SEVEN YEARS' PRETENCE OF BLINDNESS

Evening Star, Issue 15537, 6 July 1914, Page 1

SEVEN YEARS' PRETENCE OF BLINDNESS

GIRL'S "HIDEOUS HYPOCRISY ON AN ORGANISED SCALE."

An amazing case of counterfeiting blindness, which Judge Amphlett described as quite unparalleled, ended in exposure at the Birmingham Countv Court. For seven years Irene Louisa Powles had received compensation of 4s 6d ;i week for blindness sustained, as she alleged, while following her employmen 1 as a scissors setter. Messrs Guest, Keen, and Nettlefold, the employers. sought the termination of the order on the ground that the girl was not really blind. In the conflict of testimony tho Judge called in two experts, who, being unsuccessful in an endeavor to make the girl open her eyes 5 induced her to enter a nursing home, where she was kept under close observation night and day. She had refused to open her eyelids, and they had to be forced. She then rolled her eyes upwards, and it was necessary to drag them down with forceps. Metal shields were fixed ovot her eyes at night to prevent her tampering with them, and the inflammation which had previously been present disappeared. The specialists concluded that the inflammation had been artificially induced. They also gave it as their opinion that there was no defect of the vision, and that it was a case of deliberate deception. One of the specialists reported that when she was first admitted to the home the girl was careful to lay great stress on the fact that she was practically blind and could only faintly distinguish light from darkness, but did not at the time make any great protest of being unable to open the lids. Later she admitted on several occasions that if she could open the lids she believed she would be able to see. He had fostered that idea, and by a gradual process had encouraged the _ girl to acknowledge a very marked improvement in her sight. When the lids were opened with a speculum he first got her to acknowledge that she could see his hand moving before her eyes, a.nd :i little later she said she was able to see his finger and to perceive it was a finger. The next step was to encourage her to admit that she could distinguish colors, and quite recently she name<? correctly and easily various colored ribbons—namely, red, green, and blue. She also was able to tell tho difference between shades of color. That he regarded as the most important evidence in the case, for the power of distinguishing colors was the most highly specialised function of sight, and the one which almost invariably was first to be affected in diseases of the optic nerves. It necessarily followed that her visual apparatus was healthy and normal. He was forced to conclude that her previous profession of blindness was a deliberate misrepresentation of the truth, and lie firmly believed slitpossessed good norma! vision in both eyes. Jn ordering compensation to b.' stopped forthwith, the Judge said that the opinions of the two specialists won as nearly coincident as they possibly could he. He went on to say: They compel mo to come to ih. conclusion that there has been hideous hypocrisy on an organised scale. Hie result of which has been to extract large sums of money from the applicants or their insurers which they never ought to have been called upon to pay. I confess I had entertainer a hope that at least some explanation of this girl's unnatural conditio] might have been attributed, if not i-. the result of the accident, at ali events to some mental infirmit\ beyond her control. There is no room, however, here for so charitable conclusion, and the reports of the medical expert* bring conviction to my mind as to what tho true fact* are. Tho whole story is- a gruesome one, and it is inexpressively sad t<see a young girl of considerable

ability, endowed with much courage, and "of great tenacity of purpose, misusing her talents and enduring much suffering for the purpose ot gaining a few shillings a wo.nk. The application on behalf of the employers will be granted, and all compensation will immediately be stopped.