The Braille Forum
Vol. V January 1967 No. 4

Published Bi-Monthly by the
American Council of the Blind
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

* Editor:
Ned E. Freeman
136 Gee's Mill Road
Conyers, Georgia 30207

* Associate Editors:
George Card
605 South Few St.
Madison, Wis. 53703

Earl Scharry
264 Saunders Ave.
Louisville, Ky. 40206

* Executive Office:
Miss June Goldsmith, Chairman
Board of Publications
652 East Mallory Ave.
Memphis, Tenn. 38106

Published at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

*****

** Statement of Editorial Policy

The BRAILLE FORUM is dedicated to promoting the greater independence, autonomy and dignity of all blind people. 

The FORUM will carry ACB official news and programs, but its pages will also be available for free expression of views of organizations and agencies of and for the blind and any developments of interest to its readers. Timely material is solicited. 

Selections of material will be made on the basis of interest, timeliness, originality, clarity and forcefulness of expression. In controversial matters space will be made available for the presentation of divergent points of view.

** Notice

The BRAILLE FORUM is available in braille, inkprint and on tape. Miss June Goldsmith, 652 E. Mallory Ave., Memphis, Tennessee 38106, should be notified of any change of address or of any person desiring to receive the braille or inkprint editions. 

The tape edition may be obtained from Mr. Ned E. Freeman, 136 Gee's Mill Road, Conyers, Georgia 30207. 

Letters and material for publication should be submitted to the Editor or to one of the Associate Editors.

*****

** Table of Contents

ACB President's Message 

ACB Plans for Legislative Action, by Durward McDaniel 

Pioneers in Computer Programming, by William Ferrell

Teach Us How to Fish

Playing the Percentages, by Frank Kells

Sports Section -- Olympics, Anyone?

Another Form of "Sound Shooting"

Skaters Waltz and Figure Eight

New Zealander Aspires to Boston Marathon

The Sighted Backlash, by the Rev. Thomas Carroll

Ned's Corner

A Fascinating Bit of History

More about Mobility -- Two Views

Disability Insurance Rules Liberalized

Vending Machines in Postal Facilities, by Durward McDaniel

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Thanks Again to the "Green Berets"

"Dialogue" Appoints Executive Director

Letters from Readers

Here and There, by George Card

Danny's Guiding Light

Part-Time Employment for Tapers

Refugees from the Round File

ACB Officers and Directors

** The Staff of the BRAILLE FORUM
Wishes you and yours
A Happy, Prosperous and Satisfying New Year

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the new year:
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
And he replied: "Go out into the darkness
And put thine hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to thee better than a light and safer than a known way."  (M. Louise Haskins)

*****

** ACB President's Message

During the last decade or two there has been an ever increasing awareness of the fact that there are more and more multi-handicapped blind children throughout the nation, and that many of these children are consigned to dark corners and care institutions to live out their lives in endless boredom and idleness. In most instances where there is an attempt to serve these children the provision is woefully inadequate or wholly inappropriate. Advances in medical technology and "know-how" constantly compound the problem by making it possible for more and more of such children to live under circumstances which formerly would have resulted in death at birth or early infancy. 

As blind children in ever greater numbers enroll in public or day school programs, there is ever greater pressure exerted upon residential schools for the blind to accept multi-handicapped blind children into their programs. The residential schools are thus confronted with many problems in terms of inadequacy of staff, quantitatively and qualitatively, inadequacy and inappropriateness of physical plant and facilities and lack of funds to provide the same. Administrators, teachers, students and alumni of these schools complain of these demands and protest that they do not wish to see their schools converted into institutions for the mentally retarded. 

An organization of the blind ought not to sit by, leaving to others the task of finding solutions to problems of such vital concern, only to criticize the efforts and solutions of others. We ought, and it is one of our functions, to define, study, consult and advise, and initiate.

I am therefore establishing a committee on the multi-handicapped blind with the expectation of fulfilling our responsibility in this area and with the hope that we can make a valuable and worthwhile contribution towards the ultimate resolution of this problem. Our convention program next July will devote some time to this matter. The chairman and members of this committee will be announced in the next issue.

*****

** ACB Plans for Legislative Action 
By Durward McDaniel 

The Council is laying plans for its most active legislative program for the first Session of the 90th Congress. These are plans in which thousands of blind persons throughout the country can and should participate. The Council is assembling a new and enlarged mailing list of volunteers who are willing to assist in obtaining favorable action on legislation. If you will let your willingness be known by writing to the Council at Box 1476, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, you will be included on the Legislative Action Committee to receive special requests and periodic bulletins on legislation.

President Johnson suggested before the close of the last Session of Congress that Social Security benefits should be increased, and a number of Republicans concurred. Therefore, it is almost certain that a major Social Security bill will come out of this session. The Council will try again to obtain a liberalized standard of eligibility for blind persons under the Social Security program. Also, emphasis will be given to the objective to have Social Security and other earned benefits disregarded as deferred earnings in determining the need of recipients of aid to the blind. 

Other topics for action are: upgraded minimum wages for employees in sheltered workshops; unemployment compensation coverage for employees of sheltered workshops and non-profit organizations; establishment of federal minimum standards of public assistance; air travel concessions on a permissive basis; employer tax incentives to hire the handicapped; Vocational Rehabilitation improvements; and possibly others as opportunities are available. Only with the help of many can any of these objectives be realized. Volunteer now to help get legislation introduced and passed.

*****

** Pioneers in Computer Programming
By William J. Ferrell

(By permission from the Tennessee Public Welfare Record, October 1966)

Who would have thought that the marvelous, complex industry of electronic data processing could reveal a whole new area of employment for the blind and visually handicapped? Three Tennesseans in training for computer programming believe it and are about to prove it. Miss Sandra Brooks of Kingsport and Charles Couey of Nashville, both 1966 graduates of the Tennessee School for the Blind, were selected by the Computer Systems Institute of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for entrance into a training program specifically for the blind and visually handicapped. Richard Cooper, an employee of the Tennessee Valley Authority in Chattanooga until he lost his sight, was also selected for the computer training program. 

Sandy, Charles, and Richard began their training early in July under the sponsorship of Rehabilitation for the Blind. The course usually runs about twenty weeks, and the institute reports that all three of the students from Tennessee are progressing quite well and show promise of becoming programmers of the highest quality. This is not entirely a stroke of luck for the Institute operates under a strict code for both its sighted and handicapped trainees. All applicants must undergo an extensive pre-enrollment evaluation to ensure that only the most promising men and women are accepted for training. 

Recently, while in Pittsburgh, it was my privilege to visit a class at the Computer Systems Institute and to receive first-hand information about the training course from Miss Nancy C. Snyder, Director of Education. 

According to Miss Snyder, it was only four years ago that the first blind person applied for training at the Institute. At that time no program had been developed specifically for the blind, but because this applicant possessed a keen mind, a natural aptitude, and great determination, the Institute was willing to give him a chance. His success led to the development of a complete training course in computer programming for the blind and visually handicapped. Upon its inception this program was sanctioned by the Association for Computing Machinery, making Computer Systems Institute the only school of its kind to have such approval. To date, the Institute has graduated forty visually handicapped or blind trainees, most of whom are now employed as computer programmers. Twelve additional persons are presently in training.

Computer programming is the art of "instructing" a computer, one step at a time, to manipulate volumes of data and produce paychecks, management reports, sales statistics, and other information. The very nature of his handicap requires a blind person to be well organized, to learn to concentrate and to think logically in order to meet the demands of everyday living. If he puts something down, he has to remember where to look for it. A blind person with this methodical turn of mind, some natural aptitude for the work, and a strong will to succeed, usually does well in computer programming. 

The five-month program at the Institute is an intense study in problem solving through the use of the IBM 1400 series computer. The instruction begins with a broad view of the industry, including its beginnings, present role, equipment capabilities, and some basic techniques. The students then concentrate specifically on what is needed to solve a problem using the IBM 1401. They work with all of the equipment's standard hardware and most of its auxiliary units and special features. They study the two most widely used 1401 programming languages -- Symbolic Programming System and Autocoder with the Input-Output Control System. Each trainee must complete a minimum of three project programs which are run on the actual computer and "debugged" until perfect. The training program is currently being expanded to include instruction on the newly announced, third-generation System/360 computer.

Miss Snyder says that the field of computer programming is wide open for well-trained blind persons. Obstacles in the field of electronic data processing have been met and surmounted by blind graduates of the Computer Systems Institute who work in Ohio, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania, as well as many other states. A young man employed in Louisiana is believed to be the first blind computer programmer ever to participate in this nation's space program.

With the return of the three young people from Tennessee who are now in training in Pittsburgh, this state will join the others in adding a new field of work for the blind.

*****

** Teach Us How to Fish

(By permission of Dialogue Publications, from the Summer 1966 Dialogue Magazine, Don Nold, Editor)

"Give a man a fish and you feed a man one meal; teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Richard M. Nixon, 1960 Presidential candidate, made that statement in reference to his stand on foreign aid at the Lions International Convention held last July in Los Angeles. I will not comment on this politically, but I cannot help but think of how applicable this adage is to the services performed on behalf of the blind. I am thinking, of course, of the many times things are done for us when, actually, we would rather do them ourselves if someone would show us the way. 

For example, I had a little project I was working on in my home workshop a few years ago, when I met an impasse requiring a little aid from someone with sight. Hearing the neighbor in the yard outside my window, I asked if he had a minute to drop down and give me a hand. Instead he proceeded against my objections, to finish the job. In answer to my protest, he insisted, "That's all right -- I'm glad to do it for you. Just take it easy and I'll be done in a few minutes." 

Nothing I could say about my wanting to do the work myself, that I was able to do it now that he had set the gauge on my saw to the fraction of an inch I desired, would curtail him from completing the work. Each of you has had similar experiences. He did the job for me, but I learned nothing from the experience. 

By contrast, another friend with whom I work separates the work I can do from that requiring sight, and we work successfully on many projects. When guidance is needed, he offers it, seeing that I carry out his instructions before returning to his work. This friend does not give me a fish, but teaches me how to fish, and thus, I am now able to do many chores around the house that I might not have been able to do if my next-door neighbor had done the work for me. 

Blind persons were considered totally incapacitated by many before World War II. It took an extreme labor shortage before employers would hire blind persons, only to learn that they had discovered a valuable source of talent. Since then, employment for the blind has improved considerably, but unfortunately, this attitude is not universal. There are still many who will not be convinced. 

In some cases, of course, some of us have made such a poor demonstration of ability that all of us have been judged by the inadequacy of the few. It behooves each of us, therefore, to make as good a demonstration of our talents as we can, so that we can dispel this false opinion. 

Improved educational and rehabilitation centers are going a long way toward solving this problem. Rehabilitation leaders, many of whom are blind themselves now know the meaning of Nixon's adage, and are directing us how to fish more than giving us fish for one meal. There are some among us, of course, who are unable to fish for one reason or another, and need continually to be fed. There are some among the sighted in the same situation, so blindness in itself is not the reason. But to those young enough, mentally and physically capable, and desirous of becoming productive citizens, it is much better to be shown the way and allowed to travel by ourselves than to be carried. In short ... teach us how to fish.

*****

** Playing the Percentages
By Frank Kells, Executive Director, Phoenix Center for the Blind (Ariz.)

According to Thomas Edison, the achievement of success involved 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Obviously, he realized that popular notion had it the other way around and he wanted to set the record straight. But people want to believe in "the easy way" and never give up searching for it.

For example, in terms of the challenge of overcoming blindness, most people seem to look for "instant results," the "miracle cure," the "ready answer." At a recent meeting of a sight conservation group, an officer reported, "Just think what the transplant meant to this man -- now he can work and enjoy life again."

Of course, the speaker was completely sincere, and what he said was true -- up to a point! That "point" is the subtle inference that without the transplant the man could not have worked and enjoyed life! Naturally, if there is any possibility to improve the eyesight of a visually impaired person, this should be done. But if it cannot be done it is certainly not the "end of the road." We know that, but let's not kid ourselves -- most people do not! To illustrate, let's play Edison's "percentage" game.

When it comes to this matter of "overcoming blindness " don't you agree that 90% of the general public thinks only in terms of restoring sight, while possibly 10% really believes that a person with incurable blindness can live a full life? But when you come right down to it, doesn't the real solution for most of the visually impaired population involve 10% "cure" and 90% "re-adjustment?"

And when it comes to "re-adjustment," don't you agree that most people think in terms of "tools" rather than "skills?" A good example is the old controversy over the 
relative merits of the "dog" and the "cane" in mobility. Why are these arguments always so futile? Because when you come right down to it, 90% of mobility has absolutely nothing to do with "tools." It is the person himself -- his mind, his body, and his spirit. Take nine parts "human being" -- motivated, alert, well-oriented -- then carefully add one part "tool," (cane or dog) and you'll probably have mobility. Take the opposite kind of person, and no tool will help. 

And when it comes to this matter of "help", don't you agree that most people believe a blind person should rely 90% on others and 10% on himself? But when you come right down to it, isn't self-help 90% of the battle? 

And when it comes to "self-help," don't you agree that most people regard the methods used by an independent blind person as 90% "special" and 10% "ordinary?" They don't realize how much of everyday life doesn't actually require eyesight. Telephones, coins, voices, typewriters, banisters, curbs and countless "ordinary" things are made-to-order. So maybe some are used differently, or modified? So maybe you have to try a little harder? So what? When you come right down to it, most of what a capable blind person does is not really so special -- about 90%, wouldn't you say? 

And when it comes to those "special" problems, don't you agree that most blind people blame them on their blindness? The blind fellow who was a second-grade drop-out 25 years ago can't find a job -- because he is blind. The 85-year-old blind lady with arthritis and poor hearing is lonely and inactive -- because she is blind. And how sad about that poor beggar downtown -- but then, he can't be blamed for the accident that took away his sight! 

We've all heard this kind of thing over and over, but when you come right down to it, 90% of a blind person's troubles are not caused by his lack of normal eyesight, contrary to 5,000 years of tradition. Show me a well-functioning blind person and I'll show you someone who has learned this lesson.

And when it comes to "learning lessons," don't you agree that most people have yet to learn that every blind person is a different individual? The greatest obstacle to his acceptance by employers, colleagues, friends, family, and the public is that reactions and attitudes are based 10% on actual fact and 90% on conditioned imagination. They see the blind person 10% as the individual he really is, and 90% in terms of some stereotype.

And when it comes to this problem of "stereotyped attitudes, don't you agree that 90% of the responsibility must be accepted by the blind? By our inconsistencies -- the sum total of our errors through the ages -- haven't we provided about 90% of the ammunition? In any case, when it comes to doing something about it, we simply can't expect other people to do more than 10% of the work. When you come right down to it, we who are blind will have to come through with the other 90%!

It will take 10% words, and 90% actions: 
It will take 10% wishing, and 90% working! 
10% luck, and 90% determination: 
10% theorizing, and 90% demonstrating! 
10% special privilege, and 90% open competition: 10% demanding, and 90% earning!

Yes, Mr. Edison, it will take 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration!

*****

** Another Form of "Sound Shooting" 

From VISION, Melbourne, Australia: 

"Shortly before Christmas this year a shooting competition between two six-man teams representing Australia and England will take place. One fact will make the competition remarkable: all 12 marksmen will be blind. Despite this the marksmen's scores will be comparable with those of sighted shooters. The teams will shoot in their respective countries and exchange scores by correspondence. Small transistorized oscillating equipment which enables shooters to use their ears instead of their eyes to aim their rifle is set on a stand with the tip of the barrel pointing through a brass ring. Behind the ring are two oscillators operating on one channel. When the rifle is aimed exactly in the center of the bull there is no difference in the frequency of the oscillators, but as the rifle is moved off the bull the frequency of one of the oscillators is changed and the change in frequency causes a high-pitched whine through the headphones worn by the shooter. The blind shooter must sight the rifle until there is complete silence through the headphones -- and hold it steady as he squeezes the trigger. Experienced shooters say this is as difficult as it is for a normal shooter to hold a rifle on target through sight while he fires the shot. That equal skill is required for the two methods of sighting was illustrated in the last three shooting matches the Blind Institute team held against teams of sighted shooters over the past three months. The blind team lost the first match 256 points to 259. It won the second 261 to 254 and lost the third 239 to 273. While all members of the blind club have been shooting for less than 12 months their opponents from all three teams were shooters with years of experience behind them ... The sport opens up new opportunities for blind people to mix with sighted people. The invention of this device makes shooting one of the very few sports in which blind people can compete on completely equal terms with sighted people ... A large international chemical and ammuni­tion manufacturing company has adopted the Australian team and will supply ammunition free to the shooters. It is hoped that the sport will spread eventually throughout the world so that interstate and international matches can be staged regularly."

*****

** Skaters Waltz and Figure Eight

(Condensed from Life & Health, published by Christian Record, Lincoln, Neb.) 

Blind children in North Vancouver (B.C.) are learning to skate, thanks to a volunteer mother and former professional skater. Mrs. Malarie Mant volunteers her services and the children love it. 

The children take their lessons in the ice-skating rink in North Vancouver at times when other children are skating outside on winter days. For their safety they have a private club session when other children are not allowed to enter their area. 

Skating is not a skill that any child is born with. It takes many patient hours to stand tall on a frozen surface. 

The joy of skating has the same possibility, for sightless children as for those with vision, Mrs. Mant believes. For those who never see others skating it is important to gain stance and to achieve form by patient instructions. 

The children skate to the accompaniment of music three-four time and the suggestions of the teacher, who skates with each child until he has mastered the figure eight.

*****

** New Zealander Aspires to Boston Marathon

(Reprinted from Listen, published by the Catholic Guild 
for All Of The Blind, Boston, October, 1966.) 

Bert Smith is a library assistant in the Talking Book library of the New Zealand Foundation for the Blind. He is also, according to Jerry Nason of the Boston Globe, the world's only blind marathon runner. Smith has already won a 16-mile foot race and represented the province of Auckland in the New Zealand marathon championship. 

Colonel Will Cloney of the Boston Athletic Association received an inquiry recently as to whether the Boston Marathon would accept the entry of a blind athlete. His answer, as reported in the Globe, was "if he's sanctioned by the A.A.U. (in New Zealand), we'd be happy to have him. Of course, we'd be primarily concerned about his safety." 

In his letter to Colonel Cloney, Smith guaranteed to run the 26 plus miles, unaccompanied, in something under three hours. He also indicated he had other reasons for wanting to come to Boston. "I'd like to show the blind of America that they can take part in and enjoy a sport. Also I would like to have my eyes examined by some of your retina experts." The news story states that the blind marathoner is 34 years old, married and the father of three. 

(Editor's Note -- Mr. Smith apparently is not aware of the extent to which blind people in this country engage in sports of various kinds. We are reporting this month another form of target shooting for the blind. You may recall Bob Bizon's story on target practice with a pistol and the time about the "Sound Shooters" team of the South Dakota School for the Blind. In each of these cases a different system was used in lining up the marksman with the target. I have not personally tried any of these but believe my preference would be for the South D system where an electronic oscillator immediately behind the bull's eye provides the directional clue. 

Skating for blind children is also reported in this issue and not long ago I read where a Norwegian skied 50 miles to publicize a national ski meet for blind devotees of this sport. In Germany the several state organizations for the blind hold annual sports competitions for their members. Included in the agenda are running, jumping and throwing events, other standard track and field contests and water sports.

Most residential schools have a physical educational and sports program and in some cases there is inter-school competition. Why couldn't we sponsor a nationwide blind Olympic games? The Blind Bowlers have their national competition, as do also the blind golfers. Perhaps a "sound shooters" team competition could be held at the same time or, perhaps enough of you might be interested in organizing sound shooting clubs to permit a national tournament, at least with certified team results being mailed to some central supervising authority. Such national competitions would not only be a lot of fun for the participants but the incident national publicity would go far toward establishing a quote "normal" image for the blind. 

So gather 'round, ye sportsmen, and let's start the Olympic torch on its way.)

*****

** The Sighted Backlash
By the Rev. Thomas Carroll, Boston, Mass.

(From an address to the convention of the Blinded Veterans Association) 

Over the last twenty-six years, I have seen blind children in increasing numbers going to school with sighted children, being taught by the so-called "itinerant teachers," competing with and contributing with, growing with sighted companions. I have seen job opportunities open up for blind person which were never open before. I have seen general jobs, blue-collar jobs, agricultural jobs and white-collar jobs open up.

I have seen a new decent base of security for blind persons (not yet what I would want but at least some decent floor under the person who is blind). I have seen the disability compensation of the veteran and I have seen the aid to needy civilian blind persons, and I have seen all of this increase ... not very much, but nevertheless, increase. 

I have seen blind persons with dogs allowed on public transportation. I have seen them allowed in restaurants and hotels although they had guide dogs. And I well recall the day when they were ruled out of these places because they used a guide dog.

Increasingly I have seen blind persons making use of their voting rights. I recall blind only in the last primary in our section of the country candidates coming in to talk to elderly blind women, and then the elderly blind women going down to exercise their right to vote.

This has been part of the progress I have seen in twenty-six years of working with blind persons.

But, I think I see something else; I think I see a counter trend. Increasingly I hear from the general public and from people who should be knowledgeable about the question ... I hear this: "Why do you need an agency for the blind? Doesn't the state do everything for them? I understand that the Federal Government takes care of them." Across the country blind persons who are running vending stands find their income is being interfered with. Personnel organizations in post offices, unions elsewhere, are claiming rights to set up their own vending machines and to take the profits, taking away business from the blind persons running the stands. Why? Because it is easy to them to say that "blind persons have everything, why should they get this? We really need it more than they do. 

I have heard sighted persons talking in serious protest against blind persons with dogs being allowed in restaurants, "It's not hygienic." "They shouldn't allow dogs in this place." "I don't like dogs." "They have no right here, why don't they keep those blind people home?" 

I have heard sighted persons condemn blind persons for traveling with a cane. "This is dangerous for other people. Why don't they keep them in hospitals?" 

I have heard privately -- though not publicly -- civil service administrators say: "We can't give a job to a blind man. It isn't that he might not be able to do it. We wouldn't be able to fire him. He would bring his organization in here." 

I suggest to you, that this is the sighted backlash. 

Some will say and some do say that blind persons were better off in the old days when they were happy by themselves and not demanding so much. 

I know an outstanding congressman whom I deeply admire. Yet, I know that privately he tells people: "We should be working for the deaf and mentally retarded, and others. The blind have everything." 

I know blind persons who are refused rooms in rooming houses and beds in nursing homes. Why? Because they are blind.

I can tell you of case after case where blind persons have had to fight for their voting rights -- and sometimes have not won their rights until the election was over.

There are persons who agree with integrating blind and sighted children in the first grade and in the lower school. But, there are some who strongly protest when in high school or in college years one of their daughters is dating a blind man. What comes back to me quietly, angrily, is: "This is all very well, Father, to talk about blind persons being normal, but how do you suppose I feel about the possibility of my daughter marrying one of them? "

The parable may not touch you. It may touch others of you harshly. Some certainly will reject it. ...

Does this mean that in any way you should give up the struggle for equal opportunities for blind persons? Does it mean that you sink back and cease to fight, that you retire into special housing for blind people?

Of course not. Not for a moment.

But it does mean that in all your struggles you keep on trying to understand human nature, that all of us may live together in peace. 

Today, I have given you facts as I see them ... I have told you of a trend which I believe exists ... whether it be a temporary trend, a long-term trend, or at least, a counter trend. And in the telling of it, I have drawn an analogy which can serve as a parable. 

If you can see this analogy ... if in any degree you can feel an identification with other groups who suffer from prejudice, then you are in a position to our give leadership, in your own small area, leadership in your own community, whatever it may be, in times which are in fact troubled and dangerous.

Though the world has many people who must find whole groups to look down upon, though there are many so insecure that they must hate or scorn others ... this is not for you. Move on, in the words of your motto, "To take your rightful place in the community of your fellows," and to "work with them for the creation of a peaceful America and a peaceful world."

*****

** Ned's Corner 

Once more we stand at the Gate of the Year. Although Janus faces both ways, my preference has always been to look to the future. So, the question is "Where do we go from here?" 

There is much to be done, but we should not go galloping off in all directions. Therefore, I would suggest some of the major goals on which we might concentrate this year. Your suggestions, too, will be welcomed by the ACB officers and directors. 

The continued growth of the American Council of the Blind is vital to a strong and progressive program. In this, each of you has a part to play. We do not seek increased membership merely for the sake of numbers, but because the more organizations and people who become involved in our efforts the greater will be our influence and opportunities for service. It is apparent that a number of organizations are looking with favor upon the character and philosophy of ACB. We hope that you will be able to increase this interest among the members of your own organization and encourage its affiliation. 

Many of you have, in the past, been members-at-large of ACB, but have allowed your membership to lapse through failure to maintain your annual dues. It is a good time to start the year right by digging that dollar bill out of your pocket and sending it to the ACB treasurer, F.W. Orrell, 5209 Alabama Avenue, Chattanooga, Tenn., 37409. Then, if by July you can attend the Wichita convention your voting rights will be assured. 

In this issue Durward McDaniel, chairman of the ACB Legislation Committee reports a number of objectives which we hope will develop into bills placed before the 90th Congress for action. He requests those who are interested in taking an active part in promoting such legislation to send him their names so that they may be kept informed. Members of the Congress do take a greater interest in any piece of legislation when a considerable number of their constituents show enough concern to write. How else can they know your views? 

George Card gleans from many state bulletins, but we know that there are activities of the organized blind of which we are not aware. I would like to devote one section of the FORUM to news from our affiliates and other groups -- and of individuals who are doing interesting and unusual things. We can only do this with your cooperation. ... 

Loretta and I greatly appreciate the many greetings we have received from you. Please accept the thought on Page 3 as our personal message to you and yours. Loretta asks me to express her thanks to those of you who have requested continuation of her "Corner" and says when she has something of interest to tell you she'll be right here. In the meantime, the condition of her nose might provide an interesting topic -- it has been caressing the grindstone for several months. However, it still shines and isn't really too out of shape -- yet!

** A Fascinating Bit of History

From a January 1945 issue of a St. Louis newspaper via the September Missouri Chronicle:

Although blind and deaf, 39-year-old John J. Murphey is helping the fighting men by working at the St. Louis Mines Equipment Co. plant, as a drill press operator, drilling tiny holes for the instrument light department. Shortly after going to Mines, Murphey set an all-time high in production by drilling 7,500 holes per day. Jud Langstaff, his foreman, stated that 5,000 holes had been top daily production for sighted workers.	

J.E. Miller, plant manager, had been reluctant to hire a man who could neither see the job, nor hear the instructions as did the other blind persons employed there. However, Miller was favorably impressed by the ease with which Mrs. Murphey (now our fine A.C.B. secretary) communicated ideas to her husband and conversed with him, using a hand code, while Murphey was applying for the job. However, that was not the only reason Murphey got the job. The blind employees unanimously guaranteed that Murphey could do more and better work than any of them. "My faith in the blind, and in Murphey particularly, had been completely justified during his twenty-two months of efficient work," Miller stated. ...

In his youth Murphey had caned chairs until he made enough to send himself to St. Louis University, where he majored in philosophy and mathematics and was graduated in 1927 with honors. He still experiments with a slide rule and has helped solve some of the mathematical problems at the plant ... His success as a drill-press operator has been equaled only by his success as a morale builder. Miller has said of him, "Murphey does more to raise the general morale, with his steady, capable work and clever remarks, than any other one employee."

*****

** More About Mobility -- Two Views
First Speaker, Franklin S. Clark

Joseph Clunk's helpful article on mobility (Braille Forum, March-May, 1966) has the conviction in it that he has come by in a lifetime of dedicated effort to his fellow blind. I first heard his name when I had come newly into blindness in 1949. I had just arrived in New York as an awkward practitioner with the long cane that he mentions in the course of his article. And he could well have been pointing right at me in his allusion to the tripping hazard inherent in an overlong or awkwardly used cane.

"The old traveller agrees" he says "that if you want a five-foot cane, then you should have it, and if you trip your friends with it you can then have the fun of explaining to them." 

In retrospect, this made my ears tingle. One day as I paused momentarily, cane outstretched, trying to decide whether I should turn right to take the subway or left to take the Fifth Avenue bus from the AFB building, there came the sound of skipping light steps and then I felt a sharp wrench that jerked my loosely held cane right out of my grasp. Reaching to recover it I heard a gasp and a sound which seemed almost like a rubber ball bouncing up from the sidewalk. I had tripped or half-tripped a young girl as her exclamation of dismay and surprise revealed.

Believe it or not, the young girl apologized to me. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said and helped me retrieve my cane. That was not a 5-footer but a 46-inch aluminum cane. Thereafter, I took care not to stand with my cane held out in front of me where people might be passing.

In those early days Charles ("Chick") Ritter then with the Foundation in charge of Special Services, arranged for me to have a small office space just across the hall from him I often heard him mention the name "Joe Clunk." A lot of people were mentioning it then. Following the First World War, Joe Clink made an extensive tour of Canada, searching out production Jobs that the blind could do. He was now pioneering new work opportunities for the blind in the Philadelphia area and setting a goal for achievement in this direction for other areas.

Shortly after the Go-Sees were incorporated in 1959, I stopped off to visit Mr. Clunk in Philadelphia, on the way back from a trip to Washington. He accepted one of our Sensi-Quik canes in recognition of his interest in our project. Later on he sent me a non-skid bath rug, a product of the Philadelphia workshop. He and I agree on the importance of lightness in a travel cane and that the tip should be light as well as the cane itself. 

I recall that at that time we did not see eye to eye on the advantages of extra inches of touch cane length. I know now, as I did then, that I could never manage with a cane coming to a height of only 2 inches below my elbow as he does. The 46-inch cane, with which I tripped the girl, would come 4 inches above my elbow. Presently, I discovered that I could walk faster and be better protected from unexpected step-off hazards using a 48-inch cane. Since then, by degrees, I have graduated to a 51-inch cane for my preference. This is just long enough for a person of my height so that I can tuck the handle right under my armpit or hang it from a lapel pocket and it will not drag on the ground. 

This would be about four inches shorter than the shoulder length cane that Mr. Clunk takes exception to. I assume he means a cane that comes to the top of one's shoulder. I used a cane of this length not long ago travelling well populated midtown New York sidewalks. The longer cane created no increased danger whatever to my fellow pedestrians. The reason for it was simple enough. I held it by the stock straight up and down, keeping it consistently in front of my own feet, rather than stroking out to the side with it. True, a longer cane would increase this hazard if used improperly. Differing conditions require different ways of holding and stroking a cane of any length. 

I happen to know from having paid a call on him that Joe Clunk steps about with noticeable ease and assurance in his accustomed working environment. He did so most impressively on the occasion of my visit. The many thousands of miles he has ticked off in his travels about the affairs of fellow blind are evidence enough that strange territory has no terror for him either. Certainly, as he indicates, the individual's own initiative is the key to freedom of movement for every blind person. The cane is certainly the most adaptable tool for outdoor travel.

Each cherishes his own ways and habits. A number of our members have both a dog and a cane. I can breathlessly report that I have not walked as rapidly since losing my sight as I did when I paid a visit to Stanley Doran's Pilot Dog School in Columbus, Ohio. It was an exhilarating experience to put a hand on the grip of the dog Silver's harness and to feel his pleasure, as it seemed to me, as well as his swift confident guidance for my steps. Certainly, it must be fun to have a dog and it brings extra assurance to be able to use a cane, so many of our own members believe. One of our members who has a dog guide spares his dog the confusion of crowds of strange people when he attends a convention. He usually takes along a collapsible cane for such occasions, but prefers one of sturdy, one-piece construction for general use.

** The Inimitable

We'll allow the inimitable Joe Clunk the final word.

It is amazing how one's sins will find him out. I keep learning over and over again that I should be more careful about what I say and even more so about what I might write. ... In so far as canes, guide dogs, etc. are concerned I have long since concluded that each person must use the tools that are best suited to his needs. I have been trying for thirty years to persuade the guide dog agencies that they should train the dog to pull a chariot or similar device upon which I could ride and simultaneously they should teach them to pick out numbers on the buildings. I see no reason why the Eskimos should be smarter than we are. They ride the sled with the dog pulling it so why shouldn't we do as well. Of course some of us overweights might require a team of two or more. While I like to be inconspicuous in society, yet if I am to attract attention I want to do it properly and a team of dogs pulling my chariot would give me reasonable attention either in the middle of the road or on the sidewalk. I once offered to wear a sandwich board nicely painted in purple, scarlet, and yellow, etc. on both sides and to do, this in Vancouver, B.C., in order to determine whether or not this would give me more protection than a white cane.

* Disability Insurance Rules Liberalized

Announcement has been made of changes in the regulations concerning eligibility for benefits under the disability provisions of the Social Security Act. Some of these revisions result directly from the 1965 amendments and others from representations made to the administration by ACB and others. The new rules represent considerable improvement, but they are still far short of what we might wish. In any event, if you feel you might be eligible, consult your Social Security office even though you may have been told at one time that you were not eligible.

* Who Is Eligible?

No longer must the disability be expected to last for a long and indefinite period or to result in death. One may qualify if the condition has lasted or is expected to last for at least twelve months. The applicant must be found unable to engage in "any substantial gainful activity." As a rule, the person must have worked in covered employment for twenty calendar quarters out of the last forty, but there are certain exceptions. 

* Who Determines Disability? 

In most states the state rehabilitation agency makes the decision as to the ability to work, after medical examination. It is thus a joint responsibility of the agency and the Social Security office. 

* What is "Substantial Gainful Activity"? 

Here the principal emphasis seems to be on the words "substantial activity," although the gainful nature of the activity is also considered. Since July 1st 1966 activity which results in income of less than $75 monthly (the old figure was $50) is usually not considered "substantial." Work resulting in an income of more than $125 monthly (the old figure was $100) will almost certainly be considered substantial. Between these two extremes is a "gray" area and the determination is made on the basis of the amount of work actually done to earn the income, in comparison with the work done by other individuals engaged in similar activity in the same area. Income from sources other than work activity, such as interest on investments, rental of property, etc., is not considered and where the employment is subsidized, as it sometimes the case in sheltered workshops, the amount of the subsidy is disregarded. 

Before evaluating the earnings of individuals, there is also deducted any extraordinary impairment-related expenses that must be incurred by the disabled person in order that he may work. Usually sheltered shop wages of less than $125 per month are not considered as demonstrating SGA.

* Trial Work Period 

At any time after a finding of disability has been made a recipient may engage in a trial work period. During this time no accounting need be made of earnings for the first nine months. At the end of this time the case will be re­evaluated on the basis of activity and earnings and, if it is found that the recipient's work constitutes SGA, benefits will be terminated at the expiration of an additional three months. However, if the recipient is again forced to decrease his activity below the SGA level, he may again draw benefits immediately without the 6-month waiting period which applied to his original disability, provided that this occurs within five years of the termination of benefits. 

* Special Provisions Applying to the Blind 

For the purposes of this section of the 1965 Amendments "statutory blindness" is defined as visual acuity less than 5/200 or central vision subtending an angle of less than 5 degrees. Persons whose vision is less than that specified before age 31 need to have covered employment for only half the number of quarters intervening between age 21 and the onset of blindness with a minimum of six quarters. These quarters of coverage must have been earned during this period. 

A person whose vision meets the definition of statutory blindness after age 55 may qualify for benefits if he is unable (because of blindness) to engage in SGA which requires skills or abilities comparable to his previous regular occupation over a substantial period of time. This means that a person over 55 may be found disabled for cash benefit purposes even though he is engaging in SGA. 

If a person is found entitled on the basis of this special definition, benefits may not be paid for any month in which he actually engages in any substantial gainful activity. Therefore, it is possible to find that a statutorily blind person is entitled to benefits, but at the same time it is necessary to suspend the payment of benefits -- in contrast to terminating entitlement -- for any month in which he is actually engaging in SGA. Benefits would be immediately paid, however, when he stops work.

* Right of Appeal

If you feel the decision on your claim, or on any other of your rights under the social security law, is not correct, and you want to have the decision re-examined, you may: first, ask that the decision be reconsidered; next, you may ask for a hearing before a Hearing Examiner if you disagree with the results of that re-consideration. If you disagree with the decision of the Hearing Examiner, you may ask for a review of that decision by the Appeals Council. If you disagree with the Appeals Council decision or if the Council declines to review your case, you may bring civil action in a Federal court, and then, if necessary, carry your case to the Supreme Court. 

A letter from Assistant Commissioner Alvin M. David, following a conference in his Washington office and subsequent correspondence, concludes -- "Under present law additional expenses related solely to personal living (as distinguished from work-related expenses) resulting from disability are not relevant in determining whether the earnings of a disability insurance beneficiary must be considered as evidence of substantial gainful activity. We are aware of the costs involved in some cases because of the need for special aid and assistance on the part of the totally disabled person. We are continuing to study the entire social security program and are seeking ways to make the benefits provided under the program, including the disability benefits, more adequate while keeping the program financially sound. We are glad to have the information you provided for use in evaluating the adequacy of benefit amounts and the ways in which disability protection under the program can be strengthened."    NEF

*****

** Vending Machines in Postal Facilities
By Durward McDaniel

Previous issues have reported on the growing encroachment of private machine vending companies into vending concessions in Postal facilities through contracts with Postal Employee Welfare Committees. These contracts in most instances exclude state licensing agencies and licensed blind operators in favor of the private companies which pay a percentage to the Employee Welfare Committees from the operation of the concessions. Postal Regulations make provision under some circumstances for the sharing in these funds by the licensed blind operator in the building but the Postal Department denies that the blind operator has a right to operate the machines as a part of the concession under the Randolph-Sheppard Act. 

The Council participated in negotiations last June with the Postal Department and the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration seeking a national agreement to protect the federal-state vending programs, and these efforts are continuing at this time.

The Council offers its assistance to any state licensing agency, to blind operators and state and local organizations of the blind in meeting challenges to this beneficial program by private machine vendors and Postal Employee Welfare Committees. One of the disadvantages suffered by the blind is the lack of a unified national approach in this contest. Accordingly, the Council is presently attempting to enlist every organization of blind persons, and particularly organizations of vending operators, into a cohesive force to resist further encroachments and to extend the program to all federal property. All readers, and particularly vending operators are urged to send names and addresses of operators to the Council without delay to Box 1476, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The great need for unified action is illustrated by the spotty resistance which blind operators and some state agencies have exerted in a variety of places without adequate exchange of information or counseling as to best procedures and strategy. On August 31, 1966, a United States District Court Judge issued an opinion recognizing the authority of the Post Office Department to allow contracts between Postal Employee Welfare Committees and vendors other than blind operators working under licenses from designated state agencies. The basis for such contracts must be more effectively attacked than was in the Minnesota case referred to. The apparent authority of the Post Office Department is found in its own regulations but these are contrary to the letter and spirit of the Randolph-Sheppard Act. These Regulations were promulgated because of commitments made by the Department in contracts made by it with unions of Postal employees and not because of any statutory enactment by Congress. The existence of these collective bargaining contracts has been publicized so little that most people have never heard of them. Here we see a valuable statutory right conferred by the Randolph-Sheppard Act being undermined by a competing group operating through the dubious authority of a contract not authorized by statute. The Judge did hold that a blind operator has a right to maintain a suit to enjoin a Postmaster and the Employee Welfare Committee. This is a valuable right about which there has heretofore been some question. However, the Council urges that isolated suits not be filed without first consulting to assure the most effective approach possible. Coordination is a 'must', otherwise all of us will suffer from mistakes arising from a lack of knowledge and information. Whatever the solution may be -- litigation, legislation, or negotiation — our common interest requires a unified effort.

*****

** A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Horace Martin, Atlanta, Ga. reports --"I arrived early at the meeting, having just given a lesson in leather craft. A group of ladies sat down immediately in front of me, one of whom was holding a whimpering baby. In reply to a question from one of her companions the young mother said, 'The milk's just not flowing to suit him.'" Having had some experience with the feeding of babies and always in aiming to be helpful, I offered my stitching needle. This produced a storm of giggles. How was I to know it wasn't a bottle baby?"

Earl Scharry, Louisville, Ky., lets us in on an APH favorite: When Mr. Ellis was superintendent and for some reason asked his secretary to go out and get him a "Braille Mirror" she made many fruitless inquiries in the appliances department before she finally reached the Braille Department and learned that it was only a magazine she was to get and not some new wonder gadget.

Julie Bindt, Berkeley, Calif., planned a Christmas party for the deaf-blind: "We were going to play 'Pin the whiskers on Santa'. I had a cut-out Santa and asked a friend to put on some material that would quickly identify the spot where the whiskers belonged. Although this friend had worked with me for a long time, her suggestion was to fasten on the material with strips of scotch tape, never thinking that to inquiring fingers this would appear that Santa's face was covered with Band-Aids.

*****

** Thanks Again to the "Green Berets"

(From Listen published by the Catholic Guild For All Of The Blind, Boston, October, 1966.) 

Anna Neguien Thi Kim Lan, 17, and Theresa Le Thi Quang, 18 are now at Perkins School for the Blind because of a group of young men in green berets. According to Janet Snowdon, who interviewed the young ladies for the Boston Traveler, they came to Perkins from a school for the blind in Saigon to which they were sent after the Viet Cong had burned their village. Blind since early childhood, neither one can say for sure who survived the raid that left them homeless, but their parents are considered to be dead.

Now, however, they have several "fathers." Two soldiers from the Special Forces who heard their story collected from their fellow Green Berets enough money to send the girls to America and pay part of their tuition. And their official guardian while in the states is a retired Special Forces officer. 

Miss Snowdon reports that Miss Lan and Miss Quang plan to return to Vietnam when they have graduated. Miss Lan would like to teach all people to understand blindness and to help blind people learn to care for themselves. Miss Quang wants to establish a high school so blind children can have more education than the public schools provide. Both young women want to show their fellow Vietnamese that blind people are "just like everybody else."

*****

** "Dialogue" Appoints Executive Director

Don O. Nold, editor-in-chief of Dialogue, has recently been appointed executive director of Dialogue and assigned as temporary Director of Development as the project begins a nationwide fund drive January 1. Last spring, Don was elected third vice-president of the Berwyn Lions Club and serves as its program chairman. On January 12, he will be (or was) installed secretary of the Oak Park, Illinois, Toastmasters Club. He was one of two members awarded a permanent cup for having won the bi-monthly speaking contest three times during the year. In addition, Don spends many happy hours at home with his lovely wife, Jeri, whom he met at A.C.B.'s 1963 convention in Chicago. They were married in June, 1965, after a "voicespondence" romance between Berwyn and Manhattan, Kansas. Jeri, a speech therapist and first winner of A.C.B.'s coveted Ambassador award, is now teaching at Morton East High School and Junior College, Cicero, Illinois.

*****

** Letters from Readers

William Taylor, Jr., Media, Pa. 

In the September Forum, there appeared some sharp and erroneous criticism of the White Cane Laws. In brief, attention was regrettably focused on the punitive aspect of these statutes. Again and again courts have made it abundantly clear that the judges are reluctant to treat as criminals drivers who violate these laws even when the unhappy result of such violations has been to inflict injury or death upon a blind pedestrian. A little calm reflection and study will disclose that in this totally motorized period momentary failure to obey any sort of provision of the vehicular code will not be held to constitute criminal conduct. 

For your consideration I present the following points: 

One. Everything reasonably possible should be done to publicize the white cane and the White Cane Laws. I think all agree on that. The effectiveness of these laws and especially the essential publicity has been hampered by deplorable exploitation of these safety laws as petty fund-raising gimmicks. 

Two. Whenever our public safety campaigns fail to prevent injury or death the purpose of the laws is to help obtain compensation in money damages. 

Three. As we know from the experience, prior to the enactment of these laws an injured blind pedestrian could not prove negligence on the part of the driver. Consequently, his case would be dismissed and he would not get a cent. Of his own "knowledge" the blind pedestrian knows only that he started across the street and was run down. This does not prove excess speed, failure to look, failure to have his car under reasonable control, etc., etc. 

Four. Under these laws the driver must, in effect, excuse himself for running down the plaintiff. Of course the blind must take extreme care to comply with the law:

A.  Cross only at crosswalks.
B.  Exert every effort so plainly to display the white cane as to put every careful and sober driver on notice. Raising and displaying the cane is of crucial importance.
C.  Vigorous efforts should be made among ourselves to stress our own obligation to exercise care and give the driver fair notice.

Five. In many states drivers without insurance who fail to pay claims have their operators' licenses suspended. Hence they must either pay or cease driving. 

Six. Resort to criminal law usually, at most, entails a fine in the nominal amount stated in our law. If, however, recklessness and wanton driving are involved, other laws operate. Consequently we accomplish so little, if any, results and risk stirring up bad public reactions. Hence my distress over the undesirable fixing of attention upon criminal prosecutions.

We surely have little to cheer about, but let's not sink in self-pity — drivers have no prejudices against the blind and will with equal joy run down all sighted pedestrians they can catch.

***

From a reader in a western state to George Card.

We read and enjoy the lorum and always look through your column first thing. ... it is a pleasure to see the Forum come. Most of the articles are very readable and interesting.

***

Eugene Fleming, Home Teacher-Counselor for the Blind, Colorado Department of Rehabilitation, Grand Junction, Colo. 

I am enclosing a dollar bill for membership in ACB for the calendar year of 1967, to show my sincere interest in the program of the organization as it works for the betterment of blind persons. 

My philosophical position is that no one owes the blind people anything simply because they are blind. The government has chosen to sponsor programs which will help blinded persons to become self sufficient. This is a self-defense step, for this can make them into assets (i.e. taxpayers) instead of liabilities (i.e. welfare dole recipients). My deepest sympathies are with those who cannot benefit from the available programs because of multiple handicaps (including "social disadvantage," whatever that means). I have only contempt for those who can but will not benefit from the programs. I would be the first to admit there are shortcomings in established programs and want to see them corrected as soon as possible. There are at times even affronts to human dignity which repel some who might benefit from the programs, but the handicapped must exercise some of the understanding they demand from the non-handicapped.

***

To brighten the Forum office is an ever-welcome message from Bill Lewis, Clinical Social Worker ... If you happened to hear any rumors that I had suddenly taken off for Mexico to set up a Hot Tamale stand in the Mexico City courthouse, they are untrue. I have merely moved to Hays, which is not at all like Mexico City in any way because most of the people here speak with German accents. I do plan to open up, however, an Employment Service for Snow Shovelers as soon as the weather 
gets better. Right now there is so much snow on the ground, the potential applicants are staying at home. But you just wait until May. I'll have people standing in line to sign up ... I'm sorry we had to move from Wichita because I was planning to rent rooms for the ACB Convention. Oh well, we can't have everything ... Hays is a progressive city of 20,000, which is growing fast. It has a train depot, not very well attended; a bus depot; an airport which accommodates the jets ... Right now the flights are flown only with light from the sun although at night they occasionally use the cigar lighter of the tower operator in a pinch. It makes a handy beacon light. Two by land, one by sea. I forgot which he flashes when they come in by air. It does create a problem though -- his cigar lighter beacon light, that is -- because lightning bugs think it is another lightning bug and they are attracted by the light, thinking it is a mating call. So far the tower operator has been propositioned at least a dozen times and has numerous offers for marriage. I doubt that he will accept any of them, though, because he doesn't like the thought of having bug-eyed offsprings whose tails light up every time they see another "significant other" during the mating season ... If things get dull in Hays we can always go downtown and watch the policeman turn off the traffic light or watch the fire engine race off on a wild goose chase. The firemen love to go geese hunting, you see, and this is the season. They hunt with fire hoses. They'd rather drown the geese because its's less bloody and have less buckshots to pick out when eating. To increase their accuracy, they use radar-controlled fire hose spray. When geese come over, the radar tells them exactly how far to aim ahead and "GLUB," down comes a goose.

***

Mrs. Amanda Farley, Tawas City, Michigan

I would like to comment on Mrs. Lowery's letter of the January, 1966 issue. It is a shame that blind people have to be treated as if they were lazy bums! I feel strongly that we should have a disability compensation. Most of us have worked as long as we could see to get around on the job. Not all of us are lucky enough to have sighted people to help us. Most blind people would work if they did not have to ask too much of people that owe them nothing. As to crossing state lines, I see no reason why we cannot do this without a re-establishment of our residence. If the federal government pays part of it they should have something to say about it. Anyone that is totally blind should be allowed to live a dignified life. When one is working and has his own money, he has to manage it for himself, so why not the grant on the same principle ...

I like the FORUM very much as it is the only way we have of speaking our mind and I would like to see more on subjects of this sort. ... These letters are full of human interest. If I could see to get around by myself I would not call myself a blind person. Mine is total blindness. 

(Editor's Note: ACB is working to abolish all residency requirements for public assistance.)

***

Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Houck, Loma Linda, California 

The Braille Forum came yesterday and I just finished listening to it. I really appreciate this magazine. You have a good thing going. What a boost this would have been to me if I could have had a copy of one of these three years ago when I first lost my sight. It seemed it took weeks for me to know where to find help. But I finally got in contact with the Home Teacher of Braille and she started me on the way to living again. I doubt that I would have ever finished the Braille if it hadn't been for my good wife who kept me at the job. 

I had been a teacher for over twenty-five years. When I had been blind for a year, I had gotten my dog Tom, a big German Shepherd, learned Braille and was employed part time as a teacher and student counselor. This is my third year, and I am enjoying my work. I am sixty-one years old, so I have a few years to work yet ... 

I have also taken up pottery. I have my own potter's wheel. ... 

Quite frequently I am asked to speak at school assemblies, churches and clubs. So time does not weigh heavy on my hands. 

*****

** Here and There
By George Card

From the ABC DIGEST (California): "The Department of Rehabilitation is sponsoring a computer programmer training course at System Development Corporation in Santa Monica. Fifteen blind students are being instructed in computer programming. The System Development Corporation has trained over 2,000 persons in this field and has a particular interest in training the blind ... Rudy Salazar, 25, blind from birth, from Antioch, Calif., is justifiably proud of his recent achievement of passing the tough California State Highway Patrol test for a Class-A auto mechanic's license ... George Fogarty's mother, who had been ill for some time, died last month. She had been in much pain. (George has been a delegate at several national conventions and has thrilled many audiences with his golden oratory.) ... About 500 new type coin receptacles in telephone booths have been installed in the Bay Area; they have only one slot which receives nickels, dimes and quarters, with a new electronic totalizer for the benefit of the listening operators. ... Talking Books that play at 4 1/6 RPMs are now being tried out. Julie Bindt wonders how difficult it will be to find your place if you stop in the middle of one of these long-playing records, and also if the smallest scratch will become offensive? (Julie contributes to this issue an extremely well-written account of her automobile trip to the A.C.B. convention in Atlanta and that of the A.S.W.B. in Pittsburgh. On the return trip, she and her driver stopped in Akron for a short visit with Clyde and Lucille Ross and she reports that Clyde is gaining steadily after his recent heart attack.) ... The Bay View Chapter of ABC continues to have monthly parties for the deaf-blind; three times a year the Chapter holds a larger party at the Blind Recreation Center in Oakland, with games, prizes, favors and lunch ... This year the Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind obligingly stayed open an extra day so that a group of 14 deaf-blind guests could have exclusive use of the swimming pool, rowboats on the lake and lodge recreation hall. Most of the group enjoy dancing and either get the vibration of the music through a wooden floor, or can be given the beat by a partner ... Richard Kinney, brilliant deaf-blind teacher at the Hadley School, has just returned from a trip around the world and has recently received an honorary LL.D. ... Two more magazines are being added to the ones already available to blind readers. Natural History will be recorded on Talking Book Records and Seventeen magazine will be available in press braille. ... (from a speech by George Fogarty at the April convention of the ABC) 'With so much time and attention given in counseling, in testing, in supervision of training, in staff conferences, in interpretation of an ever-increasing volume of rules and regulations, to name but a few, there is little or no time left for the most vital activity of all, that of selling the product created through employer contacts and the placing of those who have been trained in a suitable job.'"

From TODAY'S HEALTH: "Prominently displayed on the office wall of Senator Jennings Randolph is a fountain pen. It was the one used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to sign the Randolph-Sheppard bill on June 20, 1936 -- the legislation which opened up federal buildings to blind-operated vending stands and has resulted in so many well-paid jobs for competent blind people."

The Division for the Blind in the Library of Congress has been renamed Division for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The new name reflects the Division's expanded services as authorized by P.O. 89-522, which expanded Talking Book service to those who are certified by a competent authority as unable to read normal printed material as a result of physical limitations.

From the ILLINOIS BRAILLE MESSENGER: "Since 1948 the hospital and rehabilitation facility at Hines, Illinois, has functioned in the lives of 1,100 blinded veterans and as the keystone in the Veterans Administration's total rehabilitation efforts for blinded veterans. But it is now clear that the problem is becoming too much for any one center, since about 400 veterans are now becoming blind each year, through military services or as a result of blinding diseases. The VA plans to open a rehabilitation center on the west coast in 1967 and one on the east coast in 1968. ... Fifteen college-bound blind high school graduates attended the college preparatory course at the Chicago Lighthouse this past summer. Courses include: cane travel, Braille, note taking, typing, math, theme writing, current events, handwriting, grooming, etiquette, how to study for a big exam and how to break the ice with a new roommate. ... There are approximately 275 factories in the Russian Federation which are operated by regional organizations of the blind, specifically for the employment of blind men and women. By government decree, blind workers have a 6-hour work day and get a paid vacation of one month each year ... Blind people pay no taxes."

The MINNESOTA BULLETIN reports that Don Larson is the only blind locksmith in the Twin Cities and perhaps in the whole country. His neat little shop is stocked with 15,000 blanks and he operates four machines -- one of which (for making two-sided keys) costs a thousand dollars. Besides making keys, he gets a lot of work opening locked cars and changing combinations on safes.

From the from NEW BEACON (London): "Last year a group of eye specialists from London visited Ethiopia and performed many corneal transplant operations, nearly all of which were successful. Much publicity resulted and those in power were much impressed -- with the result that a modern eye hospital is being constructed, a section of which will operate as an eye bank."

After many years of disheartening defeats, the organized blind of the country have finally succeeded in persuading Congress to enact at least a token minimum wage for disabled workers in sheltered shops. It is a weak law, with many loopholes, but it is a "foot in the door." At present there are a scandalous number of sheltered shops which pay twenty-five cents an hour, or less -- some actually as low as five cents an hour, with a seven and a half cent increase each year. The important thing is that the principle has finally been recognized by Congress and there is every reason to hope that the law can be strengthened and improved in coming sessions.

From PIONEER: "Legislation establishing a model high school for the deaf in Washington as part of Gallaudet College has been approved by a special House subcommittee on Education. ... This is good news because there is no comprehensive high school available anywhere in the country for deaf children."

From the October NEW OUTLOOK: "Two Detroit agencies, the Blind Service Center and the Metropolitan Society of the Blind, have been merged. ... A new large-print pamphlet, 'A Suggested Guide to Piano Literature for the Partially Seeing,' has been published by the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness. ...  Its sixteen pages incorporate materials supplied by leading music publishers. Copies are 25 cents and are available from the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness, 16 E. 40th St., N.Y., N.Y. 10016. ... At the A.A.W.B. Convention in Pittsburgh the Shotwell Award went to H.A. Wood, former Director of the North Carolina Commission for the Blind; the Anne Sullivan Macy Award to Louis Bettica, of the Brooklyn Industrial Home, and the Alfred Allen Award to H.M. Liechty, editor of the MATILDA ZIEGLER magazine. ... The Migel Medal, regarded as the highest honor in the U.S. in work for the blind, this year went to Dr. Edward J. Waterhouse, Director of the Perkins School for the Blind, and to Mrs. Jayne B. Spain, outstanding member of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped."

A government-sponsored research study has indicated quite clearly that the listening ability of blind children is inferior to that of sighted children in the same grades. Since a major part of the blind child's education must come through intelligent listening, and the results of the study have been widely publicized, it may mean some important changes in the curricula of a number of schools for the blind.

From the AFB NEWSLETTER: "... Elementary school teachers in residential schools who received no maintenance had a median annual salary of $6,030, while elementary school teachers who spend more than 50% of their time teaching blind children in public schools earned an average of $7,890."

From the OHIO BULLETIN: "After 13 years of faithful service as Executive Secretary of the OCB, Bill Dressell stepped down in favor of Mrs. Edna Fillinger of Cleveland ... 

Are you an active member, the kind that would be missed? Or are you just contented that your name is on the list? Do you attend the meetings, and mingle with the flock? Or do you just stay at home, and criticize and knock?

Darlene and I attended the 1966 convention of our South Dakota affiliate in Sioux Falls. We were especially glad to learn that Dean Sumner is gradually convalescing from the long siege of illness which compelled him to cease all activity in his profession for a time and later to resume it on only a restricted schedule. Believe it or not, the convention hotel was called the Cataract. Amblyopia anyone?

The BLIND ADVOCATE (London) reports that there are now almost 7,000 blind persons in the United Kingdom who are employed in ordinary competitive industry, as against 3,500 in sheltered workshops. This is almost a complete reversal of the situation a few years back.

From the November NEW OUTLOOK: "With the existence of more than 7,000 general hospitals in the nation, the increase of preventive medicine and outpatient service, plus the advent of Medicare, there should be many more employment opportunities for the blind in hospital darkrooms. Furthermore, the American Hospital Association is promoting the placement of physically handicapped people on the payrolls of its members. This would seem an appropriate time for vocational counselors and placement specialists to re-visit hospitals where little progress had formerly been made, and where, until now, full­time jobs in film processing were unavailable ... Since 1957 the 'X-Omat' and other automatic devices have cut processing time from 60 minutes to 3 minutes but this technique is easily mastered by blind darkroom operators. The training period takes an average of 13 weeks; however, because of the necessity to learn hand tanking because of the occasional breakdowns in the automatic devices ... The American Council of the Blind, at its annual meeting in July, passed a resolution calling for investigation of the possibility of establishing a Hall of Fame of blind persons. The Board of Directors was instructed to report its recommendations at the 1967 meeting. "

The EYE-CATCHER, organ of the Empire State Association of the Blind, reports that at its Labor Day weekend convention of the E.S.A.B. adopted a strong resolution favoring the enactment of a law to permit concessions to blind travelers on airplanes like those now in effect on trains and buses. This is especially noteworthy in view of the fact that, while A.C.B. has steadily supported such a measure, the E.S.A.B.'s own present parent organization has fought it.

In a recent issue of the MIAMI HERALD appeared a picture of four "War on Poverty" counselors, with their eyes heavily bandaged in a Miami restaurant, with the following explanatory paragraph: "This may not be the most pleasant way to eat lunch-blindfolded -- but these men are doing so to learn something about the problems of the blind. 

"The Jewish Volunteer Services in teaching people to work with the blind feels that there's no substitute for experience." 

From the WASHINGTON STATE WHITE CANE: "We believe that a properly educated blind person, who has developed the ability to contribute useful work to society, who has become realistically independent in travel, religion, companionship, etc., and who desires and tries to make a good contribution to the world will not be held back by the millions of people who either have a wrong attitude toward him or who could not care less about his problems."

From the N.I.B. NEWS: "Panels of marine plywood to be used in making pontoon bridges for the U.S. Army are being assembled by blind workers at Arizona Industries for the Blind in Phoenix. More than 20 workers are being employed full-time in riveting protective metal edges and applying oak cleats to the panels. A special jig had to be designed to spread the rivets. ... The special pride of Erwin Samp, blind, is the elaborate rock garden he has restored at his Milwaukee (Wis.) home. The rock garden -- subject of a recent article in the Milwaukee Sentinel -- contains a miniature stone cottage, castle and lighthouse nestled among flowers, shrubs and rocks. A waterfall trickles down the stones, past the red-roofed cottage and into a pond below."

The MONTANA OBSERVER reports that Mike and Kay Maloney -- formerly very active in both the Montana and Minnesota organized blind movements -- have moved to Altoona, Pa., where Mike is now a home teacher with a nine-county territory.

The evening of December 15th brought two wonderful long-distance calls. The first was from Durward McDaniel, who called from the Detroit airport. He reported that the big Flint chapter had voted 33 to 1 for affiliation with ACB, following his address to that group. All other Michigan Federation of the Blind chapters had previously voted for affiliation. It now appears practically certain that, when the M.F.B. Board meets in January, we will have our 16th affiliate. The other call came from Paul Kirton who reported that he seems finally to be recovering from his protracted siege of phlebitis. He and his lovely 16-month bride are now living on a little farm just north of Richmond, Va., and are commuting to their jobs in Washington, D.C. -- a round trip of 150 miles daily. One item of news he reported is ironically amusing. In a boundary dispute between his native Texas and Oklahoma, Paul is representing Oklahoma. His new address is: Rt. 1, Box 56-C, Woodford, Va., 22580

It's a GIRL for Bob and Lori McMullen of Chicago. Robin Liane arrived on November 15th. Lori endeared herself to all those who attended the Atlanta convention. Bob will be remembered as our capable chairman of the Resolutions Committee; he has served several terms as president of the Illinois Federation, is an Assistant State Attorney -- and a dedicated poker player. Our best wishes go to Robin and her proud parents.

We are grieved to report the recent death of Larry J. Stein, long-time leader of the organized blind in Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Stein was president of the Maricopa County Club of the Blind at the time it became ACB's fourth affiliate. He was serving as Secretary of that organization when death came at the end of an illness which extended over the past year.

Now is the time to mark your calendar and reserve the dates of the ACB 1967 convention: July 19-22, Wichita, Kansas. President Robrahn promises a fine convention, with the Kansas Association as hosts. Y'all Come!

*****

** Danny's Guiding Light

Reprinted from THE SIGN, Monastery Court, N.J.

In New Jersey, the Archdiocese of Newark has officially declared blind children to be children first of all. With the help of specialist teachers like Sister Thomas Anne, C.S.J., he archdiocesan Mount Carmel Guild is keeping blind children where they belong -- in their own families, parish schools, neighborhoods. They are not to be hidden away, bypassed, or pitied to the point of alienation. Eleven-year-old Daniel Burton, of Union City, is one of forty-six blind children that Sister Thomas Anne and two other itinerant teachers drill at least weekly in the ways of a sighted world. Now in the fifth grade at St. Michael's School, Danny had had all of his schooling among nearly seven hundred other spirited youngsters in his own parish. In turn, they have learned by watching him work hard, play hard, and take care of himself that a blind person can fit in just about anywhere. 

"Some of his schoolmates will someday be employers," says Sister Thomas Anne. "They will know from the start that a blind worker, or any other handicapped person, can be just as effective -- if not more so -- those whose defects aren't so apparent." 

Sister also consults with Dan's teachers and parents, teaching them to see with the special vision of the blind. "You really have to become blind yourself in order to understand." (Part of her training: a blindfold airplane trip to San Francisco and back; her only help, a white cane.) 

The Passionist Fathers, the Sisters of Charity, and the lay teachers at St. Michael's say the eye-opening education of Danny is educating them all. Teachers are becoming better teachers by making each sound and word and touch carry its precise load of meaning. All twenty-five classmates in cheery Sister Regina's fifth-grade room are not only co-beneficiaries of this precision, but they are spurred in their own work by the determined clacking of Danny's Braille-writer in the corner. 

(Pictures show Danny learning basketball with the assistance of Sister Thomas Anne and the other children; Danny in the classroom with his books piled high; and as an acolyte.) 

Everyone at St. Michael's is also learning that a foremost hazard to blind persons is sighted people who give inexact visual directions, who shift furniture without notice, who are over-helpful.

Danny's parents admit that when their first child was born blind, they got off to some false starts. Danny was on baby food until he was nearly four, because they didn't know how to wean him to anything more solid. There was no one like Sister Thomas Anne around to show them how. He began school tardily. The special pre-schools they sent him to literally bored him to tears. One agency even declared Danny "backward."

"Backward" Dan is now consistently in the upper third of his class, rides his own bicycle (on the sidewalk), typewrites with all ten fingers, reads ahead of his grade level, plays the organ and the piano, consumes books faster than they can be Braille written, helps a pal deliver newspapers, and is now learning to serve Mass.

Once, on a visit to another school in Jersey City, someone shoved against him. He shoved back and complained to Sister Thomas Anne, "Can't they see I'm blind?" 

"So is that other child you just pushed." 

There is some hope that science, which now has learned how to repair nerve tissue, may someday untangle Danny's optic nerves, bunched up by the dose of oxygen he needed to survive as a premature baby. Since then, the world outside of Danny has looked like a murky mirror of glimmering shadows and faint lights. But that doesn't mean he can't see. Though he has never seen his parents, his younger brother Bob, his little sister Judy, or Sister Thomas Anne, he knows the sounds, the touch, the shapes, the warmth of the several kinds of love that press him from all sides.

All these things combine to form distinct images on the panoramic screen of his interior vision. That's what he means when, with startling assurance, he will say, "I can see! I can see!" This can happen at home, in class or playing in the park across the street (where Mayor William V. Musto has appointed him a seventy-five cents a week assistant in charge of policing other boisterous children.) He means more than "I understand." He means that vision is not entirely an optical thing.

*****

** Part-Time Employment for Tapers

We are quoting some excerpts from a letter which offers a part-time employment opportunity to those of our readers who have the necessary equipment.

"We always have need of persons who have their own tape recorder, and an AM, FM and/or TV tuner, with a direct (wired) connection input to their recorder ... and with a recorder that accepts at least 7" diameter tape reels.

The purpose of our recordings of radio and TV programs and commercials is to check upon advertising.

Our rate of pay is $1.50 per recorded hour or commercial pending upon the order) ... with a decline in pay per hour for recordings of four hours or more (per station). ... The rate never goes below $1 per hour. ... Blind persons are especially desired ..." For further information, write to "Videochex," 1743 W. Nelson St., Chicago, Ill. 60657, attention Mr. Dick Drost, Pres., and refer to this item in the BRAILLE FORUM.

*****

** Refugees from the Round File

If you are looking for a textbook in braille, large type or on a recording write to the American Printing House for the Blind, Textbook consultant, 1839 Frankfort Ave., Louisville, Ky. 40206, and request that they check for it in their "General Catalog of Volunteer Produced Textbooks."
 
For information on non-textbook material produced by volunteers, write to the Regional Librarian, Division for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540. 

(From the May-June '66 Journal of Rehabilitation): A breakthrough has been achieved in telephone communication between deaf-blind persons and hearing persons. An electronic vibrating device, called a "tactile speech indicator," has been developed by High L. Moore, electronics specialist for the Los Angeles City Schools. It consists of a tiny microphone connected to a meter which picks up vibration signals from a telephone receiver. The deaf-blind person will communicate with the hearing person by asking questions which can be answered with a "yes" (repeated twice) or a "no" (said once) and will be able to distinguish the answers by the number of vibrations received on his receiver button.

The card dialer telephone, designed to speed dialing by means of pre-punched plastic cards that do the job automatically, is proving valuable to the blind. By embossing names in braille the desired name can be identified, the card inserted in the phone, and a simple push on the start bar automatically dials the number.

A little amplification of sound is all that is needed to enable many persons with hearing problems to use the telephone effectively. Telephone instruments are available to increase the volume of the other party's voice. One device for this purpose is the volume control handset which contains a small transistorized amplifier built into the receiver. A person with impaired hearing can adjust the volume of a telephone conversation by turning a little knob in the receiver.

At its fall convention, the Associated Blind of California upon recommendation of its Deaf-Blind Committee voted to invite the National Association of the Deaf-Blind to hold a one- or two-day convention in San Francisco just prior to the ACB national convention in 1968. The NADB would plan any business or program items. ABC would plan physical arrangements for meetings, interpreters and guides, and trips to points of interest. Many deaf-blind, through their ACB Braille periodical "The Voice," edited by Boyd Wolfe (former chairman of the Deaf-Blind), have expressed a desire for a convention. ABC hopes they will accept the invitation.

From ABC Digest (Calif.) -- In a report on the AAWB convention Julie Bindt writes, "I am concerned about one session at the AAWB. It was in the section for Rehabilitation teachers for the Blind -- it seems likely that this will be the new title replacing Home Teacher or Counselor-Teacher. Mobility specialists -- all sighted -- told us that we should not attempt to teach cane travel because this should only be done by highly trained peripatologists. However, according to these Mobility Specialists, rehabilitation teachers might give pre-cane instruction to the newly blind, that is, to have the person protect himself in his home, one elbow should be bent and raised, so that the back of the hand is right in front of the face -- by having the palm outward, it is more sensitive. The other hand should be held in the center of the body, as low as possible, palm up, with the fingers straight in front to hit any obstacle on this lower level. Probably this is about as good a protective shield as one can make of his own body, but the hand before the face cuts off object perception cues and it is certainly an awkward and unattractive posture. Frankly, I would think it psychologically harmful to the newly blind person. We all know too many blind persons who can move quickly and gracefully about their homes if not outside -- with a minimum of hand or arm protection. I am wondering if representatives of the organized blind should not try to confer with those designing the peripatology techniques and try to find safe but more socially acceptable techniques for the beginner, so that his self-image is not marred at the outset. 

(Editor's note -- And what about a third hand to protect our chins from the coffee tables?) 

What has been known as COMSTAC has completed its work with the organization of its successor and permanent organization to be known as the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped or more concisely the National Accreditation Council (NAC). 

The officers of the new Council are President, Arthur L. Brandon; 1st Vice President, Peter J. Salmon; 2nd Vice President, Benjamin F. Boyer; Secretary, Frederick Storey; Treasurer, Ira A. Schur. Other Council members include M. Robert Barnett, Kenneth Jernigan, and Norman Yoder. Alexander F. Handel has been appointed Director of the Council.

The report of the COMSTAC findings, including final drafts of the standards, has been published. The recorded edition will be available on or about March 1 and the braille edition will be available about June 1, 1966. 

From the final COMSTAC NEWLETTER we learn that Ben Wolfe has opened the Western Regional Office of the AFB in San Francisco and that Russell Williams, Chief, Rehabilitation of the Blind, VA, whom we met in the White House in October, 1965, received the President's award of the Greater Pittsburgh Guild for the Blind, 1966. 

The report of the National Advisory Council on Welfare has been recorded on tape and may be borrowed by sending your request to the editor of the Braille Forum. 

This report makes a number of far-reaching and progressive suggestions for the improvement of the entire field of Public Assistance. 

The Hadley School for the Blind announces a new "Homemakers Course." Some of the subjects covered are: How to Run a House, How to Groom a House, How to Use a Kitchen, How to Iron, The Children and the House, Notes on Safety and Notes on Grooming.

*****

** ACB Officers and Directors

President: Reese H. Robrahn, 541 New England Building, Topeka, Kansas 66603
1st Vice President: Ned E. Freeman, 136 Gee's Mill Rd., Conyers, Ga. 30207
2nd Vice President: David Krause, 4628 Livingston Rd., SE, Washington, D.C. 20032 
Secretary: Mrs. Alma Murphey, 4103 Castleman Ave., St. Louis, Missouri 63110 
Treasurer: F.W. Orrell, 5209 Alabama Ave., Chattanooga, Tenn. 37409 

** Directors

Mrs. Mary Jane Schmitt, 55 Queens St., Rochester, N.Y. 14609 
R.L. Thompson, 104 W. Hanlon St., Tampa, Fla. 33604
Fred C. Lilley, 53 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois 60604
J. Edward Miller, 2661 Chesterfield Ave., Charlotte, North Carolina 28205
George Card, 605 S. Few Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703 
Vernon Williams, 217 Western Union Bldg., Aberdeen, S.D. 57401 
Mrs. Catherine Skivers, 836 Resota St., Hayward, California 94545
Floyd Qualls, Post Office Box 1476, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

***

This sight saving edition was assembled and mailed by members of the Oklahoma City Chapter of the Oklahoma Federation of the Blind.

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