Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1922-05-27
FORCES COMBINED
TO FIGHT BLINDNESS.
AMONG CHILDREN
MEDICINE, LEGISLATION, THE
PRESS AND OTHER EDUCATION.
Al AGENCIES ARE GETTING
-. UPPER HAND IN AGE LONG
FIGHT AGAINST BABIES SORE
EYES.

New York, May 26.-The combined
, forces of medicine, legislation, the
press, and other educational agencies
are at last getting the upper hand In
the age-long fight against the prinCi.
pal cause of blindness in childhood
babies sore eyes according 10 the
seventh annual report of the National
Committee For the Prevention of
Blindness, made public today at the
general Office of the committee in the
Russell Sage Foundation Building
But this information is CounteraCt.
we'd by the statement in the report that
there Is no abatement in the wave
of blindness resulting from wood al,
ssacohol which started soon after the
enactment of the Volstead law The
report says that new legislation for
the prevention of blindness has been
passed in seven states: Connecticut,
Idaho, New Mexico, Missouri. Okla.
homa and Texas.
Discussing ophthalmia neonatOrum
more economy known as babies sore
eyes" or 90 n" among doctors, Ed.
ward VI. Van Cleye, managing direc.
tor of the National Committee for the
PreventiOn of Blindness. said:
when we turn to study Of the
situation as respects this disease,
which destroys at birth the vision Of
thousands of babies we find now eyi.
dence of the effectiveness Of a con
slant educational propaganda on the
subject For more than D. years pub
lie attention has been drawn to this
cause OF needless blindness. Stats
tics gathered during the last wear
show a smaller percentage of these
cases among newly admitted pupils in
special schools for the blind through
out America than in any previous
year"
Whereas two years ago 232 per
cent of new admissions TO these spec
.- ial schools for the blind were cases
of pupils blind from 80 NJ, the 1922
u report of the committee shows that
In the last year this percentage drop
ped to 1875 per cent, reduction Of
almost 30 per cent.
Under the head of "Methanol" the
new technical name for wood alcohol,
the report saws: Day by the day the
toll of wood alcohol poisoning Is
taken. The wave seems to recede
only to gain new impetus. Warning
sent boadcast over the Tniteh States
have undoubtedly prevented many
from experiencing the tragedy OF
blindness, but there are still those
who succumb to the temptation either
through ingnOrance or through vii
fitness. The change of name to meth.
anol has eradicated the suggestion of
beverage and a new method Of pre-.
venting its use as such has lately
been offered, so coloring it with
methyl violet that there can be no
possibility of mistaking it for the
grain product, an excellent suggestion
contributed by Dr. S. Lewis Zegler.
1t is not uncommon for the committee
to receive notices Of four or five cases
day Of poisoning from this cause;
these give no real intimation Of the
many who possibly through partial
immunity or because OF the small
amount consumed, suffer deteriora-
ton of sight rather than total blind.
ness. The change in name from wood
alcohol to methanol has had consid
cradle psychological effect
The committee also announces the
production this year of three reel
moving picture entitled Saving the
Eyes of Youth