Evening Star Newspaper, March 17, 1935, Page 55

GREAT [ ——— By Randloph Roberts. ORTUNATELY for Washington and the Nation at large, the Library of Congress has lately enlarged its facilities for the sightless. What yesterday was a mere collection and local issue of books is today a national bureau of information on all matters involving the welfare of blind Americans. of which there are more than 100.000— the rough census figure. The “Serv- ice for the Blind,” situated in the library’s basement, has developed re- laticns of active co-operation with im- portant organiaztions throughout the country, notably the American Red Cross. In its great work the Library's main weapon is Braille. Gutenberg, with his printing press, made books avail- able to the masses. Louis Braille, Frenchman extraordinary, with his system of dots in relief. taught the sightless how to read. p also with a medium of writing. Besides the work of the informa- tion division. the “service” performs two other distinct f s. The first concerns the circu in Braille—strictly a \ cedure. The second is the production of books, a system carried on jointly with the American Red Cross. ‘The Library's collection of Braille books, including periodicals and music scores, now numbers 30,000 volumes and has grown from 3,175 books in 1915. Five kinds of raised type are represented. The total circulation, comprising all types during the fiscal year 1934, amounted to 50,000 vol- umes, issued to 3,500 readers. 'HE book collection is increased from the following sources: Tran- scribed by volunteers of the American Red Cross, received under the Gov- ernment subsidy law from the Amer- ican Printing House for the Blind, received by purchase and gifts. Every da ythe Library lends books | fornia and from Florida to Washing- | to blind readers in the District of Columbia and to sightless person: elsewhere who cannot secure the books they wish from a library or other in- stitution near their home. As a rule, readers in Washington may have books delivered and returned by the | Library wagon. Books are sent to persons by post and are returned by them under frank in accordance with postal regulations. A good many queries reach the service from persons who want to know what to do for friends who have lost their sight through illness or accident. To meet such emergencies the Library is encouraging the various States to act with the end of making their institutions more or less self- sufficient in aiding the sightless. Al- ready many States have regular blind commissions with duly qualified teachers equipped to teach Braille and certain lines of vocational work. Interesting to note, the teachers, more often than not, are sightless folk themselves, offering the proper sym- pathetic guidance which only blind | Ppeople understand. The unfortunate situation is that’ Braille books are extremelp bulky — much more than a dozen times as| large as the ordinary book for the sighted person. Indeed, Walpole's “Cathedral,” only one volume before | DOORS OF RARE BOOK ROOM By Alice Hutchins Drake PRINTERS and book designers of the Old World and the New are honored by the doors of the rare book room of the Library of Congress. The design of the decorations was chosen by Valta Parma with the approval of the librarian of Congress, Dr. Herbert Putnam. The motif is the Miracle of the Printed Word. Each door is divided into three panels. first is reproduced the design found on the colophon of the Bible printed in 1426 by Fust & Schoeffer. Henri Bouchot, in writing of Fust, speaks of him as a money lender of Mayence. It was Fust who lent Gut- enberg 1,100 florins to use in experi- mentation. The Schoeffer of the firm of Fust & Schoeffer was a callig- rapher of Germsheim. It was not long after the first meeting of Fust and the younger man that they formed & partnership. From the workshop of this firm of printers was issued the first dated edition of the Bible. ‘The “printer’s mark” of Fust & Schoeffer is in the form of two shields suspended from a-branch. The shields are decorated with compositors’ rules. A printer’s mark was a device used by printers of long ago partly to pro- tect them from counterfeit editions. Fifty-six of thes~ engraved devices have been reproduced in the pene- trations in the corridor overlooking Staircase Hall in the Library of Con- gress. Each mark is about a foot and & half high. American, Scottish and English printers’ marks are used in the north corridor of the Library, French in the south, Spanish and Italian are in the east corridor, a majority of the marks in the west corridor are those of Ger- man printers. Geoffroy Tory is honored twice in the decorations of the Library. Nearly 40 years ago, when the Library was constructed, the device of this cele- brated man was selected as a deco- ration of the ceiling of the south cor- ridor. This same device now appears in the second panel of the left door of the rare book room. On the title page of & book now on A viding them In the| i d THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €, put into Braille, takes up 11 volumes, | each a veritable giant in itself. One compensation is that blind persons may borrow their Braille reading mat- ter free of charge for delivery by mail. Yet because of the bulk and expense of Braille books, there are few pri- vate collections. Which means that the Library, co-operating with the Red Cross. is furthering the move- ment of transcribing by volunteer workers | Since 1921, under the fostering care of the Red Cross, transcribing has | grown fast, until today there are cer- | tified workers from Maine to Cali- ton. It has been estimated that about ing in the entire country is done by Red Cross volunteers. Not quite 3,000 | Maurice Garin, a Frenchman. Through | ¥Or! ‘lpla!e from which may be made a | hundred copies. Transcribing is not easy. It puzzling but intriguing to the be- ginner—exacting, but wholly satisfy- ing. Persons of average intelligence can master it, but to do the work accurately one must possess unusual patience and perseverance, the ability to concentrate and to exercise care in minute details. There is a method whereby a page of hand-copied Braille may be con- verted into a paper plate from which | many impressions can be secured. is s | 90 per cent of all the Braille transcrib- | This is known as the Garin process. | | from the name of the originator, M. & MARCH 17, 1935—PART FOUR. HE LIBRARY SUPPLIES “EYES” FOR T Top, at left: Braille. right: Below, center: rkers, not one receiving a penny’s | the efforts of the Red Cross, assisted | tional work. worth of pay, devote a good share of their time in such splendid service work. Moreover, the qualifications for each volunteer are so exacting that they must take a 10 weeks’ cor- respondence course and pass examina- tions that would tax the brain of al- most any college student. BESIDES the regular corps of volun- teer Braille transcribers, some 132 blind persons throughout the country have taken the Red Cross proof- reading course and are eligible for work whenever called upon. | Likewise there happens to be a | substantial many of them Junior Leaguers, who have not taken the regulation train- ing, but who nevertheless lend valu- able aid by shellacking the newly transcribed books. Shellacking helps them stand the wear and tear of frequent usage. The paper pages, lately “written” on by a punch that looks not unlike a tiny screw driver, are covered with a fine cement, espe- cially prepared. The cement hardens, | is thereupon shellacked and forms e view in an exhibition case in the rare book room Tory is described as | “Painter and engraver, first royal printer, reformer of orthography and | typography under Francois First.” He | was a native of Brouges and he was | born 18 years after the first appear- | ance of the Fust & Schoeffer edition of the Bible. Tory was a traveler, poet and the founder of a school of book design- | ers. He was also a man of sentiment, | as is evidenced in the design used in his printer's device. It is a broken | vase which rests on a book, or books. | Tradition says that the vase symbol- | izes the death of his small daughter, and the books are a reminder of the fact that she was a great student. ‘The familiar Cross of Lorraine is in- | troduced into the device of Tory. | . Two significant names appear in the | lower panel of the left door—Kelm- | scott and William Morris. The gifted Morris was a designer, | painter, essayist, illuminator and writer | of fiction. He manufactured artistic fur- niture, and studied dyeing and carpet | weaving. But it is as William Morris, poet, who he is listed in encyclopaedias and discussed in books on the history of English letters. From his cele- brated Kelmscott Press there issued what have been termed “magnificent and much-sought-after books.” The glory of the Morris Press was his edi- tion of Chaucer, a copy of which is now on exhibition in the Library of Congress. The broad-brimmed hat of a prelate is an arresting detail of the decora- tion in the first panel of the door to the right. It is over the names of Cromberger and Pablos. Two Latin crosses are introduced as significant features of the device. The House of Cromberger was that of a famous Spanish printer, who sent Juan Pablos to Mexico, where the latter set up the first printing press established on the continent of North America. The press was in use as early as 1536. Three names and three dates appear in the central panel of the door which honors the printers of the New World. The first printer in British America ) was Stephen Daye. He was born in | by workers for the blind and others, | the French process has been modi- fled and adapted to American| | apparatus. The dots produced in this wise, while not so high as those made | by the more expensive process of | printing from brass plates, are yet | perfectly readable. The Red Cross Chapter House on Sixteenth street has a press that wcrks on the Garin principle. It was in war-swept 1918 that the movement in America toward tran- seribing Braille really began on eny kind of a scale. Blinded veterans | had to be cared for, 50 a unique estab- lishment came into being at Ever- not under Red Cross auspices, but| | soon the Red Cross took it up and engineered things for the most part. Books were secured from the Library of Congress among other sources and three main purposes of the institution were announced: 1. Education—reading and writing in Braille and on the ordinary type- writer via the “touch system.” 2. Livelithood instruction—keeping a small store, doing simple carpentry | England about 1594. As a locksmith | | he emigrated under contract to work | two years for the Rev. Josse Glover. | The latter brought a press, a font of type and £60 worth of paper to his New England home. Followlng‘ the death of her husband, Mrs. Glaver | established a press in Cambridge. The first book in English printed in this country, “The Bay Psalm Book,” came from the press of Stephen Daye. His name and the date 1639 appear first on the panel. At Jamestown, Va., William Nut- head set up the earliest press south of Massachusetts. This ploneer was born about 1654. By the time that he was 20 Nuthead was winning for him- self a place in the history of printing |in America. His career was a ha- rassed one, especially during the years | he spent in Virginia. When his press | was stopped, Nuthead moved to St. | Marys City, Md. Here he lived from 1638 to 1695. His was also the first press in the neighboring colony. The third name on the central | panel is that of Willlam Bradford. For him, also, life was made difficult because of his activities as a printer. Soon after his arrival in Philadelphia he established the first press in the English middle colonies. An almanac by Samuel Atkin, issued in 1685, was the first of Bradford's contributions. A contemporary American, Bruce Rogers, is honored in the sixth panel of the bronze doors through which the visitor passes to the -new rare book room. Rogers is listed as a “typographical expert.” To the lay- man, the phrase in no way reveals the gifts of the man. In the words of Valta Parma, curator of the Rare Book Division, *“Rogers’ pioneer work established in our day an under- standing of the beauty of printing and the importance of the beautifully printed book. - Rogers is now in Eng- land, printing an edition of the Bible, which will be the crowning work of | the typographical art of the English- speaking peoples.” ‘These doors in the Library of Con- gress carry on the tradition of deco- rative doors which tell a tale. To the 3. Recreation. AFTER several years of the Ever- green project it was decided that the activities, which were meant only | &S & necessary war-time measure, had virtually completed their mission The newly-taught veterans went back to their homes and the Red Cross turned over its equipment to the Vet erans' Bureau for disposal. As for the books, they were sent to the “Service for the Blind.” That war-time experiment, and subsequent ramifications of it, was in |great part responsible for the ex- | number of volunteers, | green, Md. At first the project was | tensive work among the blind now go- | ing on in America today. Consider the matter of recreation — even Christmas cards are available for the sightless, though, of course, they can- not be of pictorial nature, merely con- sisting of cheerful messages. Playing cards likewise are much in demand. Regular cards are used, each one being indented with Braille on two opposite corners. The one corner tells the number and the other the classi- fication of the card. Very recently considerable atten- tion has been given to the so-called “talking-book,” a novel method of reading. It is not known who con- ceived the idea. But like most inven- tions, it seems to have originated with several people at about the same time, Many have attempted to perfect such an apparatus. At the present time the American Foundation for the Blind has on the market what seems to be a fairly successful development of the talking book. Briefly, it may be described as follows: It is a book recorded as long-play- ing phonograph disc records. Each disc will play for more than a half hour and an entire novel may be recorded on a dozen or fifteen 12- inch discs. These records will loaned to readers by circulating li- braries for the blind, in just the same way as ordinary Braille books. The machine on which the records are played are constructed along the lines of an ordinary gramophone, but re- volve at a much slower speed. They will be sold in three models, two | electrical and combining radio sets and one hand-wound type, without | the advantage of radio. | _Since it is well known that the Federal Government appropriates $100,000 annually to provide books for the blind, and since the talking book | has now become a reality, many peo- ple are asking: “Is Braille transcrib- ing any longer needed? Should a volunteer be asked to copy Braille by hand if it can be produced more easily in some other way?” UTHORITIES at the Red Cross point out that the talking book will supplement Braille reading, but that it will never take its place. The machine is too expensive for every blind reader to possess one. It will be years before libraries will have a collection of book records to compare with that of Braille books. Many readers will still prefer to read for themselves. It is stated on good authority that not more than one-quarter of the blind people in the United States make any practical use of Braille books. Therefore, the talking book will open & new door to literature to thousands of blind people who have heretofore been deprived of reading matter. In England, where Braille printing booklovers who pauses to study them they richly reward those who look upon them with "emfranchised eyes.” [} A has been carried on for nearly a cen- tury under royal patronage and large endowments, 80 per cent of the books { A blind reader enjoying a novel Congress, packing Braille manuscripts for town libraries duplicating press, which prints many copies from a single plate of Braille. Shellacking and backing the Braille plates used by the duplicating press. Below, at A blind typist preparing a report on student's lesson. | unteer transcribers gave to the blind ! libraries. Top. center: Top. at rizht copied. In our own country the Fed- eral appropriation last year printed approximately 75 new titles, while vol- over 600. It is true that a large per-| centage of the latter were in single copy, while the former were in dupli- cate, being distributed among 24 The Federal appropriation has been used to a very large extent in the printing of books of recognized | literary value, and often of preten- tious size. bcoks hitherto found too expensive for Braille printing and too long for transcribing. A few examples are: Plutarch’s “Lives.” 24 volumes; Victor Hugo's “Les Miserables,” 16 volumes, and “Europe Since Waterloo,” by William Stearns Davis, 11 volumes These and many other high-grade | | books are welcomed by students and choughtful readers, and are laying the foundation for a well balanced | Braille literature. A certain per cent | of the appropriation is being used to | print outstanding works of fiction. On the other hand, the \'ulunleer} transcriber is free to cater to the popular demand for light fiction and | for the special needs of individuals| and small groups. There is no com- | parison or conflict between the two kinds of effort. Both are needed, if | | the blind are to be helped through | Braille books to acquire higher edu-| cation, culture, success in business and professions, relaxation and ad- | venture into the world of thought | which books alone can give. | Back in June, 1917, the American Association of Workers for the Blind | voted the adoption of a form of raised | Braille for universal use in America. It is now known as Revised Braille, grade 112, For the first few years after its adoption the problems of | changing it to the new type were many. But during 1918-19 the coun- try’s printing presses began printing the new uniform type on a fairly large scale. At about the same time the American Printing House for the Blind followed suit. ODAY in this country there is a fairly cohesive system for taking care of the blind’s reading matter— and while many of the interested or- ganizations are private, they co-oper- | ate in extremely helpful and friendly fashion with the Federal and State governments. Perkins Institute, in| Boston, and Overbrook, just outside | Philadelphia, are endowed privately. Pennsylvania has its State school at Pittsburgh, and New York has two such, the one in New York City and the other in Batavia. In addition some 23 good-sized li- braries are maintained throughout the country exclusively for the sightless. Prequently they form an important adjunct to the main libraries, and in general makeup they are quite similar to the “service” room at the Library of Congress. X Something of the library’s tremen- dous hurden of responsibility has now been removed from its work among the unseeing. The American Library Association has greatly enlarged its committee on projects for the blind and now maintains a regular chair- man, Edward M. Peterson of the Chi- cago Public Library, whose distinct work on the committee is the selection of finest books for the adult blind. Thus every school and library for the blind today has an adviser thoroughly grounded in Braille craftsmanship. Lately, too, there has come an op- portunity, though not as yet fully realized, to méet and serve the voca- tional interests of the sightless. For instance, the “Directory of Activities' 1 An assistant at “Service for the Blind.” Library of Red Cross volunteer worker using Below, left: Transcribing into k, piano tuning and other voca- |in the National Library are hand-|for the Blind,” published by the Amer- ican Foundation for the Blind, has become an invaluable tool to every librarian engaged in work for the un- seeing. Higher lines of activity for the sightless as a wage-earning group are going on all the time. Library execu- F—3 BLIND tives note this in the steadily increas- ing calls for books on business, law, insurance, health, massage and so on. Schools are contemplating the matter seriously and are putting their hopes into practice by devising separate workshops for the blind where they may learn under the able and sympa- thetic guidance of their kind. Right here in Washingion a work- shop for the blind seems to be flourish- ing—the Columbia Polytechnic In- stitute, in the 1800 block on H street— offering courses in piano tuning, chair caning, brush and broom making. Perhaps the following brief anec- dote will illustrate just what the newly blinded man is up against and how | he is contriving to combat his handi- cap: During the late years of the World War, Sir Arthur Pierson, pub- lisher of a London magazine, lost the use of his eyes. His first move there- after was to establish a great educa- tional, cultral. vocational and recrea- tional center for the blind. St. Dun- lstan'< was the name of the product of his splendid philanthropy. 8ir Arthur’s main purpose was to help return to the newly blind i Arthur had : breeds a humi ucive toward a hopeful and productive future, i R S Curb Berry Bushes. A\IL‘\'.‘\'ESD‘A‘A. seeking to control the white pine blister rust, has de- cided to restrict the planting of goose- berry and currant bushes. The or- ganism of the rust attacks the white pines with serious effect, but only after being harbored on the gooseberry or currant plants. The berry bushes are vital to the life of the rust. Tests have indicated that the rust spores will carry as far as 10 miles from a single bush. HONORING ST. PATRICK (Continued From Second Page.) United States and Irish colors. Knights | of St. Columbkill, 40 men in line headed by field music, R. A. Dore, commander, with silk flag represent- ing St. Columbkill leaving Scotland and United States flag: uniform, green baldrick, chapeaux with green and orange feathers, and swords. Knights of St. Bernard, headed by Repetti’s Band; blue baldrick, swords and caps, with silver band; J. F. Spellman, commander; John Cady, deputy. Knights of St. Peter, headed by field music, 40 men in line, commanded by J. P. Barrett, with fine United States flag: purple baldricks and belts, swords, white chapeaux and purple feathers. Knights of St. Joseph, No. 1. J. T. Dunn, about 50 in line: blue baldricks and gauntlets. swords. chapeaux and white feathers: baaner, flag and guidons. “SECOND DIVISION. “W. Smith and P. McCartney, as- sistant marshals. “Washington Hibernia Benevolent Association, No. 1, headed by band of | enth street, to D, to City Hall, where it disbanded. “REVIEWED. | _“The President stood uncovered on the steps of the White House and re- viewed the parade. All saluted him as they passed, and the bands played ‘Hail to the Chief.’ The Banquet. “This evening there will be a ban- quet at Abner's Hall on E street. The following sentiments will be responded |to: ‘The Day We Celebrate, Rev. | Father Horrigan; ‘The President of | the United States,’ Col. J. R. O'Beirne; ‘The Land Leaguers,’ Mr. P. J. Dona- | hue; ‘The Land of Our Adoption,’ | Senator C. W. Jones of Florida; ‘The Patriot Dead, —; ‘The Press,’ Hon. G. C. Gorham; ‘The City of Washing- ton.’ L. G. Hine, esq.; ‘The Army and Senator W. J. Sewell of New It is expected that Senator Mahone of Virginia will also speak. There were comparatively few n(‘ | the emigrants who came to this coun- try who had a bed of roses at home, {and if they had, they would quite | likely not have come here; and this is | true of the emigrants from all coun- lmes. Naturally there were many Our first mayor. Robert Brent. who served from 1802 to 1811, was also of | this race, as have been many of our officials and judges and outstanding citizens. Several of our Presidents were of Scotch-Irish ancestry, name- |ly, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Chester A. Arthur, William McKinley and Woodrow Wil- son. On Massachusetts avenue between | Eleventh and Twelfth streets, stands | the statue of Edmund Burke, one of | Ireland’s faithful sons, who fervently |and eloquently defended the right of |the American Colonies during the | Revolutionary War, while he was a member of Parliament. Farther west lon Massachusetts avenue, at Twenty- third street, is the statue of another son of Erin, one of the greatest three soldiers of the Union Army during the Civil War—Philip H. Sheridan, for vhom was written that stirring poem, ‘Sheridan’s Ride.” Indeed. there is no end to the praises one can sing for the Irish. In music, the world recognizes the beau- tiful scores and melodies of Michael William Balfe, Sir Arthur Sullivan, Victor Herbert and the celebrated bandmaster, Patrick Gilmore. In 2d Artillery, aboot 150 men in line, | bright, intelligent and superior mem- (poetry the soul of Thomas Moore will marshaled by M. Broderick, with the | bers of the Irish race who early set- | ever live, as will his words: old banner of the society showing the | tled in the District of Columbia, and | “The harp that once through Tara's date of organization—1818. They were uniformed in green sash and slouch hat. West End Hibernia As- sociation, 75 men in line, headed by 8. M Gonigle, president, and mar- shaled by James Hannon and Messrs. Herkelin and Foley, headed by Lew Weber's band in new uniform. Hi- bernia Association, No. 3, about 50 men in line, with field music, mar- shaled by James Butier and John Spalling. They wore green sashes with chapeax. Georgetown Hibernia Association, over 100 men in line, marshaled by Baker Thorn, uniformed in green sash, slouch hat, green feath- ers, headed by Donch's band. In this line, the fine banner of the society was carried on a carriage trimmed with the national colors, and a ban- ner with a blending of the American coat of arms with that of Ireland, and a national flag were also borne. "T'HE various societies, before they appeared on the ground, at- tended the masses in the churches. Along the route many houses dis- played the Irish and American colors. “THE ROUTE. “The line of march was over the following route: Down Four-and-a- Half street, passing the District Com- missioners in review at the Columbia Building; thence down Pennsylvania avenue to the Capitol; thence along Pennsylvania avenue to the Execu- tive Mansion, where the line was re- viewed by the President; thence to St. Ann's Infant Asylum, where a collec- tion was taken up for the orphans; thence across the bridge and around the fountain at M and Twenty-eighth streets; thence counter - marching along Pennsylvania avenue- to K street, to Fifteenth, to H, to St. Jos- eph’s Orphan Asylum; thence to Sev- ] | who had to put up with most any- | | thing until their means permitted | them to do better, and the chances |are that Thomas Corcoran, father of ‘lhe great philanthropist, W. W. Cor- { coran, had very limited means when he first came to Georgetown. As in Corcoran’s case, many of our | wealthy Irish residents of today are | descendants of poor but honorable | Irish families, who settled here in | the early days. The names of some of these early settlers are recorded by | Christian Hines, who employed them | to accompany him to repair Fort | | Washington. after it had been de- stroyed in the Summer of 1814. | Included in the list mentioned by | Mr. Hines are: “John Conly. Tim- | othy Herrity, John Donoho, Thomas Ladan, Morgan Donoho, George Es- ling, Levi Shaw, Michael Greager, John Tidings, Edward Crowly, 1si; Michael Herrity, Edward Crowly, 2 James Gray, James Tiernan, James | Esling, Samuel Douglass, Richard Bannister, William Linkins, John Linkins, James Troth, Leonard Ellis, | Michael King. Lloyd Jones, Patrick | Larner, William Hayward.” | {N AMERICAN history the Irish form | © & conspicuous part, and if we can | judge a man by his name, we might | well assume that the ancestors of | Patrick Henry and Charles Carroll of | Carroliton were from the Emerald Isle, and many other distinguished Ameri- cans of the Colonial period, too nu- merous to mention. Commodore John Barry, father of the American Navy, whose statue adorns Franklin Square, was Irish through and through, and John J. Boyle, an Irish-Ameri- can sculptor, designed and executed this handsome memorial to the great mariner, ] hall The soul of music shed Now hangs as mute on Tara'’s wall As if that soul were fled.” This noted Irish poet visited Washe ington in 1804, and his remarks made at that time are still being quoted. ;He was not greatly impressed. It | would be nice if he could return today and see the progress we have made, and also see Ireland as a Free State, a condition for which he undoubtedly | longed. Of course. it is eminently fitting that St. Patrick’s day should be cele- brated here in Washington, and else- where, wherever dwell the sons of Erin, for it was the patron saint who introduced into Ireland Christianity and Christian literature, which, in addition to its moral effect, eventually resulted in the little island becoming the western seat of learning. It is quite probable that, with the Irish, no saint will ever take the place of St. Patrick. | —_— False Claims Bring Prison. 'WO men who tenamed Glauber’s | salts as Warm Springs Crystal | Compound and sold the relatively | cheap laxative compound at $1 a | pound are to spend the next year in the Federal Penitentiary to reflect on the lack of wisdom shown in trifiing with the pure food and drug act. The two men pled guilty to attributing to Warm Springs, Ga., the | source of their compound which they purchased at a few cents a pound. The Warm Springs Foundation dis- avowed any connection with the men or their product,