Evening star., 1942-09-27
Corine for the War Blind
Nv Frederic J. HdSktn.

In the First World War ABOUT ! OF
every 1000 soldiers disabled IN service
lost his sight. Statistics OF the expert
ences of the United Nations, as lar as
thew are available, show that the same
tragic story is being repeated in the
present conflict. This means that oi
every 1000 casualties one is destined 70
20 through life in perpetual olackouF'
Foreseeing this, workers for the oilno IN
the United States are bending every
effort to devise ways and means OF
meeting the problem when the nrst
impact begins to be felt in this country.
Over a year ago these workers set up
a committee under the chairmansnip
of Robert B. Irwin sightless executive
director OF the American Foundation
for the Blind, New York City. for the
purpose Of considering the question OF
the care, treatment and after care OF
soldiers. sailors and airmen blinded
while in var service and to prepare
recommendations on this problem Tor
the Federal Government. At recent
meeting these specialists in the feid OF
blindness arrived at definite conclusions
and pointed the probable direction which
efforts for the war blind eventually
will take.
The consensus Of the committee MEM
bers, all Of whom are members OF the
American Association Of Workers Tor
the Blind was that the Federal Gov
ernment. working in cooperation with
Av9Rfin0
agencies for the blind, should assume
full responsibility for the rehabilitation
of blinded individuals. Mr.. irwin
was authorized to appoint subcom"
mittee Of FIVE. with himself as chair
man, to formulate complete and de-
tailed plan for submission to the proper
Government authorities.
This plan, now being formulated will
include, among other things, provisions
for the early establishment Of contact
in hospital with men blinded in the
war, immediate application OF thera.
peutic measures, teaching of handicrafts.
setting up of training centers to which
the men can be moved and where their
vocational abilities can be determines
and later, arrangements for their re-
Mobilization in their communities by
local agencies.
Blindness cuts through every economic
and social stratum Accordingly, the
American Foundation for the Blind
always has stressed the desirability OF
individual consideration and treatment
of each person without sight. This
means that In the case Of the war blind
each serviceman's education, tastes, tenn
permanent and abilities will be studied
with = view to seeing that rehabilitation
as accurately as possible is fitted to the
individual
In England, where already 200 war;
blinded men and women are learning
to live in their new dark world, this
plan has been followed with excellent
results. For example, one young airman
who was found to possess particularly
delicate and sensitive touch, has been
trained to fit instruments into the In
strument boards Of airplanes. So adept
has he become that he now can At 20
such boards a day, as compared with
maximum of II achieved by sighted
workers on the same type Of job.
Workers for the blind. as weH as
blinded veterans of the last war, seem
agreed upon the need and desirability
of specialized treatment for the war
blinded as distinguished from treatment
of the war disabled In general, or from
the treatment of civilian blind. This
line of separate identity was the one
followed in England after the last war
and now is firmly established there-a
line which has proved to have very
definite advantages and benefits. One Of
the most important of these is the effect
on morale. Veterans who lost their sight
in the First World War. while admitting
that they had gained much through con-
tact with the civilian blind, are quick
to state that segregation with their war;
blinded buddies during the early weeks
of their blindness and their subsequent
months of training had given them a
sense of comradeship in their new cir
cumstance which had been of incalcu.
liable value in keeping up their spirits.
Because the general public has
natural sympathy for blind men and
women, sympathy strengthened when
such blindness has come as a result Of
patriotic service, that same generous
public now must be on guard against
spurious appeals for its financial aid.
Already instances Of this particular
brand OF war racketeering have been
reported Organizations are using in
their appeals for funds implications that
blinded soldiers are dependent upon
them for training. which there is every
reason to believe will be provided at the
expense of the Federal Government.
The American Foundation for the Blind,
a national organization, of which the
President of the United States is hon.
orary president, and other established
agencies affiliated with the American
Association of Workers for the Blind, are
warning the public to be on guard
against all independent appeals for pri-
vate financial support of special services
for war-blinded individuals.
One of the bright sides to this war
aftermath Of blindness is that soldiers
who lose their sight in the present con.
flict will have, to benefit them when they
return, many more advantages than had
their predecessors Of the First World
War For instance, they can enjoy the
Talking Book, which reads books and
plays aloud. This will bring them not
only relaxation and pleasure, but the
opportunity to inaugurate or complete
many specialized studies Braille books.
too, have been made much less e,lnohAv.