The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 11, 1898, Page 17

tory of a Santa Cruz boy who i one in a world of darkness be- cause he could not hear, could not and could not see. But one aly was developed in ’ Ex-Superintendent h Sanders of the Blind Asylum n in charge, and after weeks nt work was able to commun- icate with him through a finger lan- 4 Next with infinite patience him the idea of a broom. began making brooms . Within three ronounced the best the State and was of the brooms fur- hed the Government posts here. All while he was saving his money. t he bought a broom machine, ved to Santa Cruz, started in busi- and gan to support his wid- wed mother. Later he went East, here he is now conducting a large 1siness. he cannot see, annot speak. eak i one cannot hear HERE is no more interesting subject connected with the lives nd fortu defective and the iorate the of the than the blind fort to ndition perfectly distinct s composed of s is congenital, or infancy; the other, of is lost af adult one ing either had no ng enjoyed vision but to & great degree overcome Its brieRy; The Deaf and Dumb and Blind Boy lack They have furnished numerous remarkable instances of substitution of lost sense by those which remain. Tearing and touch, especially, extend themselves and assume the duties of sight In Boston a blind surgeon took his tra in the dissecting room, learned anatomical structure of .the body. touch, and practiced successfully orming many of the major surgical as skillfully as any member jon. One of the profes- tics at Harvard was a nd man, whose genius grasped the of numbers and imparted s unaided by vision. In re is a blind sculptor, who L 3 operations of his pr sors of mathen T le seienc » his clas: York tk modeled in clay what is regarded by critics as the best portrait bust ever made of Washington Irving. This sightless sculptor modeled and received the contract for one of the most elabor- e monuments ected in that State tu commemorate the soldiers of our civil war. In Nebraska Professor Bacon, the founder of several institutions for the t 8 a large stock farm, and has % competence by the breeding cattle. No man Is a keener of the paints of live stock than and his judgment is sought by thers in the same business. One of the great institutions for the blind in England was founded by a blind American, who first attracted at- tention in Europe by making the ascent of Mont Blanc. The greatest boat and yacht builder n the world is a blind man, Mr. Herres- hoff of Rhode Island. Ile takes an order for a boat, with capacity and de- sired speed stated forms its plan in his mind, and then dictates its dimensions, structure, sailing plan-and most minute details to his secretary. When the lines of the craft are laid by his work- Men he detects by touch the slightest SRR at ~Work deviation, and is noted among- his workmen as the most exact and exact- ing builder in the country and the readiest to note a fault or a change in his plan. This marine architect built the 3 which defended® the Amer- ica’ ip in the last race with the Brit- ish Yacht Club. He arranged her sail- ing plan, the ci she should carry in the various conditi of the wind she was likely to encounter on the racing waters of the lower b; w York. When the great race w sailed in the presence of tens of thousands, the blind builder of the fleet victor in the contest stood on the deck of a steamer ie of hi retary, and, turn- o wind to judge its would note its changes and re- peat the instructior of his sailing plan as to what sails should be spread and what furled to meet the changes in the breeze Of the thousands whose feelings vibrated and thrilled as the fortunes of the white-winged racers waxed or waned, but few knew that the blind builder, standing in everlast- ing darkne: watched the race with sensibilities ‘as keen as anv and that his.sense of proportion, alded only by touch, had brought into form the fleet winner in the greatest race ever sailed. The persons who have become blind in infancy have proven to'be the best benefactors of those whose sight goes out in adult age The latter class feel the loss with a keenness that is pitiful. Long in the enjoyment of vision, sight gives facility to the use of foot and hand. It becomes a guide to the hear- ing and touch. When taken away the Joss is a pitiful abridgment of the use of the remaining senses. It takes power and facility ~away "from the hand, and replaces the firm step with'a timid and painful stumbie. The juvenile blind train themselves to walk without a stick. They guide themselves by hearing and by something that has been believed to'be a sixth sense. which is developed in substitution for sicht. By this strange and highly sublimated gensibility they feel the presence of an in - the- Broom Factory. object which they have not touched or heard. They know whether it is ani- mate or ‘inanimate. In like manner hey feel the presence of a pit into h they might fall or a cliff over which they might plunge. Their step is free and firm. They acquire a knowledge of locality and learn the streets «f a city or country highways as readily as those who see. They ac- quire a knowledge of music, of mathe- matics and of certain handicrafts, .as easily as those with all their senses. In the ends of their fingers touch be- comes exquisitely sensitive. Under various systems books are printed for their use, either with raised letters or with points on the same plan as the first telegraphic printing. These books now make up u fairiy complete library of literature and science. They learn to write to each other, using a stvlus to impress the points upon the paper. They use the typewriter with facility, printing from dictation. Those who become blind in infancy become the instructors of the adult blind. They live in an arm’s length world, bounded by Wwhat they can touch. That is their horizon. Sounds come to them from beyond its borders, but they are like sounds that might be heard below and beyond the horizon that i. scen by the eye: In this narrow world of touch those who lost sight in infancy receive the unfortunate who lose it .in‘age. They come stumbling. timid and sorrowful, given to melan- choly introspection, honeless and piti- ful. The secing people around them can comfort them but little, for - instinct- ively they handle them through the «ye which they have not. The scene changes when they encounter their fel- lows who lost sight so yeung that they remember it but dimly, or not at all. They are in the world of darkness and touch now, in the hands of those who -know it in an intimacy impossible to any who live in a world of sight and light. They are led through and around it by their finger tips. Their timidity grows less. Confidence takes i A JOSEPH SANDERS. Fiom a Photograph For a long time Joseph Sanders, who is blind, was in charge of the blind asylum at Berkeley. Under his administration the asy- lum attained great prosperity and turned over to the State a hand- some sum each month from the work of the inmates. Among the notable cases that this blind superintendent handled with extraordi- nary success was that of the deat and dumb and blind boy whose story is told on this page. The sense of touch was the only method by which he could be taught communication with the outside world, Mr. Sanders patiently worked on this sense for months till the lad s intelligence was awakened and he rbecame one of the best broom makers in the State, and such a competent merchant that he sup- ported his mother and conducted a large busimess. “after the T's OFFICE, BLIND -ASYLUM, the place of fear. It seems simple. but the first and most important lesson to be learned by the adult blind is to walk alone. It is interesting to know that long juvenile blind had been taught, trained and equipped for an active place in the world, the adult blind were regarded as incapable of re- lief. The first attempt to temper. their condition was made by the authorities of the Catholic Church in France: From that beginning the effort extend- ed, with but little substantial success until those blind from infancy were brought into it as:guides and instruct- ofs ‘ot their elder bréthren in distress. From that podint great progress has been made. It began a career for the juvenile 'blind, who as teachers and superintendents of institutions for the adult blind, found a most honorable and useful and expert occupation for their trained faculties, and in them the adult blind found their best instructors, friends and companions. In the United States many of the leading institutions for the blind were founded by the juvenile blind. (I use that term always to distinguish those who lose their sight in infancy.) The State institution for the blind in Ohio was founded by Mr. Penniman; in Tennessee by Messrs. Champlin and Sturtevant; in Mississippi by Mr. Champlin; Indiana by Mr. Churchman: Illinois, Samuel Bacon; Wisconsin, Mr. Churchman; Missouri, Mr. Whelan: Louisiana, Mr. Lane; Georgia. Mr. Fortescue; Maryland, Mr. Loughery; Iowa, Samuel Bacon; Nebraska, Sam- uel Bacon—this is the same gentleman who.is now living on-his stock farm at Nebraska City -to whom I:have re- ferred; the California. Home for the Adult Blind was created practically by Joseph Sanders, and the Nova - Scotia home was founded by Mary Dwyer.:All of 'these founders and benefactors .be- long to the juvenile blind class. In the United States sixteen persons of that class had achieved great suc- cess as superintendents of these places up to 1878, and since that date many have been added to the list, including ‘Mr. Sanders in California. Besides these public or State institu- tions, there are many others of a pri- vate or only quasi - public character, run exclusively .by blind men. The greatest of these and one of the great- est in the world is Hall's institution in Philadelphia. His great product is brooms. By my last report from him he had just bought seven hundred tons of broom corn, to be manufactured by his blind handicraftsmen this winter. His shops and markets have been con- tinually increased and extended for years, though he is in competition with some of the largest broom shops in the world, and with cheap labor and prison labor. The blind men in th California Home for the Adult Blind in Oakland were taught their trades by Joseph Sanders, who came to this State from Mr. Hall's establishment in Philadel- phia. He is an excellent example of the thoroughly 'trained and naturally able juvenile blind. He is an expert swimmer and fisherman, uses no cane in walking, is a keen and adroit busi- ness man and a skillfu: mechanic. The California Adult Blind Home during his superintendency took front rank. its earnings paid intn the State Treasury averaging during his entire incumb- ancy of $1646 per month. He succeeded two seeing superintendents, and, with an increase of only 17 per cent in his shop force, increased the monthly earn- ings of the home 100 per cent-and the ‘wages per hand, of the blind workmen, 46 per cent. As a teacher and superintendent it is probable that he has had but few peers among the blind, and as merchant, busiress man and manufacturer. many who are not handicapped by the loss of any of their senses might sit at his feet and learn. When he left the in- stitution in-December, 1895, it had an export trade in brooms to Central <.merica, Australia, Hawaii and British Columbia, and the demand for its product: was so great that the blind mechanics were working overtime to supply-it. Then a visitor could have the singular and interesting experience of going into a large shon at night, unlighted, and occupied by nearly eighty mechanics, whistling at their work, while the hum and bustle of busy industry rose out of the dark. To judge of the difficulty of teaching a trade to the adult blind, one must re- flect that but few men think themselves capable of learning a new handicraft after they have passed their twenty- fifth year, and fewer still attempt it, though in possession of all their facul- ties. Now take men of that age and upward suddenly deprived of their sight, and fancy the skill and patience and kindness that must-be used in tak- ing them' by their fingers and teaching them a_ trade’by palpitation, without use. of the eye! I.have seen blind men stand at the broom -clamp, weeping sorely in their helplessness, and crying their unbelief in the power to learn the trade. And L have seen this patient blind teacher day after day encourage them, until the brain at last took control of the clumsy hand and it acquired a finer touch, and tears were dried, hope lighted the sad face, and it seemed verily that their path was blessed and hadled them in darkness to a‘world where there was no more SOrrow,; nor crying, nor pain, and‘all tears were wiped away. There came;to him in’'that institution a deaf and dumb and blind boy, the only child of:a .dependent widow. As he grew ' older ~and grew- dearer to her heart, for our best affections go to the little ones and helpless In' our homes, he taxed: her. forlorn resources more and more. Mr. Sanders took him ‘to the shop. No word of instruction could pass the ears of the lad, for he lived in a world of everlasting silence and dark- ness. Touch was the sole means of reaching him. Patiently, by putting a head of broom corn in his hand and then a broom in process of manufacture; and then a fin- ished broom, the idea was made to come to him that the complete article was made by putting together the single heads of material. So, day after day, Continued on Page Thirty-two.