Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-01-05

the recent report of the New Mex
leo Tax commission which may be
considered in the current session
of the legislature should be given
the most earnest attention Oh the
part of every citizen of the state.
1t is the proposed consolidation of
the state institutions for the deaf
and the blind.
A number of the southern states
and some of the western states
have had such a plan fol- years,
and most of them are separating
the schools for deaf and blind as
fast as possible, as it has been
found that the small amount of
money saved under this system has
been more than offset by the loss
Of efficiency in the education of
both classes of unfortunate chill
dren.
The late Superintendent L. E.
Milligan, of the California School
for Deaf and Blind at Berkeley,
one of the foremost educators of
the deaf in America, labored dill
gently for the disunion of the two
schools, and not long before his
death in March of this year, the
California legislature passed an en-
abling act to that effect. The state
of Washington long ago segregated
the two institutions and while they
are in the same town, Vancouver,
Ithey are under entirely separate
management.
deaf and the blind are absolutely
4 fe, 80 tnn H.
required and very little of the
physical equipment for one class
OF afflicted children can be used
for the other. Moreover, strange
as it may seem, deaf and blind pu-
PTS when thrown together in a
dual school, have so little in COM
mon that they are as frequently
antagonistic as sympathetic toward
one another.
To be really qualified to direct
the education of. either the deaf
or the blind is a life study for one
individual. When the schools are
united, the Administrative head is,
of necessity, specialist in the
work with the deaf; If it were not
$50, he could not SO much as COM
municate with the deaf pupils.
Thus the blind pupils are the
greater losers by such an arrange
ment, especially as in most states
the deaf children of school age out
number the blind in the proportion
of about three to one, and, with a
, limited appropriation set aside by
| the legislators with one school in
mind instead of the actual two
which need to be provided for, the
deaf naturally get the greater part
of the equipment the blind have to
take what is left.
We hold no brief for anyone in
office at the present time and be-
lieve that the blind might be bene-
fitted in many ways by a change,
but the kind of change proposed
would be backward step for the
deaf and nothing short OF calam-
ity for the blind.
If you are not satisfied with the
school facilities which are offered
in your neighborhood to your hear
ing, seeing children, it is possible
Tor you to move to nearby dis
trict, or have your children trans
ferred. Not so with deaf or blind
children. There is only one place
in the state where each of these
unfortunate classes of children can
receive any kind of education. We
do not believe you are willing to
further handicap them by reduc-
ing the efficiency of their respec-
tive institutions, which is exactly
what will happen If the two schools
are forced to consolidate.
A real money saving would be
effected and at the same time the
quality of the work improved If
these schools with the other edu-
cational institutions of the state
were placed under the right kind
of educational board composed OF
men and women who would devote
all their time to the state schools
in their charge.
Some of the most progressive
eastern states, and Iowa, Montana
and Idaho, to mention only a few
of the staAes farther west, where
the state board plan has been
adopted find it much superior to
the old system of local boards,
which are usually made up of we'll
meaning men unframed in educa-
tional work, and, for the most part,
too busy to take more than pass
ing interest in the schools they are
supposed to direct.
Do you know that much or the
blindness in your state can be pre-
vented? That from rs to 50 per
cent of all the blindness that ex-
lists, variously estimated according |
to locality, is due to the ravages of
the dread social disease, which de-
stroys the babies eyes soon after
birth? Do you know that a simple
usually nitrate of sill
yer, endorsed by physicians and
medical associations everywhere. If
used In the newborn baby's eyes
immsdiately after birth will pspals