Newspaper Page Text
Marion Brewer
% 1 ARNV, the house keeper lor my
\ j\ - Uncle Eugene and his son for 20
l\ V iong years; Marny, the good, the
faithful, the competent, is -noing
l.lin<s. Uncle had a long talk with the
specialist who has .been treating licr
eyes for the last six months, and he said:
'"There is absolutely r.o hope now of
saving them."' At first he had hoped
that her poor eyes might be "cured if
he tried a new kind of treatment now
used abroad and if f=he were patient
and obedient to his directions. And
now- the treatment has been tried,
every command and caution carefully
observed, but Marny will soon be num
bered with those who cannot tell the
day from, the night. The doctor said
that her general health is excellent and
that she will probably live for years;
and he , recommended that she be
taught the .embossed reading .at, once,
so that she' will have the comfort of
books and magazines in her darkness.
In a few days it was decided that she
was to continue her duties as house
keeper, for ; the family love her. and
she loves them; and the routine of -long
years of service means that she can
still manage the household, efficiently,
though her eyes are sightless. She will
be happier in the old home and with
her old regular life. This settled,,uncle
wished .me to discover what I. could
about ways and means .of '.teaching
Marny's fingers to read the raised liter- \u25a0
ature printed for theblind, and to find
out in general what is being done in
San Francisco that the adult blind may
read.
I, of course, knew that the place for
the blind children of the state is in the
institution at Berkeley, and that there
is a home for adult blind in Oakland;
but it was not until I inquired if there
were any' movement in the city to pro
vide ways and means*to teach the blind
in their,; homes that I heard about the
San Francisco reading room for the
blind arid the books, for the blind di-
Tlaion of the California sta.te" library.
The reaxling room'was puton Sixteenth
street, near Market, in charge of Miss
Harriet '/.Young,. I was told, and the
state library sent books to '.the blind
anywhere In the state,' postage fr^.-
With those two facts in mind I'started.
. out to find what could be done ' for
Marny, and I discovered an interesting
work right here in our own cit>%' :'
The Blind Reading Room
Rumor had it that. the reading room
I wanted to locate is in the McCreery
public library, so I set out for . this
library. I found, however, that it is
not a part of the McCreery library, but
Is in a separate building next door. In
a few minutes I saw a sign in a win
dow which read: "Reading Room and
Library for the Blind. Open Sunday's..
Tuesdays and Fridays From 2 to
4 P. M." And this was Saturday
ing. But fortunately for me,* tiiough I
felt ratlier. provoked that this Saturday
morning was not a Sunday, Tuesday or
Friday afternoon between 2 and .'. 4
o f clock, I went up the steps and rang
the bell. :
Such good luck! The young woman,
who answered was Miss Harriet Young,
the superintendent of ', the reading, room."
In response to, a kindly "Won't you
come in?" I entered a small room, -a
"first . floor front," furnished with two
large bookcases, a desk with • type
writer, a table ' and some chairs,- and
In a very few moments . I was \u25a0 seated
and had told . Miss Young my errand.
Miss Young smiled— lt • was \ a very en
thusiastic smile— and then began ;to
speak earnestly, \u25a0 of the founding of:
the library, the books, some -of .''the:
problems in- the work with the blind
and her efforts with those' in: San^Frari-
The .. Idea; of "a reading 'room: and
library. for;the sightless* in; the city
was conceived by Mrs. Josephine : fle
Greayer (npw Mrs. Andrew Rowan of
Fort Douglas, Salt-Lake City)! and it
was through her" efforts that* it iria'r
terialized in August, 1902. Subscrip
tions were obtained, she and her friends
subscribing generously, a board '-of'
trustees .was organized, a, room in the
Phelan bfancli library at Fourth and
Clara streets was furnished and .a-li
brajy'^started with Miss Young as su-'
perintendent and a number of volunteer
readers to the blind. The -library
grew, maintained entirely by annual
dues from the women supporting" the
movement, and gifts froni friends; and
by April 17, 4906, there were 33 4 ' books
on the shelves and a new. case; of
books (JSO wortli)" had just been re
ceived. Plans and. arrangements .'were
also : nearly completed for a fine enter
.tafnment to be , given on May ,4,
the. proceeds ot • which were ,to buy
a printing : press that :there 'Should
be more books for- the blind . readers,
and employment for the blind -workers
in. the city. Then came the terribl«
earthquake and lire and all the'books,'
furniture, reports and private papers
were " destroyed. • *. . :
A New Beginning* •
In the dark months that followed the
efforts of the superintendent and 'the
board of directors were largely, con l
fined tp_ visiting the blind to .read -to
thorn and to "render any assistance: 'As
many of : them lost their 'alii the "board
of directors .generously, helped .them •.in
getting • food, clothing andL a new "start
in life. After' these ' needs-'were';"at
tended to the trustees and superintend
ent turned their attention/ to thppt-oJ^
\<>m of opening the library *anev.O
was", rather a discoufaglng'task with
furniture, books, papers, all gone,
rooms' very scarce and rents high.
Finally- a room was. secured in the
parish house of St.* Stephen's church"
at 864 Fulton street through the cour
tesy^ of the Rev. Cecil Marrack, and
the new reading .room was established
and formally opened October ' 23. There
were few equipments -.for 'the work/
but a startwas made arid' headquarters'
for' the .blind was- established. That
meant a great' deal and in the follow
ing yeac nearly ; two dozen" blind-peo
ple • were - read to, in; their, homes and
some of them .were- taught to'^read.
Some were taught at the- reading room
and still, others learned to use the'typie-;
writer there., Gifts of books, niagaV
zincs, and papers ; came in slowly r :and"
the board Itself ;was able to purchase
$200 worth of^books. besides- a^ type
writer and Btaille machine. There.
was also -the gift of ?D0 from- Mrs:
Frances Fearn- the a^ent pf the queen,"
"Carmen. Sylva," who has done 'such^a
great" work for the. blind in: Roumaiila.
This; sum "was to go. toward a -piano
for the- reading ' room. A legacy/of
$2,500- from, the estate of John: R.
Spring came at an opportune moment,"
for the income.of the library materially^
depreciated after. the . fire. The,: books.,'
of .course, : were limited in number/but'
the ;> state' .library at Sacramento .; and ;
the * libraries of • Pennsylvania - v vefy^
kindly sent -books * r toV distribute - to"' the
blind readers . in the - clty.l Very, , soon '
the needjof a room: larger and better ;
equipped; was ; f elt, v and , ' on .; August l'l3
laSt ; it was possible, to open the library
WHERE
SAN FRANCISCO'S
BLIND FOLK
READ
AND READ TO
• i \u25a0 -•-.- - I'-V:--
In; its present quarters at 3035"x Six
teenth streef'near; Market.- . ' ;
AYe who can- see are so accustomed
to large libraries with shelves / and;
shelves tilled with good books— libraries
that grow -in .'thc^twinkling. : "of an eye
in these days— that V.c can hardly" ap
preciate, w.hat.^it/ is to accumulateiand
direct ailibrary 'for the blind.' When I
asked Miss 'iYpuhg how many books,
there were in this library," I was amazed
to hear .there were- only 250. .: Arid
then -Miss -Young explained: ' .-"Books
for the blind are vory, expensive,-. 'Mid
dlemarch,'. a' -recent /publication-: in
raised print, costs $21; and the. price
of f 'David Copperficld 15 . is . $70:50/' ; The
cost of making these; embossed^, books
is' very great, as each :.page>' means
the setting up of a brass 1 : plate/from'
which '. tiie /impression gls/ transferred.
Then: there is no competition -in Vtlie
production .of books' for ;;tho v blind.
There is only one pfinting^house.;in
the United States, the one at-Louis
ville, Ky. ' ..However, there is fa .Howe
memorial; press _• at I the ; richly/ endYwed':
Perkins^school;: f or 'the.. blind;~jn> Bos
ton,'; and /the students : there '"are' begin-"',
ning;.. to' /print" books. >^^M
showed -me ;''The ! Story of EH" •; f rornTthaV
press," anYineipensjve ? arid "welli printed
book, i bound < in , brown pasteboard^ cov-°
ers^-.Thek>^Bhe_skr"ew/"VnthusiastVc,Vas
sn'e' told V;6f|- her /'great; dream*' 'the^'riilV;
flllment; of 2Whlch',the^2 Whlch',the^ earthquake v and
flre had - spoiled, "f that > there } shall ) be- a
printing', 'press^n/ connection i with"* the";
lib ra rv ' in* San " Francisco, "so'Uhat* books
majr '-^P printed {at;;the}'least; ; pjosslbie.
S°?. t( -&& numberrof r ihem' InVre^d'tandj
employment i given ftoYthV sigh tleVs'whb*
need-it. " z^tivlf\ :^-w ?'•\u25a0*' \u25a0'\u25a0'\u25a0!»
: •.i?li°" n^ i^ c b ??ks ythemseVyea^ ? f uH^o^
f i\ u^ k ? n £ s ±o f , 'prln]u r Ma7n^iwqul4Uearnj
*° ;; rr £ ad - • "Poo r : Mar ny^ ha'y.l ng^ftn gerv
a. blessing, if one's feVeß'fereV^neJ'Vtoi
read'; by £ thV ; -. sense
TS"? 1 *; s . h ° w : e d 'n^bobkslprlnTe^; in/the^
American Braillelpoi^Vi^^c)i^
acterlstlc' three-'dots 'long; arid -two 'dots"' 1
i«t-» •".\u25a0»« f-w,* 1 "-. -- - -•• •\u25a0»\u25a0\u25a0 .\u25a0\u25a0 '"- - -.. -\u25a0. -\u25a0\u25a0« »-»vs— v * •\u25a0\u25a0- */- *5
;wlde r'ln 1 * the f Boston J line. Jettej,"\whichj
Js^ery>,beautiful|butXvery<dlfflc*ultVto^
(rjS^flMW^^^^^^cjT^fivt^^ifch^u^sJ
characteristic Jtwoj dots! longTaridHhree^,
dot^^ideV»raucHVre^embllngSthe>Ainer-^: :
ilcanißraille^iand^finaUy^in^the^famous.-i
Moon-;print;',ipven^ted^by^tbe;benevolentr^
Ipr^Moon^fpr^thei^uie'Jb'f-^thos^e^whV^
have^been. fstrlcken^w'ith'j blindness tin.i;
later^llfe/fJnextlaimedTover^the^beautyL
of K' the J-Boston *- line*' letter^ type;f
thpught*as^li; closed '?my »';eyesfand Jlet^'
myl fingers routHneTsomef of;' the? letters-^
how; hardt it^wpuld rbe tf or • me^to *learn£
to'" readmit. V -TTheV greater \ riumber.'Vof \u25a0**
books In: this San. Francisco library are\
int the American Braille; .then' comes'
ithe"New.\York: point, then the Boston
line letter,-, and lastly ? the Moon print.
It Is Miss. Young's opinion that the
question which* of v the raised, prints is
best will never be^ decided, and It will
always be > necessary !to use the : four
kinds. .; ,4;
.'- Among .••< the; 250. volumes on " the
shelves are Shakespeare's works. These
arc 'extremely, popular with-, the blind
readers, \u25a0 and their - fingers wander over
them again and again, though. the first
reading :of any book by. the blind is
•most thorough. Their -fingers do not
.skip /carelessly as qur.eyes often do.»
Miss : Young also said 7 proudly that in
\u25a0proportion to the numbers -of readers
and <the \ books there is af greater de
mand for best literature in -this
'reading room for the blind than in the
public libraries.- The works of "Wash
ington'"lrving and Robert Louis Ste
venson.are great favorites, and almost
all the readers return;to Dickens again'
and again, '"Our Mutual- Friend," '"The
Tale *of Two Cities" and "Little Nell"
being; popular favorites. .It is too bad
that ; many of the. books in embossed
\type are, condensed. ''"Oliver Twist!' is
a mere outline, think of the" dis- '
appointment and*oss to Juvenile read
ersiwith that well beloved "Little Men
and Women"* in' only: tw"o chapters, and
"An Old Fashioned Girl" -the 'only one
of Louisa ~-Alcott*s -works'' Complete for
blind boys and girls !A "Silas Marner."
I .The Vicar of WaUcfleHl/' Mrs.. E wing's
work?, those of Aldrieh.^lliQhard Hard-
Davis and.tThqmas,; Nelson Page
\u25a0nre printed more '-generously, however,
•.and are great favorites vHtli the fiction
•; readers. : '"*.- -•\u25a0\u25a0-- .-'\u25a0.,- •..'
'""Magazines -are -there, -too, -for the
'blind, foremost amfjng." them" being the v
:* ZicgleKmagazine (in either the Ameri
can'^ Braille or 1 New 'York point), that 1
famous magazine; maintained. and pub
lished bythe noble Mrs. William Zieg
'lcr. Sut of. heir- private fortune and senT
to .any* bllml person in America, Aus-
; tralia, ; India and Canada for : 10. cents a
\u25a0 year, 'that price; being set upon it so as
to -.obtain r. postage . rates. . There' are
, also. the Christian Record and the Daily*
.Mail'in'raised f prlht.-.'..- ~"
\u25a0'Miss, Young^or. some_ of the women
] connected "with the - organization „ sup-.
;portlng;the library, who- volunteertheir .
jtlme^and" services,': read •' threeC after
• noons aSweek in, the reading room-,from
'.2^o'clock''untll-4.; Jus tnow the average
attendance'; Is* about;- four; .for. many of
jthe,;blind ; cannot go to.the, libraryV Dis
tance," car fare 'and< the .fact that. bliniir
ness:" so*, of ten Is accompanied by an
other/^affliction,' such as . paralysis/ or
deafness,^ mean that* many , of the' blind
must' 1 ; Remain , home;--*. Generally ~. the -\u25a0
listenerstyrhqcome in, the. afternoon are
men,' and \u25a0 i they ; are i particularly .inter
, ested *In Shearing ; articles \ read ; from the .
>\u25a0 rWorld.-vthe-* Scientific '."AmeriT.
can?, and' the* Popular V2Cs<?hanlc.'.;.' Many,
of ;;the7iblirid*t ares eager";for.; for. s'ubstdntial
reading r ' l but:the"'numbPr l of;such; books*
.igMlimlted-- r and.?\the£« majority, of \u25a0*\u25a0 the
rsightless r ;are" poor-— the/_ high • pricet},
erabpssed"' books ;are'.;far*:beyond * their/
means". -~ \u25a0• •'\u25a0_-\u25a0 \u25a0''•; •->- \u25a0:'\u25a0••;-:.; -^ ' \u25a0,
*o*Besf3es^Veading'to •'those ; who" come :
ttoihta.rjMlss;Young'spend3- many, hours
'aujthe ? "reading7 room*, teaching .;\u25a0 those of
the ;«D"iblind . patrcms «wiio '. it to^ use
'tfie jßraine^machlne^ r ?by;.which ' they can . .
; take-down ; a^ letter! in <Bho'rtb'andVdr -any •\u25a0
abtfrfivlated V f drm';and ".then ) transfer" L lt /
•*?x*f the iX typewriter.^ *;This. has". been ;
.taught^tormany.'as'has'the" use;" of; the
; typ" ewrlter" w also. "tl* } In '' connection V with^
the flatter.;. the touch i system -^ is .used,
! there "\being \ no praised ii letters \ on ; the,
.keys-and 'no '\u25a0\u25a0 need" of {any. '-- Th'enii there"
jTKe^&in^' Francisco Sunday Call
are -many lessons given to those who
come^ In • reading, -and the pupils are
eager, to learn and very appreciative of
the ; teachers' efforts. The social life la
not neglected :in • connection t with ' this
; reading room. The directors give an
annual reception to l,the, blind, with an
entertaining program, generally mv
- sical, ; and there are frequent musical
\" Sunday, afternoons and entertainments
;< on the second Friday of each month.
And ye* this, work in the reading
room is only part of the work. Vl3it
i ing the blind In their; homes, reading
: to them and teaching those who cannot
go to. the library to read, occupy the
• other days of the week when the room
is not open. As Miss Young remarked,
) blindness most frequently comes to the
1 adult blind with another affliction in it 3
train, and so many are 'thus cut off
\u25a0 from the comfort and pleasure of get
ting out and around. Then, too. the
1 state schools provide for the education
.of blind, youth, but all those over 21
.years, of age are not eligible for ad
mission to those institutions. Philan
i-thropists today, who are interested in
the blind have become impressed with
\u25a0 this condition and also with the fact
\u25a0 that the adult blind are vastly in the
majority, as they constitute 80 per cent
of the total blind population. Not very
long ago a librarian of a public library
in a. large western city, stated that he
• had a quantity of books for the sight
less on his shelves, but they were rare
ly taken out or used. This was due to
the fact that the adult blind of hl3
1 city, numerous though they were, had
not been taught to read, and conse
quently there could "be no demand for
books. Since so many of the- adult
blind "cannot leave their homes, home
teaching has become a most vital fac
tor in allwork for their benefit. It is
being revived by the Woman's chrtv in
Chicago, and a recent issue of the Out
look for the Blind commend 3 the good
home teaching work going on in New
York." Massachusetts, • Connecticut.
Rhodo Island. Cincinnati and San Fran
cisco. . " .
Moon Type* ls Easy *
Some of the adult blind "find -It very
difficult to learn^tp. read* the' 3Cew York .
point; or the .'AnjJijlßjiii Braille, -hut any
\u25a0- one -who could read bef ore losing his
eyesight can . learn to read the moon
, type. Many acquire the ability to rea<i
it in one or . two lessons. This would -
be -cheering jiews to Marny.,l thought.,^
The home teacher carries the reading
to the blind 'person, and with a few
words of encouragement helps him to
make a successful beginning, and then
the work is half accomplished- Then
practice,' and when the pupil has be
come j proficient he is ready for his
books in embossed, type, which he can
get at the San Francisco reading room
lor from the state library. Through the
beneficent Rucker law books can be
sent through the United States mall to
the: blind. reader postage free.
The "Books for/the Blind Division of
the : California State ' Library" was
founded by the trustees of the state
library December, 1901, with the in
tention of supplying books for the
home use of all blind persons In Cali
fornia." Circular letters were sent out
td all the blind it<#yas possible to lo
cate.to find out what kind of print they
preferred.. It was found that the type
most requested was. the New York
point, the second* preference being
given ,to the Moon type; IThls guided
the librarian in the choice of print, and
soon the library was in working order.
The'first book "was loaned June 13/ 1903.
Today there ? are 132 blind borrowers
scattered all. the .way from Slskiyou
county, to San Diego. Most of the read
ers are very ambitious and are learning
several, different f systems in order \u25a0 to
have a greater variety of books to
read. To.l those who '; : .wish -to learn a
new print : the 'library, sends, upon ap
plication, an alphabet and a primer.'and
these may be. kept as long as -needed.
Each borrower may take out two book 3
-and one piece, of music or one book and
one primer at a time, and each of them,
the primer excSeptetl. may 'be kept a
month with the privilege of renewal,
unless it is wanted by some other
reader. The borrowing of the bookj
has been thoughtfully made the sim
plest and easiest of matters for tho
blind reader. An application blank, a
list of books for the blind and a; call
, slip are mailed on request. After the
borrower is enrolled in the blind di
vision of the library the book orpiec«»
of music he wishes is mailed 'to? him,
• and at the expiration of a month"a pos
tal'and return postal notice are sent
him so /that if he wishes the book or
music renewed he may notify tae libra
rian. The library, asks .only that tho
. reader take great care tr> ke«*r> the
books clean; that he rest his lingers
lightly, on the raised letters while read
ing, and that upon the return "oC-tlie
book he use the same , wrappings^lit
came in rand upon which is a labeh.ad
\u25a0.; dressed; to the state library, at. Saicf a- -
'mento. .. ' \u25a0 \u25a0' . " *
Collections of from 81Q,,t0B 1Q,,t0 23 books
are loaned \u2666f.anyrfree reading room-or
library in the j state, provided they^-be
open the public, and the exp,res3
charges are paid by the state library..
i Tfte San Francisco reading room for'the '
blind- has ; been' a grateful borrower ,
from this "Books for the Blind ;D»
' vision." '
Thus in looking tor a -little help, for, ~
our poor" blirtdJ.Mafny, I found a splen-;
did movement,*' carried on: by a 'number
oft our.-; philanthropic *: women" In JSan 1 :
Francisco, -for -the help, of the afflicted ;•
blind ' in \u25a0their.'jmtdst. This is ainove-^
ment; bound, tb" r grow. and one "bound; to
bring*, forth ; more gooil i fruit in abun
dance.': And .thtJ. state library is helping
1 some. of . the ; blind- readers in San ;Fran-.
ci3co» too. 'as well'as'those'all over' the
:state.--- ».'"\u25a0\u25a0> I-''.:';- : *; :"\: "\ '**-^ : ;'.": T .f.V* .
-.When I- thanked jMiss Young that
.Saturday morning for her generous gift
= of \u25a0; time /-and information
.'about;^ier work; she said modestly, : *rOh.
• I f don't -.talkNabout the work very welL
-r ; llke;to;do it'better."^* I: . . _;-,'\u25a0
vAs for Marny, ; she' has already* mas^T
tered the Moon svstem,' and' I shall take
: her" her^ first ~book_ from the reading
room 1 for the blind next we«X
