Evening star., 1938-10-14
II Am the Mother
of a Crippled
. Child
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
am the mother Of crippled child.
There has long been q movement afoot
to build . monument to Thomas Jef{er-
son. As hneal descendant OF his ma
ternal grandparents, Isham and Jane
Randolph, also one who has known his
beloved home town we'll, may say, II
Thomas Jefferson needs q memorial let
us build 1t of the stumbling blocks which
strew the educational path of the Grip
pied children of the District of Column
bia. What q glorious tribute to Z man
who believed in education.
People are ordinarily optimistic, and
happily so. Little did think that over
night my beautiful baby, full of health
and vitality, would become q cripple
infantile paralysis had entered our door.
Then weeks and months and years Of
agonizing worry and wondering what the
outcome would be. He was three and
one-haf years of age when 1t happened,
he is nine today and still sleeps with a
brace on the right leg to the waist, a
corset, and strapped to special bed.
which gives him the right elevation and
prevents turning, which would weaken
muscles that have been coaxed back
through years Of exercise.
What If this should happen to you?
Would you feel that your child deserved
an education? Would you not feel that
he was entitled to freedom from monot-
ony, contact with other children, the
give-and- take of everyday life? A tutor
In the home could not give him this.
To carry the burden Of expense
through the years is far beyond the
average income group. There is hos
pitalization (often lasting several years. I.
doctors bills, corsets, braces, orthopedic
shoes, crutches-all Of these things are
expensive. This expense goes on through
the years and must sooner or later be
borne by the physically handicapped
boy or girl. With only q fragmentary
education they are indeed helpless.
The insurance companies consider
these children poor risks and, therefore,
their hope for q college education
through insurance is slim. Every OBJ
been put there. ~
am fortunate enough to have my
youngster transported by taxi-what
about these other children who have no
means OF transportation? Are we going
to sit still and wait until next year for
inadequate appropriations for this pur-
pose to be doled out by another commit
tee Of indifferent men?
This year one Of our wheel-chair cases
from Langdon School, q likable lad,
was refused admittance to one Of our
high schools by the principal. After
much persistency on the part OF the
Parent-Teachers Association he was
admitted.
Washington, D. c., "our Nations Cap
ital," must have q school, elementary
through high school. planned rest and
study periods. with transportation facili-
ties and physiotherapic department large
enough to enroll all crippled children Of
the District Of Columbia. We would not
be human II We offered them less.
know the plans for a stately memo
rial to Thomas Jefferson in Potomac
Park have .reached an advanced stage,
but 1t does not seem unreasonable to ask
whether Mr.. Jefferson, could he have q
voice in the matter, would not prefer q
monument that would e1ectuate his
dream Of adequate educational oppor-
tunities for all.
Lets build . memorial to the real
Thomas JefYerson"' go
INEZ r. EHRHARD.
October Is, 1888
presidant Ianvdop achonl D IT