The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-01-11
Frederick Haskin's Letter
Books for the Blind.


Making books for blind veterans
is the newest kind of after the war
work" to become popular. Knit
ting needles and embroidery hoops
are being discarded for the metal
slate and stylus with which Braille
books are handwritten. Clubs and
Red Cross chapters are busily
punching out stories and articles in
the code of dots which is the blind
mans closest connecting link with
written thought.
There is always a need for books
for the blind. The big cities have
their Braille Libraries, but the Sc
lection of books on the shelves is
laways limited. The novel you buy
for a dollar or two and tuck in your
overcoat pocket would cost $50 in
Braille and would fill three or more
large tones.
Libraries for the blind are slowly
growing all the time, but since the
war blind have been added to the
number to be provided with Rraille
reading matter, the Red Cross de-
cided that extra effort was needed.
For three years six chapters of
the Red Cross have been making
Braille books. Last fall the Nation
al Red Cross arranged to make this
work a part of the national pro-
gram. Courses in Braille writing
were prepared by Mrs. Gertrude
T. Rider, librarian of the room for
the blind in the library of congress.
Certificates were prepared Tor those
in
order to make books for the SOL
diers
Miss Adelia Hoyt of the reading
room for the blind says that for
the present all books made by the
volunteers will go to Evergreen,
the institute eSta blished by the Red
Cross at Baltimore for training
blinded soldiers and sailors. Later,
it is planned to send books to big
circulating Libraries for civilian
blind.
When the blinded soldiers and
sailors were first taken to Ever
green there were scarcely any books
in Braille for them to use in learn
ing to read the type. But a band
of volunteers, both men and wom-
en-, began to transcribe stories and
magazine articles into Braille I'M
der Mrs Riders direction.
Over 500 Books Transcribed.
Miss Hoyt explains that 'as the
veterans learned to read with
greater facility and the TRANSCRIPT
ers became more proficient, longer
and longer work was undertaken
until at the present time there is
nothing these devoted copyists will
not and cannot do. They have
aided the masseur, undaunted by
long lists of anatomical terms; they
have helped the French student by
putting his lessons into Braille for
him; they have always been ready
to transcribe just what was most
needed. whether for entertainment
or serious study.
"As a result of their efforts, -
Miss Hoyt says, the library at
Evergreen now contains over SOC
hand copied volumes covering a
wide range of subjects"
The line of books that the veter-
ans want runs parallel with that
in demand in any library. Fiction
is most called for. But science
history, biogra ply, poetry and text
books for study are all popular.
Recent additions to Evergreen
/ library are such books as The
Saltwater Tragedy, by Aldrich. in
five volumes; The Black Tulip
by Dumas, in five volumes; ''Des-
ert Gold. by Zane Grey, in seven
volumes; and Thayer's Roosevelt"
in eight Volumes
The scarcity of books to which
a Ilind man could have access even
in a city, has been intensified by
the variety OF codes in which the
books are printed. There are
, now no less than six systems used
to varying extents in this country
Some blind persons read them all
But the majority do not. The only
books. therefore. of service to them
are those printed in the system
they have mastered.
Throughout the history of Braille
! the various improved and modified
systems based on the original have
been a problem. Finally, in 1917
| what is practically the same as
English Braille was officially