imperfect sight, and as the age IN
creases the proportion increases until
at 40 It is almost impossible TO find a
person free from visual defects. Sta
tistics of the army show this con
clusively."
DR. Bates examines on an average
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