my blind friends move about with ap-
parent ease, going up and down the
street. They can enter the various stores
without striking against the door frame.
They can recognize passing friends,
avoid obstacles, turn the corners, and
proceed with seeming ease. All this is
but a natural result of the condition of
the blind. Having lost the sense of sight,
they must depend largely upon hearing,
feeling, and smelling; and in the use of
these senses they develop a keenness to a
degree far beyond that possessed by
sighted people.
FOR THE BLIND
A Great Humanitarian Work
(Above) A group of blind
people are seen participating
in a reading circle that en-
joys the fine literature pub-
lished for the sightless by The
Association, Inc. (Below)
The blind read by touch,
and an alphabet composed
of raised, or embossed, dots
is used in printing publica-
tions for them.
Aside from supplying them with the
physical necessities of life, the next great-
est boon to the blind is perhaps good
literature. It is doubly true in the case of
the blind that good reading brings cheer,
comfort, inspiration, education, and
pleasure. But how do the blind read?
Of course, you must know that they read
by the sense of touch. Instead of seeing
the letters, they feel them. Consequently,
the printed characters for the blind must
be of a nature to be felt. In other words,
they must be embossed. These embossed
characters are not the same as the letters
of our Roman alphabet, but are made
from a group of six embossed dots, being
made by a partial perforation of the
paper. The system taught in all schools
for the blind throughout the country
today is known as the Revised Braille.
The deft fingers of the blind glide over
these dots, and the combinations are
Aycust — 1944
By
David D. Rees
Editor of the “Christian Record’
Christian Record Benevolent
Editor Rees is shown standing beside one copy of the
Braille Bible. It consists of 21 volumes, and makes a stack
nearly five feet high. On the top is seen a copy of the one-
volume Bible in ordinary use among those who can see
to read.
readily detected and per-
ceived by the reader.
Such printing, you may
imagine, is quite bulky. The
Bible in Braille is in 21 large
volumes. These volumes,
piled one on top of another,
make a stack nearly five feet
high.
With the thought in mind of bringing
cheer, comfort, and sunshine into the
lives of the physically blind, the Chris-
tian Record Benevolent Association, of
Lincoln, Nebraska, was established. It is
one of the oldest and best and most
favorably known of all welfare organiza-
tions for the blind.
This association publishes four monthly
magazines for the blind, and maintains a
large, free circulating library. The
Christian Record, the parent journal, was
founded in 1900, and is the oldest current
journal for the blind now being published
in the United States. It is a welcome
visitor in the homes of thousands of sight-
less people throughout the country, has a
national and international circulation,
and is without doubt the most loved of all
embossed current literature. Three
other journals published by the associa-
tion are The Bible Expositor, The Sabbath
School Monthly, and The Children’s Friend.
Sa large has the circulation of these
journals become that we now turn out
between three and four tons of reading
matter for the blind each month. The
magazines are sent postage free to the
homes of blind people of all walks of life
and of all religious affiliations.
‘The maintenance of the work, because
the output is so enormous, is a great
problem. Itrequires thousands of dollars,
many thousands of dollars annually. We
RI
use the best of material, and our paper
bill alone is more than $5,000 a year.
But notwithstanding the heavy expense
incurred in printing, our magazines go to
the blind from month to month entirely
free of charge. No blind reader is asked
to pay a penny for his literature. Many
of them could not pay, and if a charge
were made, they would be deprived of
the inspirational visits of a journal they
"have learned to love.
The value of this work is recognized
by men of worth everywhere. The late
Governor I. L. Patterson, of Oregon,
said, “The Christian Record does much to
alleviate the unfortunate conditions of the
afflicted persons who receive it.” Former
Lieutenant Governor George A. Will-
iams, of Nebraska, says, “I am personally
acquainted with the work of The Christian
Record. An exceedingly high standard is
maintained with a view to ministering to
every need of the blind.” Former Gov-
ernor Charles W. Bryan, of Nebraska,
says, “Our state is proud of the work
done by The Christian Record.” From our
readers we receive such letters as this:
“The Christian Record has made dark land
a brighter and a happier place for me.”
Welfare labor for the blind is wonderful
work. It is wonderful because the cry of
these needy people grips my very soul,
They do not ask for sympathy. But
(Continued on page 15)
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