THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 196, 14 May 1919, Page 7

THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND

SIR ARTHUR PEARSON IN NEW YORK FUTURE VOCATIONS Sir Arthur Pearson, .liimeelf blind, maintains that lie has conquered blindness, and helped others, to do so. "I wish people knew another word for 'blind,'" he said. "It pictures incom-. potency, and the' figure of a blind beggar Bcems forever stamped in tho public mind in connection with it. I wish another impression could be created. As a matter of. fact, there aro very few. limitations to those who cannot see. People seem to think because you have no eight l all other faculties are lost. v "I was going out of nri hotel here and the porter nearly assaulted me in his ; - endeavour to lead me where he thought I wanted to go, and the taxi-driver, in his solicitude, grabbed my foot and placed it on the step of tho.. .vehicle. Now all that is very sweet ami kind, but we blind niust show other folks that we are perfectly normal persons who just cannot see. Be natural, be sure-' and swift, and lose the mannerisms that let pooplo know a hundred yards away, that you are., sightless." "The greatest thing we had to contend with at St. DunsU\njs ■ was conquering the natural depression that came to thu wounded soldier with tho first realisation that he could no longer see. With that wonderful spirit that gave victory to tho Anglo-Saxons over Iho Hun the boys conquered and are wonderfully happy. There is an atmosphere of cheer and tho real curiosities at the place ure not the soldiers but the visitors. The whole undertaking has been a wonderful accomplishment. Tho carpets of the house are pathed with oilcloth to facili-* tate tho swift movement of tho men. Two hundred or more girls of London, volunteer daily'to teach tho boys the art of reading with their finger-tips. Typewriting is taught to everybody, for it is much easier for them to write on, a machine than with pen or pencil. . They attain a wonderful speed' on the typewriter. A eystem of shorthand is taught that makes them efficient secre* tnries, and ni6st : - of■ tho men who are. turned out of the school are now earning much more-than they ever could if they, bad their sight. "There is a barber, for instance, who was made blind in the war and was afraid to go back to his trade. Wβ imbued him with the confidence he needed, and now he's shaving more than he ever did, and is doing just as good a job. For sports \va have lowing on. the lake, races, tug-of-war, and swimming, with indoor sports for those who aro crippled. Most of the soldiers like music, and either learn it for amusement or professional purposes. We. have enough talent so that wo need not call upon outsiders for entertainment, although the world's greatest artists often volunteer their 6orvic.es. "We have to bo rather harsh to some of tho sweet old ladies who insist on reading Bibles and pluying soft music for the boys. That's not what the boys need. It may seem, strange, but often tho worst enemy of n blind man is his mother or wife, simply because they help him too much. What he ought to do is to work out his own problems. The blind soldiers who have been through theso courses will be the biggest assets to the blind peoplo of the world, for they will command admiration rather ' than the pity that is usually accorded sightless folk. In Canada similar work as that in St. Dunstan's will bo established, and in your own country the soldiers will be eimilarly educated, so that they will be happy, competent ■citizens. ■ . ..