Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/206

* BLIND. 176 BLIND. fication, and proper display of its contents. It is not so rich in collections of specimens of appa- ratus as that of Paris. The director, Prof. Alex- ander Mell, is the author of the Encykloiiadisches Eandbuch des BUndenweseiis — an important work on the blind and the methods and apidiances employed in their instruction and training. An international congress for the amelioration of the condition of the blind was held in Paris in connection with the Universal Exposition of 1900. Germany, England, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Kussia, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, the United States, Belgium, and France were represented, the two countries last named having the largest number of delegates and the controlling inlhience. There is an American Association of Instructors of the Blind, which meets biennially. Books. In all the branches of instruction for the blind, while oral teaching is of no small ini- portance, aid is derived from the use of book's and apparatus adapted to the sense of touch. The process of printing embossed books consists of pressing the type strongly on heavy paper, in such a way as to produce letters in relief. The first characters adopted by Haiiy in 1785 were those of the Illyrian or Slavonic alphabet, doubtless on account of their square form. Large editions of a few works were printed at great expense in his system, which gave 3G5 letters on 50 square inches of surface. About forty years later James Gall, a printer and publisher of Edinburgh, took up the work, being deejily im- pressed with the importance of jjutting the Bible into the hands of the blind. He printed his first book in 1827, and in 1834 published the Gospel of Saint John, the tirst book of the Scriptures ever printed for the blind. In 18.')S he printed for the British and Foreign Bible Society the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. His labors extended over a period of twelve years. While at first he was obliged to contend with apathy and incredulity, much interest was eventually ex- cited in his work in Great Britain and elsewhere. He used a modified Roman letter, choosing the lower-case alphabet in preference to capitals, whose uniformity renders them difficult to dis- tinguish by the touch. His system gave 52G let- ters on 50 square inches. IMeantinu' Dr. Howe, when beginning tlie work of educating tlie blind at the Perkins Institution, found himself seri- ously hamijcred by the fact that at that time (1832) only three embossed books in English were in existence. By dint of various improve- ments, such as stereotyping, using thin paper expressly prepared, and reducing the size of the letters, he succeeded in cutting down the bulk of the books one-half, and the expense of ])rinting to one-quarter of what it -luid been. Thus the Boston melliod gave 702 letters to 50 square inches, 21 editions of books l)eing printed in a short time. A further inqjrovement gave 1067 letters to the same space. Dr. Howe was ex- tremely desirous of giving the Bible to the blind, and in 1836 the entire New Testament was print- ed at the Perkins Institution. Numerous text- books were also issued. The first printing in Philadelphia (in 1833-34) gave only 200 letters to 50 s<iuare inches, and was abandoned. In 1836-37 work was resumed with an improved method giving 826 letters. John Alston was the inventor of the Glasgow sys- tem, which gave 891 letters, using capital letters. however, as did the Philadelphia type. He print- ed the Gospel of Saint Mark in 1837, the New Testament in 1838, and the whole Bible in 1840, Dr. Howe finishing his task of issuing the Bible in 1843. Alston's type was too small to be legi- ble, and his system did not stand the test of time. Mr. Lucas, of the Bristol Institution, invented a system of stenographic printing, with arbitrary characters and many contractions, by which he secured largeness of type and diminished the size of the book. In 1830 a society was formed to aid Lucas in printing the Bible and teaching the blind to read on his system. As this system was phonetic, it did not teach correct spelling, which is in any event difficult for the blind to master. Mr. Frere, of London, also invented a phonetic system about 1838, as well as return lines. His books are read from left to right and from right to left alternately, the letters being reversed in alternate lines. Nearly all of the supposed improvements for facility in reading were made upon the idea that, as the majority of the blind are adults, all methods must be directed for their benefit — a theory hich does not recommend itself to Ameri- cans, wlio consider the education of the young as of the first inii)ortance. Of these new methods only two have any prominence at the present time: Dr. Moon's complex line type and the arbitrary point character. The former uses a combination of Roman letters with arbitrary cliaraeters, reversing the lines like Frere, but not the letters. His system is read with facility owing chiefly to its large type, measuring one- fourth of an inch. It was meant for elderly blind persons and for those whose hands are rough- ened by manual labor. It is well adapted for these two classes, but is too unwieldy for general xise. The 64 volumes of the Moon Bilile can be printed in eight volumes in Roman type. It also has the disadvantage of being illegible to seeing persons. Dr. Moon has printed many books in English and in foreign languages. A society has been formed to extend his system, and the blind are taught by it in their own homes. It requires, however, special teachers. The arbitrary point character was invented by Charles Baibier, a Frenchman, and arranged in its present form by Louis Braille, one of the blind profess(n's at the Institution Nationale of Paris. It consists of six dots. One or more of these are placed in various positions, making 62 varieties of form. One great advantage of this cliaracter is that it can be used by the blind for writing to others in their condition. Another is that it afVords an excellent method for writing and printing music. It is extensively used, and is a valuable invention. IMr. William B. Wait, the superintendent of the New York Institution for the Blind, arranged a modification of the point system, the dots of his method being placed horizontally. The friends of the point system would be glad to abolish the Roman letter alto- gether, whereas the advocates of the latter are glad to avail tliemselves of both methods, which are taught side by side in some institutions. They point out that seeing persons use three dis- tinct methods for their educational purposes: Ronuin letter for reading, scrii)t letter for writ- ing, and an arbitrary arrangement of characters for music. There would therefore .seem to be no reason why the blind should not employ two: