I)
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: .JUNE 12, 1010.
Where the Blind Are Taught in the Learning of Those Who See
V, p r I , . J.. . 1 - HI.. U ,U! r .-. ,. .. Jf . J
- ' A : ... . -"S ; --!H '- v Tp:; ' , ?j v " ' V.
BY ANNIE VIO GATES.
URROUNDKIT by many advant
agca, endowed with nil the
aenata, It la remarkable the
number of failure found In the
average school room. Whether
the eonae of slKlit dulls the
other facultlea and caufcea the pupil to be
lea capable of learning la not known, but
It la an undlaputed fact that thoae .leprlved
of any one of tho Ood given aensea be
comea more acute In thoae remaining and
devote their energlca tq whatever study or
vocation they aeem beat adapted in auch
a manner that they far excell the majority
of those enjoying all their powers.
The Nebraaka School for the Blind, lo
cated at Nebraaka City, haa turned out
ome remarkable Instances of thla nnture.
Having within Ha walla students who are
blind, frequently coupled with other mla
fortunes, Jt la wonderful the work they ac
complish and the perseverance with which
they undertake the most difficult taHk.
Without an education these Dersnns wnulA
be comparatively helpless, groping their v
way through life, and In most cases sad at Little Rock, Ark., the last of June, will
Objects of pity and public charity, depend- rr.ake a plea for one style of point writing
nt upon relatives or becoming inmates of for universal use. as ao many Btyles caus-s
stale Institutions for paupers. confusion and Is a detriment to the blind
As far back as the year 1783 an Inn- students. He will Introduce the following
keeper conceived the Idea of educating the resolutions:
blind. "For." said he. "If they can tell Whereas. There are three or more tactile
one piece of money from another why yte'na of writing for the blind in the
cannot they learn to tell C from O In ,i"'ic?, ?late,"- causing confusion, wasting
tnualn i A r i- .1. . tin,e a1"1 "M" to the hardships of those
inualo or A from F In orthography, pro- whose pathway through life ought to be
Vlded they . are rendered DalDable tn thn smoothed: be It
touch." And from that time' the education t.?koIY"1, by. M? AmeHcan Association of
of the blind .tart, n . t, B1,". That we favor
inuuiici, 1 1 1 n Kniini nn ir niM MVKtAm n.1 .....
grades and continued systematically
through the entire course. Very often a
blind child enters school without having
been taught to use his hands at all. In
suca cases the work with beads Is of great
value, as It at once awakens his Interest
He Is pleased to know that he is making
some article which he can send home to his
friends. He is encouraged to try to use
his fingers and he learns to count the
rlous groups of beads and learns the shape
of the various objects made. The. work
Improving from time to time, though not efforts toward this end, and that we favor wlth rtft is the next step in his progress
with the rapidity that other schools have th following plan as means toward this
advanced, until today we have a system Flrst.NThat we respectfully Invite the
(Whereby the blind are educated along United States commissioner of education
common branches and technical lines of to PPOlnt. a committee of three disinter-
c..nce. music literature and .ndu.try , TsieV Ttt
a manner which permits them to compete recommend one of theae for general adop-
wun ana oiien excelling mose having the
as It presents other difficulties to be mas
tered. Then the boys are ready for ' the
manship and drawing with much of the
laboratory work In science, where sight la
absolutely indtspensible, are, of course,
Mble. ' Maps In geography and dia
grams In geometry are. carved or printed
in relief and thus become available through
the Sense of touch. In mathematics, with
no blackboard and very Inadequate slate
advantage of Bight.
Second.
regard to
This school Is conducted at the expense system for our respective schools, that Is
That we' pledge ourselves, without taken ud
our personal opinion to adopt the .
01 the state. Each taxpayer contributes
his mite and It is free to all persons
eligible to entrance, the only expense to
the pupil being clothing and transportation,
as board, physician and nurses are fur
nished free. It Is not necessary that a
person be entirely blind, as Is supposed
deemed best by this committee.
Third. That we shall do all In our
power to urge upon congress the subsidiz
ing of that system favorably reported upon
and no other.
The work done at this Institution is equiv
alent to four years In the modern high
school, or equivalent to the first twelve
by many, to entitle hlmto an education In ye ' a child's school life, and prepares elsewhere with his brother who possesses
this Institution. A person with defective
eyesight which will not permit him to
Study In other schools may enter the school
at Nebraska City. ,
' It was In the year 1875 that the legislature
made the appropriation with which to build
nd equip tho School for the Blind at Ne
braska City. Four styles of writing are
in use In the various schools for the blind
throughout the world, vis.: Roman, Boston
or Line letter, New York point, American
Braille and English Braille. The New York
point is the style used In this school.
Superintendent Abhott, who will attend the
the pupil to enter the state university.
which many have done. 'Reading Is learned
from letters raised up on the surface of
the 'paper, and the boys and girls learn
to read very readily with their finger tips.
The Industrial department Is under the
management of Clark Bruce and Kffie B.
Campbell, Prof. Bruce having been con
nected with the Institution for twenty-two
years and Miss Campbell for twenty years.
. The Nebraska hchuol for the Blind af
fords an Industrial education to Its pupils
which Is of great value to them, as It fits
them for places of usefulness in the world.
work In netting. With this they make facilities, practically all the operations are
hammocks and nets for horses and for performed . mentally and so retentive does
these they find ready sale. As the boys the memory become that the most dlf fi-
grow larger and stronger broom making cult problems given in public school text
and' weaving of rag carpets and rugs Is books are solved without a pencil, in listen
ing to reading .and oral .dntttructlon- tha
student Is, of course, at no disadvantage.
Facility in the use of the ordinary type
writer enables him to put his thoughts into
black and white with rapidity and accur
acy, while his "slate and stilus," a simple
device for embossing points on heavy paper,
enables hlra to write in tangible characters
such letters, notes, themes, eto., as are
Intended for reading by touch. Many grad
uates from thla department have received
certificates from the state . university per
mitting them to enter Its freshmen classes
without special examination, and some
have successfully availed themselves of
this opportunity, acquitting themselves
with honor, and proving that the lack of
slfht In itself is no bar to a literary edu
cation. The muslo department... one of the most
The Institute
PS I
But by far the most lucrative trade which
tbe boys and young men learn Is piano
tuning. A young man with an ear adapted
for this - work and possessing some me
chanical ability finds himself less handi
capped on account of his lack of sight in
this line of work tnan In any other. Here
he can compete more successfully than
of talented musical boys and girls among
the blind, Is no greater than the percent
age among the seeing and -the work re
quired to succed Is harder. The average
attendant of a ."musical" at the School for
the Blind listens vith admiration and won
der at a well finished vocal or Inatrumen-
tal solo, but has not the slightest
Institution for the corresponding six
months during the Inst ten years has been
as follows: 1901,', 1208.78; 1902, 1S3.9;-. 1803,
J07.0.); l!i, l:i0.41; l'.HK. $1.C5; UK)6, J18S.08;
1907. $193,011; 1908, 1197.38; 10o9, 222.30; 11110.
$176.11. 1
Superintendent and Mrs. Abbott make a,
idea daily tour of tne entire building, visiting
of the Immense labor connected therewith each room and seeing that all are in a state
sight. Many of the graduates from the
tuning department are now earning a com
fortable living for themselves and those
dependent upon them. They are gradually
overcoming the prejudice against them by
proving to the public that their work Is
equal to the best In their line.
The girls are taught plain sewing, mend
ing and darning. Some of the girls become
expert In the use of the sewing machine
and they make many articles used In the Important of the School for the Blind, Is
house, such as sheets, pillow slips, table presided over by Prof. A. Loeb, Miss Maude
on the part of both the teacher and tne
pupil. There are in this state a numbor
of successful music teachers and perfor
mers who graduated from this school, and
those who have not entered the profession
have acquired accomplishments which
mean everlasting Joy to themselves and
their friends.
In addition to instrumental or vocal In
struction the advanced pupils study, the
ory, harmony and history of music.
The state of Nebraska has been very
liberal with the music department of the
School for the Blind In the matter of fur-
of cleanliness and perfect order." Mr. Ab
bott is a young man. who believes that It
Is not necessary to grow old at heart, even
if one must in years. Mrs. Abbott is a
quiet, gentle, little lady, who takes a per
sonal interest in the welfare of each girl.
Having three beautiful children of her own,
she knows the neuds of those in her charge.
and no one lacks for attention or sympathy
in times of sickness or trouble. ;
The school is not apart from the city from!
a soclail standpoint, but the young musi
cians, .especially, are much sought after by,
the society and church people of the cltyj
while the auditorium Is filled with towns
people whenever a public function Is held
ence, unless the weather be too Inclement
in which event religious exercises are held
In the chapel.' '"''!
The campus is a lovely, restful spot where '
the pupils play and wander about without,
danger of being hurt. The school has Just
closed for the summer vacation. There i
Wert two graduates this year, John Henry '
Schneider, who graduated from the depart
ment of Industry, and Lewis Basil Lud
wlck, graduating In piano tuning.
" During the closing week of school two
afternoon receptions were given, the first
to the two graduates and the second to
Mrs. Bertha Jensen, one of the nurses, who
leaves June 23 for London, England, to
make her future borne. . . ;
Short Stones of "O. Henry"
national convention of schools for the blind This training is commenced In the primary
Quaint Features of Life
Don Savi-a Child's l.lle.
ATHE1UNE CUMMINGS, i years
old. daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
John Cummlngs gf North
Caldwell, X. J., was rescued
from a large drain pipe, into
which she had crawled and be
come listened. In. order to extricate the
child It was necessary to break the pipe
to pieces. The littlo one was Insensible
when rescued, but it 's believed that she
sustained no serious Injury. It was through
the Intelligence of a collie dog, the child's
constant mpanion, that tho fact that
Catherine was in the drain pipe became
known. Mr. Cummlngs heard the dog
barking andwsnt outside. As soon as the
dog saw her he rushed toward the drain
pip svnd beg-an pawing at it. Mrs. Cum
mlngs looked in and could see her daugh
ter's dress, but so far in that she could
not reach It She then summoned assist
ance. . ,
. "Never Touched Me."
Surrounded by a swarm of bees which
covered her and her horse from head to
foot. Mrs. Kendal Adkins of Bennums,
Uela., managed to keep quiet and escaped
without a sting.
She was driving to Georgetown, when
tho bees swarmed from a tree near the
road and coveicd horse, buggy and woman.
The frightened woman remembered that
thb hud heard If a person held their
biealla bee could not sting, and so for a
few moments she remained with almost
burning lungs until the bees fled off and
sain.d again on the other side of the
road.
ttlid almost fainUd after the experience
and It was some time' before she recov
ered. Neither the woman nor the horse
received a single sting.
Baby llrlpa Free Father.
tierald, baby son of Patrick J. Fearon,
former chief clerk of the United States
Ii:d office at Crookston, Minn., now pris
oner lit the federal penitentiary at Kurt
Leavenworth, Kan., fcund, while left by
Its nioiher to play in (he debris of the
library drawer, inlsplaced government rec
ords for the charged destruction of which
the child's father Is now serving an eight
een months' sentence.
In preparation for a contemplated trip
the contet ts of the drawer, thought worth
less were cast in a Dlle unon the floor, but
child's prying fingers opened some of
less,
the papers, and the mother's attention be
ing attracted she found the proofs of her
husband s Innocence, which he maintained
to the last.
The linking papers were placed in ihe
hands of Receiver Toupiu and Itegister
feteiouii of the Crookston government land
office. The pupers consist of two sets of
tilings, involving valuable tracts of land In
northern Minnesota.
Straight afl "llli the uld of friends, Mrs.
1'Cttion placed In the nunds uf Attorney
William U. Howe means for action 10 tree
htr husband.
Severed Lea 1'ulus llliu.
The amputated leg of Charles Kagley of
Logatisport, lud., which wus crashed off
when u Jack slipped from beneath u pair
of eng-ne trucks in the Panhandle round
house, about twu months ago, is to be
disinterred tor the second lime.
Several weeks ago lagley complained
that the toes of Uic amputuled foot -gave
him great pain and alter tuffcrlng" for
several days, lie went to Mount Hope ee mu
tely and had the foot taken up. It was
found that the toes hud been burled In a
cramped position. Fagley straightened
them and the foot was again bund.
Now Fugley is complulnlug of "pains" in
the Instep uf his severed foot, llu says
they are so severe thai he has been un
able to sleep for several nights and he has
planned to go to the cemetery again and
exhume the umputated leg and ascertain
whether or not there Is pressure oil liiu
foot or something else that is causing him
unrest.
A I'atat Joke.
Just one minute after laughing heurtily
over a Joke that was sprung by one of his
companions Antone Zeilvogel, 4S years of
age, of 616 South Bc-nlaluu slice t, Balti
more, gasped slightly and expired. Zeit
Vugel was visiting his friend, Michael Max
iniov, on South Bruce street.
in the dining 100m he, with several
other men, was swapping stories. Zeit
vogel had Just concluded a slde-spllttlng
yarn and another member had stepped up
to narrate a good one.;
When he finished Zeltvogel roared with
laughttr. Suddenly his face became dis
colored and he gasped for breath. Alarmed,
the other men Jumped up to aid him, but
before they could reach .him Zeltvogel was
dead from heart failure.
,k , Romaic 0i5Yow oift um lrmi't s
Tm Uzhmsfc Sc&ooO forming oWm-fnt ttiutttVtitiiM
i .lM!wiSi-ilcB KaMS'&ey.iBW-LJtcmpy...-' (jpiswcfiis io-ll Jails' vfrbss-
:ffc common thoBho AMnw SuaHv N.;'&AM6ii,
' NEWYOF&K .i jtt i vi& oo ; swo V. -co v t s.2 .si:
; Potwr. slc4tf9&ijr ft m n o P y$u-'yi:Kli;:-z
' w V I.Wta,. .. S ' S ? '.' (HI AS M) MMIS 'D . e
''' ,
T
HK late "O. Henry" (Sydney
Porter) worked on the Houston
Post In Texas for a year, and
It was In New Orleans he
adopted his pen name. He
friends went to
In the south
scanned the list
marked all the
and severul
Cras ' ball
und Porter
present. He
EXAMPLES OF THE FOUR STYLES OF LETTERS USED IN WRITINO AND PRINTING FOR THE BLIND.
linen and towels, besides quilts and com
forts. The knitting of shawls and many
other .beautiful and useful articles Is an
Important part of the training. The cook
ing class also affords an opportunity for
many practical lessons along the line of
housekeeping, as the girls are provided
with a kitchen and are expected to do all
the work necessary to keep it In perfect
order. Here they learn to prepare the va
rious articles of food and some of the
girls become excellent breadmakers, and
when they return to their homes they are
able to take entire 'charge of the family
baking. In a few cases they are earning
a living by baking for other families, as
well as at home, and so are rendering val
uable service In that much-needed sphere,
the home.
The advanced literary department Is
under the supervision of Prof. E. C. Cook
and Miss Mary French Morton and the
grammar grade is In charge of Miss Jennie
K. Johnson. Prof. Cook has taught In
this Institute consecutively for twenty
three yVars. having been a student here
thirty-four years ago. While the manage
ment changes with political administrations
the teaching faculty remains practically the
same. The course offered In t lie literary
department Is practically the same as that
of the ordinary twelve-grade school. The
same text hooks on language, literature,
history, science and mathematics reprinted
in tangible characters consisting of groups
of embossed points are easily read with
trained and sensitive fingers and readily
mastered with alert and eager brains. Pen-
Wolf and Miss Jessie Emerlck. It Is sub
divided into three divisions, orchestra and
band, piano and organ, and voice. The
benefits derived-by pupils from this depart
ment measure up fully to the final achieve
ments of any section of the school. Here
talented boys and girls under the direction
of competent instructors may be fitted to
become successful teachers of music, or
if artistically inclined, can receive all the
necessary training required as competent
vocalists. There are many erroneous Im
pressions as to the manner In which the
blind acquire a musical education, chief
among which Is the Idea of learning by
ear. As learning by ear has no pluce in
any civilized school, It will not be neces
sary to say anything about that barbarous
method of learning music. Suffice It to say
that music Is taught here exactly the same
as In any conservatory of music. The
teacher dictates from the printed copy,
which Is written down by the pupil In the
point system and memorized.
The courses prescribed In the various
sections of the music department are Iden
tical with those of our best schools of
inuBic and no pupil is advanced until he
or she has creditably passed the previous
course. The work done by advanced pupils
Is of the highest character and will fav
orably compare with the work of seeing
pupils of the same grade. The proof of
thtf statement can be had by examining
the various programs given by the music
department of the School for the Blind.
It Is a mistaken idea that all blind are
musical, as they are not. - The percentage
a -M aril I
em city,
of those
Henri's with a pencil and found there were
more of them than of any other, name.
Then he read the list for the next popular
name and found it was Oliver. When lie
decided on the name, he first thought It
shouid be Oliver Henri, but ultimately de
cided on O. Henry. That was seventeen
years ago.
He was of a reserved temperament and
did not l.ke to have many acquaintances.
He found one day a friend had written a
story for a magazine and heard it was
accepted. Forthwith he said: "If be can
do that, I certainly am able to do it." His
first story was paid fur, but Porter said
he never saw it in print. In yeurs that
followed magazine editors were glad to
pay Porter in advance for his work, and
he received an average of 25 cents a word.
All his work was done on common yellow
paper and in pencil. When he was at
work, he would alt fur hours without touch
ing the paper with the pencil, then sud
denly his Ideals formed and he would write
with great rapidity. Uriffiih said the
author hud been known to turn out four
short stories, averaging 6,000 words, in one
week.
He was reckless in spending money, and
frequently gave elevator buys and bell boys
$0 and $10 notes.
But he wasn't "easy," despite his finan
cial regardlessnesM. His friends recently
narrated an Incident showing the man's
shrewdness. A magazine noted for "slow
pay," they said, y;ontracted wllh him for
a three-part story, for which he was to re
ceive $ I. Taxi. He got a $00 advance be
fore starling the work, and when he turned
in the second installment (none of it has
been printed yet) got $500 more, and asked
for the third $j00 as an advance before
finishing the tale. The editor. In an effort
to save money, apparently, declared that,
after all, the story didn't appear to be
worth more than $1,000 this when he had
the two Installments In Ills office.
"All right," said O. Henry. I won't
write the third one then." And he didn't.
He laughed at the editor. "Well then,"
said the latter. "I'll run the two parts and
then let our readers have a guessing con
test as to how the story ends and put up,
perhupa a $"0 prize to the winner." For
a moment the author thought he was out
witted. Then he said: "Co ahead and I'll
nlshing equipment The orchestra and band
are equipped with the very best makes of
Instruments. A number of pianos and a
very flue pipe organ are In use, and it
may be added here that no money has ever
been better invested by this or any oUier
state.
The fame of the orchestra at the School
for the Blind has reached the ears of the
directors of the State Teachers' associa
tion who have. engaged the same for one
day's performance at their coming meeting
in Lincoln next November.
The official stuff of the school ut pres
ent is:
Superintendent, N. C. Abbott; matron,
Mrs. Lillian Abbott; physician, Dr. S. S.
Wilson.
Teachers Advanced literary, E. C. Cook,
Mary French Morton; primary and grain
mar grades. Miss Jennie K. Johnson; in
dustry, Clark Bruce, Effle B. Campbell;
professor of music, A. Loeb; assistants,
Jessie 1). Kmerlck, Maude M. Wolfe.
Nurses M. Jennie Erb, Mrs. Bertha Jen
sen. Clerk and Teacher of Typewriting Ed
ward R. Walthers.
Kngineer Mike Carmody.
Teamster 8. J. Lowell.
Night Watch Q. W. Parrlott.
Head Cook Mrs. Cynthia I'ugh.
Assistant Mrs. J. H. Smeud.
Head Laundress Mrs. Susan Wilson.
The semi-annual report of the superin
tendent, filed with the governor on June 1,
1910, shows the per capita expense for the
last six months to be $176 11, or less than
for any corresponding period during the
last tea years. The average attendance
has been sixty-two, with total attendance win the prize." He Intended to win It, too."
of seventy-four. Yhe per capita cost of the Only a few days ago the editor of one of
the big magazines was handed a note, in
his sanctum, by a messenger who waited
for an answer. The editor read.lt, laughed
and said: "it's Syd Porter up to his old
tricks." The note was to the effect: "Please
send ma $2S. I Invited a man to dine, with
me and thought he'd pay. From the looks
of him I don't think he will and I can't.
O. Henry." The money was sent. The
writer could have anything he wanted-
and almost any price for his stories so
well was lie liked and so great tbe demand
for his work.
Mr. Hall, who, when editor of Alnslee's.
told O. Henry that if he would come to
New York he would pay him $1,200' for
twelve short stories per annum, said yes
terday that the humorist's regular price at
the time of his death was ' cents a wod.
He was cureless about money, though, the
editor added, and frequently they Would
give him a check for $l,0uoand tell him to
write them a story. This1 means that O.
Henry was among the four or five highest
paid writers of his time. :
"He had a brass bowl in his room," said
Mr. Hall, "into which he used to pitch
coins for the fun of the game. He Would
get over on the other side of the room and
see how many coins he could land In 'the
vessel. This gave him so much enjoyment
that the bowl was kept pretty full, and
whenever he felt the need of funds ha
would help himself from It."
Porter was interviewed only three times.
In one Instance, the interviewer said he
. had to follow the author for fifteen duya
before he could make him tell anything
about himself, and then the details w ere
scant.
A whim of the writer was to leave his
apartment at I o'clock in the morning and
sit with the homeless ones In Madison
Square until dawn. New York Press.
High Flyers.
The two aeronauts, Forbes and Yates, who
reached a height of 20,600 feet in their bal
loon, complain that ahove 18,000 feet they
suffered greatly for lack of oxygen. The
rapid ascent to the extreme height gave
the aeronauts no opportunty of becoming
acclimated. The record balloon ascent for
height was that of September R, 1M2, when
Messrs. Coxwell and Qlalsner ascended to a
height of 37,000 feet above Wolverhampton,
England. On April 15, 1878, M. Tlssandlier,
with two companions, rose to a height of
about five and one-third miles above Paris;
M. Tlssandler was the sole survivor, his
fellow passengers perishing in midair. On
March 21, lf-93, an empty balloon was sent
up from Paris with a self-registering ba
rometer, and a height of tZ.i'.H) feet was re
corded. Philadelphia Ledger.
