SEEING WITHOUT SIGHT

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 10852, 18 March 1921, Page 2

SEEING WITHOUT SIGHT

VICTORY OVER BLINDNESS SIR ARTHUR PEARSON 7 AND NEW ZEALANDERS. .MESSAGE OR THANKS. From. Sir Arthur Pearson comes a special message of thanks to the people of New Zealand for the sympathy and help they have given to the soldiers blinded in the war. The message is brought •by Mr W. £■. Hobbs, 0.8. E., a personal friend of Sir Arthur’s, with whom, in journalistic enterprises he was closely associated from 1896 down to the time that approaching blindness compelled Sir Arthur to dispose of his newspaper interests. Mr Hobbs has been, on a visit to the Dominion and in the course of an interview with our representative he said: — “St. Dunstan’s—the hostel in London where the men are trained—is a factory of happiness. Sir Arthur’s central idea from the first has been to inspire the men with the thought of the cheerful acceptance of blindness; to help them to forget their loss in the pre-occupa-tion of becoming extraordinarily capable as blind men. How the men have responded to this leadership is one of the great stories of the war. Sir Arthur, himself blind, is one of the busiest men in Xiondon—and already nearly a thousand blinded soldiers are to be numbered among the busy people of the world. In all parts of England -you may come on little poultry farms run by blind soldiers; on cobblers’shops where blind men are repairing boots in open competition with others' in the trade; on shops where blind men do frame-making and other joinery; on home factories where basket* and mats are being made without aid of sight. “There are blinded soldiers working ns skilled masseurs in the hospitals and in private practice, running fcho telephone | exchanges in big stores, occupying to- j sponsible business positions, doing typewriting and shorthand’ by means of a special machine on which notes can be taken down in Braille characters as fast as anyone can speak. -CHEERFULLY CARRYING OH. "In the short time since the uTar theee men—practically beginning life again—have come, by power of their cheerful, indomitable spirit, to their place as useful citizens—self-reliant, self-supporting. What they can’t do you forget in the wonder of what they can do, living always in darkness, 'carrying on,’ in the soldiers’ phrase, by means of the sense of feel, of ©ooind, and of -scent. Abroad in the streets, visiting new places, the help of a guide is usually sought for; but in their immediate neighbourhoods, in their own workshops and homes it is wonderful with what assurance they find their way. In short, they come amazingly near to doing everything for themselves. Rowing, swimming, dancing—whatever recreation a blind man can enjoy—they have learnt at St. Punstan’s; many of a musical turn have made a special study of that. The astounding thing is that it is not one or two, or even a few score oi exceptional men Who are making good in this way; practically alFour men blinded in the war have come under Sir Arthur’s care, and the spirit of St. Dunstan’s affects them all.” | 17-00 MEN* BUNDED IN THE WAR. When Mr Hobbs left England there were still under training some 700 of the 1700 men actually blinded in the war. The hostel is busier than ever now, and, unfortunately, no end to its work is in. eight. Besides these 1700 men who were blinded in the war, iJ3,000 were discharged from the Army with badly injured eyesight. In. the case of many of them, this badly damaged sight hus. passed, or is passing, total blindness, and men are ©till coming to St. Dustan’s as rapidly as in the deadliest days of the war. “Indeed, there is no end to- the work,” Mr Hobbs informs us. "Sir Arthur Pearson has -built up an organisation, for the After-care of tne Blinded Soldiers. It is under the direction of one of the blinded officers, and its purpose is to keep in close touch with the growing army of blind workers, keeping up the spirit of comradeshio that began at St. Dunstan’s, helping the men to get their materials, assisting them to find the best market for what they produce, and, by the constant visit of experts, giving them the encouragement and assistance they* want in their work.”

FRESH AIR FUND. GENEROUS SUPPORT. Mr Hobbs has been a member of the council of Pearson’s Fresh Air Fund for over 20 years, and during this period, over 4,0tX>,000 slum children from the large towns of the United Kingdom have been sent into the country for a day’s outing, and over 54,000 for a fortnight’s holiday at the seaside. The whole of the expenses of this charity are met by the organisers, and. amongst its regular subscribers are the King and other members of the Royal Family. Indeed, His Majesty lias more than once taken part in the children’s outings in Epping Forest. To the F.A.F. readero of this paper have contributed handsomely in the past, and Mr Hobbs stated that Sir Arthur was especially anxious to tender his sincere thanks for the support that had been so generously given in pre-war days. "The F.A.F.,” said Mr Hobbs, "has always made a strong appeal to the people of New Zealand, and the readers of the ‘New Zealand Times’ have been amongst its most generous supporters. It is difficult for most people at Home and certainly for dwellers in this land of open spaces in the heart of its biggest cities, to realise the conditions in which the poorest children live in our large towns. Take the district of Bethnal Green. In this aTea the deathrate is three times the mortality of Eondon as a whole, while as to density of population the borough has 417 inhabitants to the acre, as against the acknowledged maximum as a health standard of 55! It is the slum children in districts such as this,” added Mr Hobbs, "that the F.A.F. transports from the tenement houses that are their homes, and the narrow, stifling alleys that are their playgrounds, to the green fields arid woods and shady lanes—delights which many of them had not been acquainted with before—and Sir ArthuT Pearson was anxious that I should convey his cordial thanks to the readers of the 'New Zealand Times’ for the valuable help they have given to the fund in the past and an expression of hope that ere long subscriptions may again reach the pre-war level.” Contributions will he gratefully received ’ey Mr Ernest Hessell, hon. secretary, Pearson’s F.A.F., 226. Great Portland street, London, 'W.I.