The Braille Forum Vol. IX May 1971 No. 6 Published Bi-Monthly by the American Council of the Blind Oklahoma City, Oklahoma * Editor: Earl Scharry 5714 Ridgeway Ave. Rockville, MD 20851 * Associate Editors: George Card 605 South Few St. Madison, WI 53703 Alma Murphey 4103 Castleman Ave. St. Louis, MO 63110 * President: Reese Robrahn 329 Woodbury Lane Topeka, KS 66606 * National Representative: Durward K. McDaniel 20 E Street NW Suite 215 Washington, DC 20001 To inform its readers and to provide an impartial Forum for discussion. ***** ** Table of Contents Notice to Subscribers President's Message, by Reese Robrahn Important Notice to All Affiliates, by Fred Krepela See You in Milwaukee, by George Card Notice to Secretaries and Transcribers, by Betty Ann Jones The 1971 VIDPI Conference, by Richard J. Snipas Blind Lawyers' Conference Vending Stand Operators' Annual Convention Editors' Workshop at ACB Convention Wagner-O'Day Legislation -- S. 557 and H. R. 2310, by Durward McDaniel In Memory of Walter McDonald, by Durward McDaniel ACB Was There Air Fare Concessions for Blind and Severely Handicapped Persons -- S. 1303, by Durward McDaniel Four Years at the Oars, by Oral O. Miller A Landmark Decision Rehabilitation of Older Blind Persons Hyde Park Corner -- Who? -- Me? by Ione Miller Division for the Blind and Visually Handicapped, RSA, Restored? ACB Budget for 1971 ACB Tape Service, by Loretta Freeman Disability Benefits for Blind Persons — H.R. 1240 and S. 1335, by Durward McDaniel Here and There ACB Officers Directors ***** ** Notice to Subscribers The Braille Forum is available in braille, large type, and on tape -- seven-inch, dual track, ips 3 and 3/4. Subscriptions and address changes should be sent to Floyd Qualls, who is in charge of our three mailing lists. His address is: 106 N.E. 2nd Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104. Items intended for publication should be sent to the editor or to one of the associate editors. Those much-needed and appreciated cash contributions should be sent to ACB Treasurer Fred Krepela, 241 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301. ***** ** President's Message In the March issue my message informed you that the affiliation of four new organizations has been approved since our July 1970 Convention, and I predicted more additions by 1971 Convention time. You will receive a report of these additions in the July issue. However, growth and expansion of the American Council is not limited to the acquisition of new affiliates. Frequently the vigor and enthusiasm of our organization brings about some very remarkable changes in old organizations -- revitalization, expansion in membership, and renewed interest in the enlargement and development of organizational programs. I would like to report on two cases in point that occurred during the month of March, 1971. For many years the membership of our Lone Star State Federation of the Blind, our Texas affiliate, has remained more or less constant. This spring during the month of March, like a Texas gusher, growth in the membership of that organization reached flood proportions. During a thirty-day period its membership rolls were expanded by the addition of 418 new members. This proves once again that when Texas does something it does it in a big way. Congratulations are extended to Marcus Roberson, President of the Lone Star State Federation. A fine Convention is planned to convene at San Antonio on the 22nd of May, at the Gunter Hotel. For many years our affiliate in Arizona has been the Maricopa County Club of the Blind. Through the efforts of leaders of that Arizona organization an organizational meeting was held in Phoenix on the 27th day of March, 1971, which culminated in the establishment of a statewide organization, the Arizona Council of the Blind. The following officers were elected: President, John Vanlandingham, 3526 W. Pasadena, Phoenix 85019; First Vice-President, Helen Clegg, 1501 N. Miracle Mile-Apt. 117, Tucson 85795; Second Vice­President, Harlene Stone, 2938 W. Washington St., Phoenix 85009; Treasurer, E. M. Ted Platts, 7633 E. Meadowbrook Ave., Scottsdale 85251; Secretary, Beti Schwartz, 8701 E. Rose St., Mesa 85208; Directors: Clarence Booher, Tucson; J. Lester Hearn, Tucson; The Honorable Craig Davids, Coolidge; George Powell, Mesa; Frankie Allred, Mesa; Maxine Schramm, Phoenix. This new statewide organization in due course will apply for affiliation with the American Council. Congratulations are extended to John Vanlandingham and his fine Board of Directors. By the time this is published, I will have attended the convention of one our new affiliates, the Arkansas Council of the Blind. I am impressed with the rapid growth of this statewide organization, and its officers and members are to be commended for their good work. I am looking forward to attending the convention of the Iowa Council of the Blind at the Clayton House Hotel in Waterloo on June 12th. George Card and I attended the historic organizing convention of this thriving group, and I am pleased at the opportunity to meet our new and determined workers for progress. I commend the Iowa Council for its progress and particularly for the establishment of its excellent publication, the VOICE OF THE TRUMPET. I am serving the third and last two-year term as President of the American Council. It is my goal, and I predict that by the time of our Portland, Oregon, 1972, Convention the American Council will have at least forty affiliates. All signs point to the Milwaukee Convention as our biggest and best yet. I urge you to get your reservations in now. ***** ** Important Notice to All Affiliates By Fred Krepela, Treasurer According to the American Council of the Blind Constitution and By-Laws, all affiliates must mail in their affiliate dues at least 30 days prior to our ACB National Convention, which will be held the end of July, 1971. That means that your 20 cents per voting member must be in the hands of the Treasurer by June 25. The maximum membership dues is $100.00, even though your membership may be over 500. Do not jeopardize your affiliate vote, which is one vote for each 25 members or majority portion thereof, by failing to send in your dues or being late. The maximum affiliate vote is 25 regardless of the size of your membership. It is suggested that you mail in up-to-date mailing lists (in triplicate preferred, as one copy is retained by the Treasurer, who will then mail one copy each to Secretary Mary Jane Schmitt and Helen Vargo, Publications Committee Chairman). Helen wishes to update and check the mailing list for the Braille Forum — you might indicate on one copy those desiring braille or print or taped copy. All the foregoing applies also to special interest groups such as RSVA, VISTA, Blind Lawyers, etc. IF YOU WANT TO VOTE, BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR DUES IN BY JUNE 25, 1971. Mail check to Fred Krepela, Treasurer, 241 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301. The following contributions have been received prior to January 1, since our last notice in the Forum. The July Braille Forum will show the contributions between January 1 and June 1. * Members-at-Large - $3.00: Jimmy Trietsch, Anchorage, Alaska; Ronald W. Workman, Goshen, Indiana. * Contributions to the Braille Forum -$105.00 total: Elmer Morlock, Grand Forks, North Dakota; Alabama Federation of the Blind, Gadsden, Alabama. * Sustaining Membership: Eunice Fabry, Eggertsville, New York. * General Contributions - Total $59.84: Oklahoma Federation of the Blind, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Mrs. Lucinda Garrett, Cherokee, Iowa; Miss Clara E. Yochim, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Clyde K. Thelning, Adalaide, South Australia; Katharine Kolb, Hastings Nebr.; William M. Peoria, Knoxville, Tenn.; Richard C. Oldham, Louisville, Ky.; Anthony McKeague, Honolulu, Hawaii; Russell E. Nice, Collingdale, Pa.; George Harsh, Memphis, Tenn.; Denney A. Renando, Bothell, Wash.; Effie M. Loeffler, Washington, D.C. ***** ** See You in Milwaukee The occasion to which ACB members look forward all the rest of the year, the annual national convention, will be upon us almost before we know it. The week of July 25-31 will find throngs of eager, happy, busy delegates and visitors in the Sheraton-Schroeder Hotel, attending committee meetings and sessions and socializing at other times. The number of rooms assigned to us is limited. It will be the very height of the tourist season, so if you want to be where the action is and where your friends will be, get your reservations in right away. You can always cancel if something prevents your coming. The room rates are $15 double and $11 single. Other costs will be minimal, especially if you take most of your meals at nearby inexpensive restaurants. The price of the banquet tickets will be less than at recent conventions, and those for the afternoon and evening of organized recreation will be the biggest bargain in our history. The great Schlitz Brewery is providing a sumptuous evening dinner for 300 absolutely free. The cost of the package, therefore, will need only to cover the seven big buses which we will need -- probably $2.50 per person. We will be tying up these buses for nine or ten hours. The ticket sale for the package (which will include a tour of the beautiful new Badger Home for the Blind complex, a visit to the Schlitz Brewery, the dinner at the Schlitz Terminal and an evening of old-fashioned German-Milwaukee music and entertainment) must go to those who register first. When they are sold out; the tardy ones will just be out of luck. The registration fee for delegates and visitors alike will probably be $2.00. During the first two and a half days of the week the Randolph-Sheppard Vendors, the blind lawyers, the blind secretaries, the blind computer programmers, the blind Lions, the editors of ACB affiliate publications, the ham radio operators and perhaps other special groups will be holding their own sessions. They are each making their own arrangements with the hotel, with the help of Durward McDaniel. The convention proper gets underway at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28, with addresses of welcome by Patrick J. Lucey, Governor of Wisconsin, and by Hubert Pitz, President of the host affiliate, the Wisconsin Council of the Blind, Inc. Then will come the "roll call of the states" which is always a feature of great interest and lets us know just who is present and where. At 2: 30 p.m. Roy Andries DeGroot, who writes the column "The Movable Feast" in ESQUIRE magazine, will tell us about his unusual profession. This should be something entirely out of the ordinary and since we all love to eat it will certainly hold great interest. At 3:00 p.m. a world-famous ophthalmologist, Dr. Matthew D. Davis, of the University of Wisconsin, will describe some of the results he has obtained during his research on the causes and treatment of glaucoma. At 3:30 p.m. Paul Kirton, a former ACB Director, now in the Interior Department at Washington, D.C., will speak on "The Problems and Prospects of Blind Government Employees." The final item will be a panel on library service to the blind with participants coming from the Library of Congress. During Wednesday evening there will be a social mixer, with entertainment. The Thursday morning program will include addresses by Mrs. Eunice Fiorito, of New York City, a member of Mayor Lindsay's Advisory Committee on the Handicapped; Benjamin Pumo, Director of the Metropolitan Society for the Blind in Detroit; and M. Robert Barnett, Executive Director of the American Foundation for the Blind. One or two other items will be added. One of the items now definitely scheduled for Friday morning is an appearance by Miss Marjorie Hooper, Braille Editor of the American Printing House and a Wisconsin native. She will describe what has happened at the Printing House since the ACB convention in Louisville in 1965. The second will be a speech by our dynamic Superintendent of the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped, William English. He came to us from the Virginia School, and this is his first year at Janesville, but already he has made an excellent impression by his obvious ability, his resourcefulness, his willingness to innovate and a fine spirit of cooperation with the organized blind. Another will be an address by Dr. Douglas MacFarland, former head of the Virginia Commission, past President of AAWB and now a high official in the Department of HEW. He has had a brilliant career in work for the blind and is a fine speaker. His message should be of great interest. One of the two items definitely scheduled for Friday afternoon is a report by ACB President Reese H. Robrahn. He will be beginning his final year in office and will review the progress of our national organization during the first five years of his administration. Another Friday afternoon feature will be an address by our own Adrian DeBlaey, Assistant Director of the Wisconsin Bureau for the Blind. He Will bring us and our visitors up to date on recent trends and developments affecting the blind in many parts of the U.S. Other program items will be added. The Wisconsin Council is subsidizing several busloads of Wisconsin residents who will arrive in time for the afternoon session and the evening banquet. The climax of this, as of all our annual conventions, will be the great banquet at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. You will be thrilled by the eloquent voice of our great West Coast orator, George Fogarty. There will be the presentation of the much-coveted Ambassador Award and of charters to the new ACB affiliates. There will probably be some brief greetings from one or more of our distinguished guests at the head table and the final item will be a 25-30 minute program put on by a brilliant blind combo, each member of which is an artist in his own right. A few years ago this group played professionally all over the Midwest. You will hear the beautiful baritone voice of the drummer, Ray Revor, in his moving rendition of "Old Man River," the virtuosity of Aubie Bina at the piano, the brilliance of Bob McLain as he shifts from violin to tenor sax to clarinet and the inimitable resourcefulness of Walter Wyss on the bass. He will do his famous hilarious specialty number, which he calls the "Bass Boogie." Hearing this group will be an unforgettable experience. ***** ** Notice to All Secretaries and Transcribers By Betty Ann Jones You are cordially invited to attend and participate in the first convention of the Visually Impaired Secretarial Transcribers Association at the Sheraton-Schroeder Hotel, 509 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203, on Monday and Tuesday, July 26 and 27. Room rates will be $11.00 for a single and $15.00 for a double. In addition to the regular business meeting on Tuesday afternoon, the program will include authoritative examinations of the initial role of the social worker in rehabilitation, the methods employed by the counselor in the original choice of an occupation, and the training and placement of secretaries and transcribers. There will be an explanation of the use of a stenomask in the office and personnel representatives from national employers will discuss what they expect from their office workers. The program will conclude with a panel of employed secretaries and transcribers, but there will be ample time allotted for questions and answers throughout each session. On Monday evening, there will be a social gathering where you can meet your fellow workers in a relaxed atmosphere, and on Tuesday, a luncheon featuring a nationally known person in the field of office work as guest speaker. The registration fee will be $7.00, which will include the luncheon. Make your hotel reservations now, and plan to spend the last week in July with your fellow workers helping to formulate the future of your organization by your active participation. VISTA knows it needs you. Perhaps, you need VISTA. Join us and discover how everyone can benefit from cooperative action. ***** ** The 1971 VIDPI Conference By Richard J. Snipas, Program Chairman The annual meeting of the Visually Impaired Data Processors International will be held Sunday, July 25 through Wednesday, July 28, 1971, at the Sheraton-Schroeder Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sunday's activities will start at 2 p.m. with registration, followed by committee meetings, a cocktail hour, and an open meeting of the Board in the evening. Monday's conference topic is technical equipment used by blind data processors. Much time and money has been spent by our government, foundations and private industry in the development of equipment (hardware and software) for use by the blind. So far very little of this new technology is available to those of us in the field who need the help. Paul Duke of RCA, because of his long experience and many contacts in the data processing field, will moderate this Monday session. Our aim at these proceedings is to obtain necessary support for technical ideas. The session will include talks by individuals who have equipment available or in the prototype stage, guidance people in government agencies and other contributory organizations as to how VIDPI can support the manufacture of equipment that we deem necessary. Reports from VIDPI committees will shed light on technical seminars during the year. Everyone in attendance will get a chance to ask questions and voice opinions at the seminar session that follows the talks. Every blind data processor is urged to attend and give his opinion. as the outcome of this session could affect all of us. The Tuesday session will be moderated by Ray Jones, VIDPI President. The topic will be tightening the organizational structure of VIDPI. Ray is an experienced organizational person and, as President of VIDPI, has a chance to see the group's strengths and weaknesses. With the help of committee reports and an open discussion session, we hope that we can sharpen VIDPI into an efficient tool that can be used by all of its members. A chief topic of the Tuesday session will be the new newsletter-digest that will be prepared by VIDPI and published in braille and audio tape by the Library of Congress. Although the basic structure has been created by the Board of Directors during this year, much of the structural work remains to be done by the members at this meeting. On Tuesday we will also have a luncheon-business meeting, with the remainder of the afternoon devoted to individual meetings of newly formed committees, which will include every member of VIDPI who attends the conference. ***** ** Blind Lawyers' Conference in Milwaukee The American Blind Lawyers Association will hold its annual two-day conference at the Sheraton-Schroeder Hotel in Milwaukee on July 26th and 27th. Activities will begin on Sunday, the 25th with advance registration, a social hour and a meeting of the board of directors in the evening. John Vanlandingham of Phoenix, ABLA President, has announced that a full program has been planned for lawyers and law students. A detailed program will be sent to the entire mailing list of lawyers in June. Among subjects to be discussed will be: production of a law journal; advantages and disadvantages of the professional corporation; ABLA library; lawyers as professional arbiters; trial of medical malpractice suits, and the economics of law office management. The Association continues to discover lawyers and students who have not been on its list. Readers are requested to advise the Association of such persons by sending names and addresses to the Secretary at Suite 215, 20 E. St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. President Vanlandingham stresses the fact that the conference will be organized around seminar discussions with special attention to problem solving. ***** ** Vending Stand Operators Annual Convention The Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America will hold its third annual convention on July 26th, 27th and 28th at the Sheraton-Schroeder Hotel in Milwaukee. Advance registration will begin on Sunday, the 25th, and the board of directors will meet on Sunday evening. Don Cameron of Tampa, and Francis Schiedemeyer of Milwaukee are co-chairmen of the convention. They plan to continue the organization's concern with the business problems affecting the membership. A continuing comparison of state vending programs will be enhanced by speakers from several state agencies and by a panel of operators describing and evaluating the arrangements and conditions and factors existing in their businesses. Among the prominent national participants will be Mr. Henry Seward, who is on the staff of the Rehabilitation Services Administration in Washington, D.C. There will be a reception on Monday evening and a luncheon on Tuesday. Vendors who are not on the official mailing list should write directly to H.C. DeLint, Secretary, 7125 Hawthorn Ave., Apartment 11, Hollywood, California, 90046. ***** ** Editors' Workshop at ACB Convention M. Helen Vargo, Chairman of ACB's Publication Board has planned a workshop for editors of periodicals to be held on Tuesday, July 27th from 1 to 5 P.M. at the Sheraton-Schroeder Hotel in Milwaukee. The purpose of the workshop is to initiate an ongoing instructional plan for the improvement of periodicals published by organizations. At this first workshop, emphasis will be placed on the defining of problem areas to be overcome and positive methods of producing a meaningful publication for the members and readers. Participants will analyze issues of a few periodicals and outline standards and methods for improvement. Editors directly associated with ACB organizations will be invited. Organizations wishing to establish periodicals are invited to send prospective editors for their education. In addition, Miss Vargo has announced that editors from independent organizations will also be welcome. Anyone interested who does not receive an official announcement is advised to write directly to Miss Vargo at 833 Oakley St., Topeka, Kansas 66606. ***** ** Wagner-O'Day Legislation -- S. 557 and H.R. 2310 By Durward McDaniel In March, the Senate passed S. 557 without hearings. On April 20th and 21st it and H.R. 2310, an identical bill, were considered by the Sub-Committee on Special Studies of the House Committee on Government Operations. The main purpose of the legislation is to extend the authorization for federal purchasing to workshops employing severely handicapped persons. The present law applies only to workshops for the blind. Other objectives of these bills have been discussed in earlier articles. Proponents at these hearings made numerous ambitious predictions and estimates of the bill's importance and effect. The Council again opposed the expansion to other workshops because there is not enough business from federal sources to be shared. The Council also advocated several amendments, including assurance of rights and benefits to production workers, representation of shop workers and the right to judicial review of administrative actions. The National Federation of the Blind took substantially the same position on many provisions of the bills. As we go to press, it appears that the Sub-Committee will report out a new bill with a new number which will still contain the major provision expanding purchases to workshops for other handicapped persons. There will be some substantial alteration in other provisions in response to criticism expressed at the hearings. The rights and benefits for shopworkers will be the subject of a study provided for by the bill. A further report will be made later. Last fiscal year, government purchases were about nineteen million dollars from workshops for blind persons. This year, the amount will be about two-thirds as much as last year. On February 12, 1971, officials of National Industries for the Blind and several workshops appeared at a special hearing to persuade Federal Prison Industries to release some government business to workshops for the blind because of the decrease in purchasing. Many workshops are laying off shop workers and some say they will have to close down if something doesn't improve. On May 3, Congressman Randall, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Special Studies, and several other Congressmen introduced a "clean" bill, H. R. 8011, containing numerous changes in provisions. ***** ** In Memory of Walter R. McDonald By Durward McDaniel Walter McDonald died on February 25, 1971, at the age of 79. We in the Council knew him as a friend and as one of our most distinguished members. He helped to establish the Georgia Federation of the Blind in 1956 and served as its president for eight years. He gained immediate recognition at the national level and accepted positions of responsibility. In the late fifties, he was an active participant in the internal affairs of the National Federation of the Blind, at first as a peace­maker and a supporter of that organization, but in 1959, he became dissatisfied with the internal management of the organization and resigned in protest. When the American Council was formed, he and other Georgians acted to bring the state organization into its membership. He received many honors and one of them was the Council's Ambassador Award in 1965. The Georgia Federation is dedicating the current issue of the GFB Digest to him. It contains many testimonials from Georgians, including former Governor, Marvin Griffin. George Card, David Krause and Durward McDaniel wrote special pieces about him. Walter was best known to most of us because of his outstanding efforts on behalf of blind people. The people of Georgia knew him to be an accomplished citizen who lived life fully and with distinction. This year, he commenced his ninth term as a Georgia Public Service Commissioner which he won last year in a statewide election. Few people knew his exact age, and many had forgotten the length of his tenure which began in this important office forty-eight years ago. During this time, he became recognized as a national authority in this field and held numerous positions of honor and trust. I first met Walter in 1952 and became well acquainted with him the late '50s. I learned that this Southern gentleman, lawyer, and astute politician could be a cordial and gracious colleague, an aggressive competitor, and a very angry man when he found that he had been misled. Like so many others I have enjoyed his friendship and respected his character and ability. For most of his adult life Walter McDonald dealt with people in high places in Georgia. Through all of this he maintained his active interest in and concern for the well­being of blind persons. As an adversary or an ally he was a force to be reckoned with. ***** ** ACB Was There For a time last fall there was grave danger that the educational career of twenty-five blind school-children of the District of Columbia would be disrupted. Briefly, the situation was this: Since D.C. does not have adequate facilities for educating its totally blind children, they have in the past been sent to the Maryland school. The District had been paying $4,000 per pupil in return. Last year Maryland raised the per capita charge for non-resident totally blind scholars to $5,400. The District refused to pay this amount and was about to bring the twenty-five students back home, despite the painfully obvious fact that it had neither the staff nor the facilities to educate them. The situation was desperate, and some sort of effective intervention was clearly needed. Fortunately, one of our ACB board members was keenly aware of the situation and in a strategic position to influence the final decision. Not only is Dave Krause a highly placed and highly regarded D. C. official, but his wife, Bettye, is also one of the most dedicated and involved teachers it has been our privilege to know. For the past ten years she has been employed as a teacher of partially sighted classes in the District. Characteristically, Dave's approach was direct, without fanfare or histrionics -- and effective. He went directly to his big boss, Mayor Walter Washington. Up to this time, though there had been a great deal of clamor, there was no indication whatever that the top D.C. officials were aware of the situation or that any adequate provisions would be made for the education of the twenty-five students. Under date of October 8, Dave wrote to the mayor pleading the cause of these students, and suddenly five days later all the confusion was dissipated and meaningful action was taken. It was announced both publicly and a letter from the Acting Superintendent of Schools to Dave that the District would pay the tuition for the seventeen high school students involved and that only the eight elementary students would be brought back to the District and educated there. There was also an immediate flurry of activity in acquiring the necessary books and other facilities and equipment for these grade-school children. Dave's letter to the Mayor is printed below and presents the case both fairly and forcefully. It is easy to see how it brought about such dramatic results. (Ed.) * Dear Mayor Washington: As a member of the Board of Directors of the American Council of the Blind, I am writing to call to your attention a local crisis which is presently posing a serious threat to the education of twenty-five totally blind children who are citizens of the District of Columbia. It is my understanding that the tuition for each District of Columbia blind student now attending the Maryland School for the Blind has been increased to $5,400 a year and that the District Government has refused to pay the increased tuition. It is also my understanding that the Maryland School for the Blind has set a deadline date of October 16, 1970, for meeting its demand for the increased tuition, or the District students will be ousted from the Maryland School for the Blind. From personal knowledge, I can assure you that the District's Public School System has neither the facilities nor the trained teaching personnel to educate these blind children locally. While I am well aware of the present financial problems facing the District Government, I cannot accept the explanation that the District does not have the additional $31,000 needed to keep these children in the Maryland School for the Blind. If the District can find $600,000 for decorating the uniforms of the police, then it can hardly justify sacrificing the futures of twenty-five blind children for lack of a fraction of this amount. In bringing this matter to your attention, I do so confident in the belief that you will intercede promptly to prevent this tragedy from occurring on October 16, 1970. I know you will not accept the solution being suggested by the School System, for this would mean that these blind children would be provided with babysitting services rather than an education. Your assistance and cooperation in this all-important matter will be deeply appreciated by the entire membership of the American Council of the Blind. Because of the urgency of this situation, I trust you will let us hear from you concerning developments in the very near future. Respectfully yours, David Krause, Member Board of Directors American Council of the Blind ***** ** Air Fare Concessions for Blind and Severely Handicapped Persons -- S. 1303 Senator Adlai Stevenson III introduced S. 1303 on March 19 1971 at the request of the American Council of the Blind. Senator Stevenson considered the needs of severely handicapped persons who are not blind and included them in his bill. S. 1303 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce and will be considered by a subcommittee whose members are listed at the end of this article. It is important that you express your interest to Senator Stevenson and to members of the Subcommittee, who may be addressed at: United States Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510. In introducing S. 1303, Senator Stevenson made the following statement: "Mr. President, I introduce, for appropriate reference, a bill to permit commercial airlines to grant free or reduced fare concessions to severely handicapped passengers who are accompanied by an attendant. "It should be emphasized that this legislation is entirely permissive. The individual carrier decides for itself how much of a concession, if any, to extend. The bill expressly authorizes fare concessions to blind passengers traveling with a sighted guide and leaves the definition of other severely handicapped persons eligible for fare concessions to the Civil Aeronautics Board. "Travel fare concessions to the blind and their sighted guides have been used successfully by the Nation's railroad and bus lines for more than 30 years. The American Council of the Blind estimates that approximately 35,000 blind persons now hold identification cards for reduced fare travel on rail and bus lines. The most common fare concession allows the sighted attendant to travel free when the blind person pays the full fare. "The railroads and bus lines are to be congratulated for their use of these concessions, which should be continued and, I would hope, extends to other handicapped persons. Because of changes in our transportation system, however, fare concessions that are confined to rail and bus lines are no longer completely responsive to the travel needs of the severely handicapped. "This bill is not confined to the blind because other severely handicapped persons such as paraplegics and polio victims need the fare concession as much. For such persons traveling alone is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Like the blind, they frequently bring to the carrier another passenger who otherwise would not be present and thereby relieve airline personnel of additional duties. In such cases, fairness requires that the airlines be permitted to extend a fare concession. "The legislation encourages the blind and the handicapped to increase their participation in all aspects of national life. As such, it fits well with those considerable public and private efforts to improve the opportunities of all handicapped persons." Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation, Senate Committee on Commerce: Chairman: Howard W. Cannon, Nev., Warren G. Manuson, Wash.; Philip A. Hart, Mich.; Vance Hartke, Ind.; Ernest F. Hollings, S.C.; Daniel K. Inoue, Hawaii; Frank E. Moss, Utah; William B. Spong, Jr., Va.; James B. Pearson, Kansas; Norris Cotton, N.H.; Winston L. Prouty, Vt.; Howard H. Baker, Jr., Tenn.; Robert P. Griffin, Mich.; Marlow W. Cook, Ky.; and Ted Stevens, Alaska. ***** ** Four Years at the Oars By Oral O. Miller Can you describe a racing shell, a racing sweep, a coxswain (pronounced coxon) or a gig? If you cannot, do not feel especially uninformed. During my senior year in high school (at the Kentucky School for the Blind and at Louisville Male High School) I couldn't have described or even recognized one of them because they were part of the lingo in an activity I had never tried or even seen. I had already participated in several sports with a degree of success, but I did not expect to take up a new one upon entering college. As a high school junior I had lost only one wrestling match, and as a senior I had been undefeated, while my track team did not lose a meet either year, so I expected to continue with one or both of those sports in college. Later that summer, at a dinner given by the Princeton Club of Louisville for prospective freshmen, one of the younger alumni suggested going out for crew, saying I had the right build for a crewman. (I was six feet four inches tall and weighed 200 pounds.) Yes, I had to ask in order to confirm my vague understanding that "crew" is a sport in which teams or crews race against one another in long, narrow boats called "shells." During freshman orientation week at Princeton the following September it was announced that all freshmen interested in fall crew practice should report to the boat house. About sixty of us showed up that first day, and I realized that the other fifty-nine knew more about crew than I did. About two-thirds of them had graduated from eastern prep schools where crew was a popular sport, and all of the others had at least seen races. When I asked the freshman coach whether he objected to having a blind student try out, he, in his usual quiet way, said "no" but that he would have to check with the head coach -- a blunt-spoken, leather-lunged, muscular mountain of a man. The head coach's words were surprising: "There's no reason why a blind fellow can't row. Half of the oarsmen I have ever coached rowed like they had their eyes closed anyway." With that send-off, I seated myself at a strange device known as a hydraulic rowing machine. It consisted basically of a wooden bar like an oar handle, a hydraulic cylinder and a small hard seat with small metal wheels which ran on a short narrow track. I knew that the object was to pull the oar handle and that the hydraulic cylinder controlled the amount of strength needed to pull the handle, but I had never seen anything like that peculiar seat on wheels. It soon became clear that the wheeled seat allowed an oarsman to bend his legs before pulling on the handle -- thus adding the enormous strength of his bent legs to that of his arms and back. I was just catching on to the somewhat complex series of movements when the coach walked by and informed me that I was leaving out one of the most important motions I had been correctly grasping the handle with both hands extending my arms forward at about shoulder level, bending forward at the waist and bending my legs so that my knees were against my chest, and then going through the motions of rowing. However, I had overlooked "feathering" the oar handle. It is necessary to lift the oar blade out of the water at the end of a stroke and to slip it back into the water before the next one. Anyone who has ever rowed a boat of any kind knows about these simple hand movements, but the average rowboat oarsman is not familiar with "feathering" or turning the oar handles slightly so as to turn the oar blade almost parallel with the surface of the water between strokes. The purpose of feathering is to reduce the wind resistance of the oar. I soon saw that feathering my oar would be a problem because the handle was perfectly round, and I could not discern the exact angle of the oar blade. Thus ended my introduction to rowing, although I had never gone within thirty feet of the water. The physical conditioning aspects of crew, as introduced to me that same fall afternoon, were not really new to me. The freshman coach directed us to run a prescribed course totaling about a mile and a half. Fortunately for me, the course went over fairly smooth ground. Although I made no effort to lead the pack of runners, I covered the distance satisfactorily by sometimes lightly touching the shoulder of another runner (with his consent, of course) and by sometimes following the pounding of the feet of a runner ahead of me. I was already acquainted with these training techniques, having used them in high school. Our first day on the water was an unforgettable experience for those of us who had hardly seen even an oar before. We took to the waters of Lake Carnegie in "Cleopatra's Barge" -- a training vessel that carried about a dozen oarsmen plus several people who were passengers until it came their turn to row. The coach observed us from a walkway that ran the length of the barge -- much as ship captains must have done in the days of the Roman galley ships manned by slaves chained to their oars. The pace at which we flailed away at the water with our long oars was set by the counting of a coxswain -- a small fellow who sat in the back of the barge and steered it. My most vivid recollection of that first afternoon on the water is of the enormous blisters which appeared on my hands after about ten minutes. However, I was still having trouble feathering my oar. Whenever I started a stroke with the blade at the wrong angle, the handle at the other end of that nine-foot oar came back furiously and unexpectedly at face level, and I defended myself reflexively by wrestling the blade out of the water. In short, my rowing style was lacking in several respects, and it was not likely to improve much until I mastered the art of feathering. When I reported for practice the next day the coach handed me a special oar which had, tacked to the round handle, a very thin strip of wood. It was placed so that, from its position, I knew the angle of the blade at all times. The thin strip punished my hands even more than did the handle alone, but it served the all-important purpose, and I used it for the next several weeks, while improving my rowing technique. I first experienced the true feeling of rowing through the water when we were promoted later in the fall from the barge to the "gigs." Each gig carried eight oarsmen (seated in a line) plus a coxswain. The oarsmen faced the stern of the gig, but the coxswain, who sat in the stern, faced forward so he could see where the boat was going. The oarsman nearest the bow pulled an oar which extended to his right, etc. The bow oarsman was identified as number one and the oarsman nearest the stern was number eight or the "stroke." When we first moved into the gigs we continued rowing to the shouted counts of the coxswain, but gradually the number eight oarsman assumed that responsibility, by merely rowing at the desired pace. Each oarsman was supposed to watch the man ahead of him, and this caused the entire crew to row in unison -- an absolute necessity. I could not see the movements of the oarsman in front of me, but I discovered that I could, by anticipating the stroke by a split second, detect every stroke by listening for the sound of the other oars being feathered (turned in the oar locks). I cannot over-emphasize the importance of precise timing in rowing, and gradually became more experienced, my ability to anticipate the stroke, my ability to react to new situations and my own sense of timing improved markedly. Rowing or just sitting in that comparatively narrow gig, which had an almost round bottom, felt like sitting on a log in the water. It was held more or less upright by the weight of the four oars extending from each side, but it was by no means stable in the sense that an ordinary rowboat is stable, and even minor shifts of position by one oarsman would cause the boat to lean. At first those of us who were inexperienced tried to hold the boat absolutely steady, but we discovered that was impossible, and we had to make ourselves accept on faith that it would not turn completely over, although its "gunnels" or edges were only inches above the water. It was in such a vessel that I rowed through that fall, covering about six miles a day, five days a week. The coach, who rode along in a motor launch and communicated with us by shouting through a megaphone was constantly switching the make-up of each gig's crew in an effort to improve the combination, but as cold weather approached, he switched us less and less in order to let us prepare for our first race -- an intra-squad event. The high point of the fall for eight other fellows and me came one cold, blustery November afternoon when we powered our gig across the finish line about a gig's length ahead of the other freshman crews. My hopes as an oarsman took a big step backward about ten days before the beginning of spring practice. During a college wrestling match I suffered a broken ankle, which was then in a cast for about six weeks. When the cast was ta ken off, I reported, still with a slight limp, to the boat house, where my classmates were already far ahead of me in physical conditioning and rowing technique. The coach agreed to work me back into his practice routine. It was then that I discovered the freshmen had already graduated from the practice gigs to the long, low, streamlined racing "shells" which were about 65 feet long and about two and a half feet wide. The unsteady gigs felt like rocks compared with the shells, which were devoid of all unnecessary weight, frills, comforts, conveniences, etc. In fact the body of wooden shell was so thin that there were only a few areas where the boat could bear the oarsmen's weight when getting in or out. The only safe, reinforced area was between the tracks on which the seats rolled. Merely launching or landing a shell was an art. To launch it from a dock all of its crew members placed one foot between the tracks, grasped the oar handle and a gunnel with one hand, grasped the other gunnel with the second hand and, upon command from the coxswain, pushed the boat away from the dock with the second foot -- which then had to be pulled into the boat quickly as the oarsman was sitting down. Landing a shell had to be done with the same precision. Since I had reported for spring practice several weeks late, I simply had to work much harder to make up for the lost time and to get accustomed to the unsteady feeling of rowing in the shells. I often practiced on the rowing machine after finishing regular practice, but I still needed the oar with the strip on the handle. Although a specific oar was usually used at the same position regardless of who was rowing there, my crewmates were happy for me to take my oar with me wherever I went because that small strip made it very uncomfortable to use. Before long I was advanced from the third boat to the second, and with that crew I took part in my first intercollegiate race -- a close one which we lost to Yale. A week later we broke into the victory column against Kent and enjoyed for the first time the thrill of throwing our coxswain into the river (a tradition in rowing). Since we were only the second freshman crew, the university had not authorized us to "bet our shirts" on the outcome of our race. It is customary for the losing crew members to give their rowing shirts to the winners, who, of course, look upon won shirts as worthwhile trophies. Since it is also traditional for an oarsman to pay personally for almost all the shirts he loses in this manner, let it suffice to say that consistent losing could become expensive. I suppose crew is the only sport in which the losers literally lose their shirts. Near the end of my freshman season the coach asked me to make a tremendous rowing change -- to switch from rowing on port (left) side of the boat to the starboard (right) side. That is almost like asking a right-handed bowler or baseball pitcher to start performing with his left hand overnight. The new position movements felt clumsy at first, of course, but I became more comfortable at it while preparing for the intercollegiate rowing regatta in Syracuse, N.Y. I went to Syracuse as a starboard oarsman for our first crew after rowing on that side for about a month. I believe our freshman crew finished in third place that year. As a sophomore I moved to the varsity squad and into the tougher training and practice routine of the late and great head coach Delos "Dutch" Schoch. I also switched back to my original position as a port oarsman and said good-bye forever to the oar with the strip on its handle. The strip had served its purpose very well, but with experience I had learned to determine the angle of my oar blade by the feel of the oar as it turned in the oar lock. As a sophomore I rowed approximately 1,500 miles and took part in a number of intercollegiate races in the spring, ending with the national regatta in Syracuse. A few events stick vividly in my memory, and perhaps they will give you a chuckle. For example, as a junior, while rowing out to the starting line on Lake Cayuga in upstate New York, we encountered a terrific storm, which whipped up the water so much that, as each wave broke over us, our shell gradually accumulated water and began to sink. Although a couple of us were not good or even average swimmers, all heads remained very cool as we decided that we would probably go down before we could get back to the Cornell University boat house. When we were still about a mile from the boat house, our prow quietly slipped beneath the surface, and we calmly slipped over the sides to wait for the race officials, our coaches and the Coast Guard to pick us up in their motor launches. A privately owned pleasure cruiser, whose passengers had known for some time that we were in trouble, was the first to pull up, but the race officials and the Coast Guard urged the big cruiser to back off, because the sunken shell, with the oars still in place, was floating just beneath the surface, and the officials knew that the yacht's propeller and rudder would become tangled with it. One nice, grandmotherly little lady aboard the yacht had visions of college boys drowning all around her and, motivated by the kindest intentions, threw a line with a boat hook into our midst, almost hooking our coxswain. At that point, the Coast Guard, seeing that the situation was about to get out of hand, ordered the yacht to back off so the rescue could continue as planned. The grandmotherly little lady shouted as the yacht backed away, "You can buy more boats, but you can't buy boys!" Thereafter the rescue went smoothly, and the shell was salvaged. I shall always remember the send-off we received just before my last intercollegiate race -- against Yale and Cornell. We were slowly rowing down Lake Carnegie from the boat house to the starting line. Since we were merely warming up for the race, and since our coxswain had the other two crews in sight, it did not occur to him that there might be a fourth boat in the area -- a rented canoe containing two fellows and two girls who were out for a warm, relaxing paddle on a spring afternoon. One of the other crews shouted at us when it became obvious that our coxswain did not see the canoe, on which we were bearing down rapidly. (I want to point out in defense of our coxswain that, since all of the oarsmen sit in a row directly in front of him, the canoe was very difficult for him to see.) Our coxswain gave the command for us to stop as fast as we could, but that was not fast enough. The two girls in the canoe were paddling at the same time, and in their excitement, when they saw our boat bearing down on them, they both started paddling furiously on the same side, thus turning the canoe broadside in our path. Yes, we did a thorough job of ramming it; our metal prow went in one side of the canoe and came out the other, knocking the two girls and one fellow into the shallow water and leaving the canoe, with one fellow clinging to it, stuck on our prow. The fellow abandoned the canoe, and we managed to pull away from it. After determining that our shell was not damaged, we proceeded to the starting line. When our coxswain reported the incident to our coach, the coach shouted back in his own inimitable way: "Good! Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead!" My most touching experience as an oarsman took place late in my senior year when I received the Biddle Award -- which is presented to the senior who, in the opinion of his fellow oarsmen, has contributed most to crew at Princeton that year. In my athletic life I have been fortunate enough to win a number of honors, but the Biddle Award is among my most treasured. Although I have not had it on in a number of years, I still treasure that heavy black sweater which has the large orange “P” (my varsity letter in crew) across the chest. During my four years at the oars, the press was very kind and complimentary to me, inasmuch as I was believed to be the first fully blind athlete ever to compete successfully and letter in a true team sport such as crew. It was a challenge and also a pleasure for me because it opened up an entirely new world. If I had it to do over again, I cannot think of a thing I would do differently, because I believe I benefitted more from it than I will ever realize. I have reservations as to whether crew is a sport that should be undertaken by an entire crew of blind oarsmen, but there is no technical reason, as far as I know, why another blind oarsman can’t someday pull one of those long sweep oars in a big regatta. While preparing for a race on one of the rivers around New York City, we passed a shell which, we were told, was rowed by students from the New York Institute for the Blind. I never came into contact with any of those lads, but I hope they enjoyed their time on the water as much as I did. In closing, a quiet word of thanks goes to the late Dutch Schoch and to Peter Gardener (my freshman coach), for it was they who, although a bit skeptical, agreed to give that tall blind youngster from Kentucky a chance to see what he could do in a sport that he knew nothing about. ***** ** A Landmark Decision A blind vendor in the post office in San Jose, Calif., has won a precedent-making federal court decision entitling him to Social Security payments of $100 a month dating back to October 1, 1957, or about $17,000. Damon E. Cox, now 55, was forced to quit a thriving electrical business in 1954 because of growing blindness. He eventually went to work as a post office vendor. When he tried to claim Social Security benefits for the blind, the administration said he was barred by a regulation against anyone earning more than $140 a month in "substantial, gainful activity." U.S. District Judge Robert F. Peckham noted that Cox "could not earn what he does without the uncompensated aid of his suppliers, who arrange his magazines and candy for him and his customers who must be honest in dealing with him." The judgment could pave the way for others in similar circumstances. (From the CBBI NEWSLETTER.) ***** ** Rehabilitation of Older Blind Persons (Excerpted from the Washington Report of the American Foundation for the Blind, April 1971) Recognizing the special needs of older blind persons for unique basic rehabilitation services not readily available to them otherwise, Senator Jennings Randolph and 47 Senate colleagues joined on March 1 in introducing S. 1030, a bill to establish a new Federal grant-in-aid program to the states as part of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act to specifically provide rehabilitation services for older blind persons. The bill would do the following: 1. Establish a new Section 18 of the Vocational Rehabilitation services for older blind persons. 2. Authorize appropriations of $10,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1972; $20,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1973; and $30,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1974, in order to launch the program. 3. Allot the appropriation to each state on the basis of population similar to the formula used in the basic program of grants to the states for vocational rehabilitation, but assuring a minimum allotment each year of $50,000 to each state. 4. Authorize the Secretary of H.E.W. to pay each state 90 percent of the cost of providing rehabilitation services to older blind persons under an approved state plan. 5. Establish state plan requirements similar to those used in other sections of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. 6. Define "older blind persons" as individuals whose combination of severe visual impairment and age makes gainful employment less readily attainable in the light of current employment practices. 7. Authorize separate appropriations in amounts to be determined by the Congress to cover the cost of research and demonstration projects of rehabilitation services for older blind persons. 8. Authorize the secretary to make grants to or contracts with public and private nonprofit organizations for research, demonstration, and personnel training. In his remarks in the Congressional Record introducing the bill, Senator Randolph pointed out that three-fourths of the blind persons in the United States are past middle age and that the leading causes of blindness in this country are conditions which primarily affect people over 40. "Over the years," he said, "public and private agencies serving blind persons have tended to emphasize educational and related services for blind children; vocational rehabilitation and employment of blind adults of optimum employable age; and income maintenance for blind adults of all ages for whom employment cannot be found. But basic rehabilitation services to older blind persons have been spotty and minimal. ... At the same time, our steadily increasing lifespan and changing population patterns have resulted in older persons becoming the largest single group in the blind population. The need of these persons for adequate basic rehabilitation services to alleviate the handicapping effects of blindness has now become critical. "A special, Federally assisted program for the older blind," he continued, "will relieve the individuals served and their families of burdensome dependence and overwhelming anxiety. It will alleviate the many difficult problems in their transition from the world of sight to the terrifying world of blindness." S. 1030 has the support of the American Association of Workers for the Blind, American Council of the Blind, American Foundation for the Blind, Blinded Veterans Association, National Council of State Agencies for the Blind, and the National Federation of the Blind. ***** ** Hyde Park Corner (When John Jarvis of England attended our Rochester convention, he confirmed our impression that on Hyde Park Corner in London, anything goes. Anyone can have a hearing, radicals, conservatives, middle-of-the-roaders, or just people with something of interest to say. Therefore, when we ran across the following entertaining kaleidoscope, we couldn't resist the impulse to include it as a refreshing change of pace. We hope you will find it as amusing and revealing as we did.) * Who -- Me?? California Blind Businessmen Inc. Newsletter October 1969 Editor: Ione B. Miller Have you noticed the kind of people we have among our operators both in and out of the organization? We understand that every organization is made up of some of these characters. We have the Thinker -- just full of ideas and always thinking up things for other people to do. He is very energetic until it comes his turn to do some work -- at which time he suddenly disappears into thin air. We never hear a sound out of him until the crisis is over -- at which time he comes out from wherever it was he went and explains long and loud about what his fellow operators have not accomplished. There is the Miser -- now he doesn't mind paying his dues and they are always paid on time -- it's just that he doesn't want any money spent by the organization, as he thinks we may need it some day. To balance him out, we have Speedy the Spendthrift. Speedy doesn't want any funds laying around, so spend it -- is his philosophy, even if we don't need anything. His dues are always late. We all know Enthusiastic Edsel. He gets so excited about every new idea that he practically jumps up and down in anticipation, but whenever one of those ideas doesn't pan out so well, he keeps repeating loud and clear how he told everybody that he felt it wasn't a good idea. We have Echelon Egghead -- He is the guy who figures the only ideas worth promoting are those he suggested and the heck with the democratic voting system because everybody else in the organization is entirely too dumb to understand the situation anyway. Agreeable Archie agrees with everything, supports everything, votes for everything -- but you should hear him after the meeting is over when he gets a few ears together in some dark corner of a bar -- this is where he really speaks his mind! Of course we have Protocol Pete -- He'll join if we make him President, but as soon as his term of office is over, he figures the best has already come from the organization, so we don't see much of him around anymore. Reginald the Re-joiner is always good for a few dues about once every two years. Cancellation Cody is the guy who quits the organization every time the majority doesn't vote the same way he does. Changeable Charlie would re-do the by-laws about once every three months. He figures the organization could really go places with a complete overhaul of the whole outfit. You know Contrary Sam -- he wouldn't care to join, and he turns thumbs down at any contributions. He is the first one to complain because all the blind don't get together and agree on issues. He is always hearing about the problems of some other operator which he promptly labels as a bunch of baloney and entirely the fault of the operator involved due to his being an inefficient operator -- except when he has a problem himself -- whereupon everybody in and out of the BEP is at fault except himself -- whose complaints you can hear for many blocks, without ear phones. There is Reluctant Allie -- he wouldn't want his name tied to an organization that might link any controversy between himself and any powers that be. He is the same operator building managers are always trying to get rid of. Right-Way Corrigan has such high respect for his own version that he assumes it to be ultimatum on any situation. The only reason he isn't President of the United States is because Nixon had pull. Papoose Pappa is just too busy with the kids to bother. An Alki Arnold goes only to those meetings he has thoroughly checked out to discover that they are serving liquid refreshments. Then we have the Prairie Dog Bunch -- they make a heck of a lot of noise among themselves about everything that isn’t up to par in the program, the organization, the government or anyplace else until somebody shows up to discuss facts openly with them, at which time they immediately duck underground, leaving everything serene on the frontier. Oughta Oscar suggests the organization ought to do this and it ought to do that, but goodness don't ask Oscar to do anything because he just couldn't at this time -- no difference what time it is. Episode Elmer -- he doesn't mind spending $20.00 any night on booze but the very thought of $3.00 per month dues drives him wild -- except when some crisis arises -- at which time he throws his money into the works like it was a roulette wheel and expects the organization to buy off all opposition to his stand on the issue immediately, if not sooner, and is disenchanted with the whole thing when he finds out they are unable to do things that way. From then on, he sulks right up to the next crisis. Quiet Harry -- he feels organizations make too much noise about controversial matters. He thinks they should be quiet about everything. He is the operator you can hear all over the program when he threatens to sue every time he is green-sheeted. The Popularity Contest Candidate -- runs for office every year and resigns the day after election. We always have the 'I don't want an office' boys — they figure it keeps them busy just finding fault with the workers. Communication Kate is a great advocate of better communication between everybody. She makes a lot of noise about not being communicated with properly. She never answers a letter nor returns a phone call and writing to her for a request is like hitting the dead letter office every time. Busy Bunny -- she knows just how to do everything except she is too busy this month. She has 12 busy months per year. We have Uniting Emma and Division Dick. Emma wants to unite everything into one big mass of unity and Division Dick feels it would be better to divide everything into smaller units, including small units. Everybody has a Gidridda Roscoe -- he figures the whole organization would function perfectly if we just get rid of this member and that member that happens to oppose his opinion. With ample time this fellow could whittle the whole organization down to one perfect member -- him. There is Do Something Tom -- he always figures somebody ought to do something until after they do -- after which he always figures they hadn't ought to have done it. Isn't it delightful that thee and me do not fit into any of these categories?? It takes a lot of tolerance to be a member of any organization but personally, I wouldn't have missed this one for the world. Besides, where else could I have all this fun at other people's expense, knowing full well that none of them can see well enough to shoot me? ***** ** Division for the Blind and Visually Handicapped, RSA, Restored? The March issue of the FORUM informed you of the abolition of this Division and of the action taken by the major organizations of and for the blind. In addition to the conferences with Administration personnel, the intervention of many Congressmen and Senators was sought and obtained. The second of the conferences was held on February 25th at which time an agreement was reached to establish an Office for the Blind and Visually Handicapped which would have divisional status. In addition, it was agreed that the director of the new Office would be a Special Assistant to the Administrator of S.R.S. and that an advisory committee of representatives of blind persons and agencies would be considered. Proponents insisted that the changes be confirmed and published in the Federal Register. We are now awaiting the execution of these agreements and the necessary publication in the Federal Register. Your expressions of concern and demands for restoration have been effective, and the organizations will persist until all issues are satisfactorily settled. The trend throughout the country is to merge organizations for the blind with general administrative agencies. This apparent victory at the federal level may be helpful in saving state agencies providing services for blind persons. The establishment of a federal level advisory committee can be an important improvement in our relations with administrators of service programs. The following letter from Secretary Richardson is expected to be the forerunner to formal confirmation of the agreements reached. March 31, 1971 Mr. John L. Naler, Executive Director American Association of Workers for the Blind Dear Mr. Naler: Thank you for your letter of February 4, transmitting a copy of the letter to John D. Twiname, setting forth the views of the ad hoc committee representing national organizations of and for the blind. As Mr. Twiname and Dr. Newman explained during their meetings with these representatives on February 4 and 5, the language contained in the Federal Register describing the proposed reorganization of the Rehabilitation Services Administration and the consequent position to which this announcement seemed to relegate services to the blind were unfortunate. There was never any intent to downgrade this important program area. Let me assure you and the other members of the group that I do understand the needs of the blind and the unique position that services for the blind in our organization has held during the past quarter century. We have no intention of permitting any administrative arrangement to lessen our interest in these services. As you know from the February 25 meeting involving you and your colleagues, Administrator Twiname and Commissioner Newman have reached a decision which we believe provides positive answers to the questions raised in the written statement you forwarded to me. The new Office for the Blind and Visually Handicapped will be given the same status as the former division. It will be placed on a level with all the divisions in the Rehabilitation Services Administration. In addition, the head of that office will be designated as a Special Assistant to the Administrator of the Social and Rehabilitation Service to provide consultation in expanding services and generating new programs for blind persons. As indicated during the conference, in order to insure appropriate communication and obtain valuable consultation from the consumers of the services, a small advisory committee will soon be appointed, drawn from the national organizations of and for the blind, as well as blind persons representing consumers of our programs. I am very pleased that, working together, we were able to resolve a misunderstanding before it became a serious issue. It is my hope that you will continue to work with us in our efforts toward improving comprehensive services to blind and visually handicapped persons. With kindest regards, Sincerely, Elliot Richardson, Secretary ***** ** ACB Budget for 1971 (In keeping with the well-established policy of ACB of full disclosure to the membership, the following budget adopted by the Board of Directors at its November 1970 meeting is given in full below. Ed.) Braille Forum - Printing and embossing, $6,700.00; Clerical assistance for the editor, $1,200.00; Office supplies and postage, $300.00; Tape library service, $300.00. Total; $8,500.00. Washington office - Salary of National Representative -- 1st 6 months (GS-12, step 3) $7,569; 2nd 6 months (GS-13, step 1) $8,380; combined salary: $15,949.00. Back salary due -- 1969 adjustments, $620.00; March 1970 salary, $1,222.08; Jan. & Feb. 1970 Federal pay raise adjustment, $140.00; Same for 2nd quarter 1970 on 20% basis, $42.00; Same for 2nd half of 1970, plus step increase, $125.00. Total (rounded off): $18,100.00. Washington office -- Salary of Secretary (GS-6, step 1) $7,294.00, plus $506.00 for research. Combined: $7,800. Total personnel services: $25,000.00. Washington office -- other items -- Office rent, $1,800.00; Telephone and postage, $1,200.00; Supplies and printing, $1,000.00; Travel and per diem, $1,200.00; Furniture and equipment, $1,000.00; Maintenance and repairs, $75.00; Insurance, $120.00. Total of these items (rounded off): $6,400. Total for Washington Office: $32,300.00. Other offices and items: President's office, clerical service, $900.00; Postage, supplies and telephone, $500.00; Total for President's office, $1,400.00. Secretary's office, $50.00. Treasurer's office -- clerical service, $600.00; postage, supplies, telephone, bond, and audit, $800.00 Total for Treasurer's office, $1,400.00. Public Relations: Committee, $600.00; Credit Union Committee, $250.00; Vending Stand Committee, $100,00; Membership Committee, $800.00; Legislative Committee, $750.00; Convention expenses, $500.00; Travel and per diem for convention and board meetings, $6,000.00; Board and Committee members' expenses, $2,000.00; Ned E. Freeman Forum Article of the Year Award, $100.00; F.I.C.A., $1,000.00; Miscellaneous, $500.00. Total of other offices and items, $15,450.00. Total Budget for 1971 -- $56,250.00 ***** ** ACB Tape Service The ACB Tape Library Service, 136 Gees Mill Rd, Conyers, Ga. 30207, will copy any of the following titles on your own tape, free of charge, or make a copy for you for the flat price of $1.50 per reel. Please note exception on first item; also, that several items require more than one reel, and that 1800' of tape is usually required for each reel. Using the Cranmer Abacus for the Blind - Fred Gissone ($2.75) 1 - full 1800' plus 4" reel of practice exercises Electronic Aids for the Blind - T.A. Benham - Full 1800' Selection, Training & Placement of Blind Teachers - HEW - 1800' Selected Games from Hoyles Book of Games -- 2 - 1800' reels Placing the Blind & Visually Handicapped in Professional Occupations - HEW (Mary Bauman/Norman Yoder) 4 - 1800' reels No Time to Lose -- An AFB Symposium on Education of Multi-Handicapped blind children (Pauline More) 1800' reel New Frontiers for Research on Deaf-Blindness - HEW 1200' reel - plus Cross Code for Communicating with Deaf-Blind - Murphey Techniques for Handling Problem Parents - Stevens - 1200' reel Characteristics and Trends of Clients Rehabilitated - HEW 4" reel Suggestions for Functioning as a Sighted Guide - Frances Ryan Think and Grow Rich - Earl Nightengale reviews the book by Napoleon Hill - 5" reel The Origin of Races - Carlton Coons - 7 - 1800' reels Back issues of The Braille Forum We can offer, to a limited degree, a reading service. Material to be read on tape must come to us with copyright release or permission from the author, or both. ***** ** Disability Benefits for Blind Persons H.R. 1240 and S. 1335 By Durward K. McDaniel Congressman James A. Burke of Massachusetts has introduced H.R. 1240, and a considerable number of other Congressmen have introduced substantially similar bills. Senator Vance Hartke and 65 co-sponsors introduced S. 1335 on March 23, 1971. These are the same bills which were originally sponsored by Senator Hubert Humphrey and have passed the Senate four times. These bills would first reduce the number of quarters from 20 of the last 40 to 6 anytime earned, during which a blind person must be employed in social security covered work to qualify for disability benefit payments. Under existing law, a disabled applicant must work for 5 of the last 10 years in social security covered work to be eligible for disability payments. Second, the "earnings" test in disability insurance would be entirely eliminated for blind persons applying for or receiving disability payments. Under existing law, any appreciable earnings -- more than $140 per month -- disqualifies disabled persons from receiving or continuing to receive disability insurance payments. This proposition has failed in the past because of opposition of a majority of the Senate and House conferees to the removal of all limitation on the amount which a blind beneficiary may earn. An increasing number of members of the House Committee on Ways and Means have expressed support for identical measures. In the last Congress 160 members of the House of Representatives introduced or sponsored measures identical to H.R. 1240. The fate of these bills will be determined by the Committee on Ways and Means or by the Senate and House Conferees. Congressman Wilbur Mills is Chairman of the Committee, and Congressman John Byrnes is the ranking minority member. This legislative proposition has been supported consistently by the American Association of Workers for the Blind, the American Council of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, the Blinded Veterans Association and the National Federation of the Blind. ***** ** Here and There By George Card From the ABC DIGEST (Calif.): A Federal grant from HEW has been received by the Melvin Jones Foundation, of Phoenix, and former director of the Phoenix Center for the Blind, Frank Kells, has been appointed director of the project to plan and develop much needed comprehensive adjustment services for the blind in Arizona. -- Jim Plunkett, quarterback of the Stanford football team, and winner of this year's Heisman trophy, has parents who are blind. They reside in San Jose. -- Howard H. Hanson, director of the South Dakota Service to the Blind, succeeded Dill D. Beckman as President of NRA following the meeting of the Delegate Assembly at the annual conference in New York, November 4. -- The newspaper account of the election of Robert Wiesenberger as President of the Rocky River, Ohio, City Council made no mention of the fact that he is blind. It is very encouraging indeed, to see a newspaper -- or anyone else for that matter -- recognizing a man for his own individual merits and ability and ignoring an irrelevant disability. -- There is growing recognition that "20/20 vision" does NOT necessarily mean healthy eyesight. The Modified Clinical Technique, adopted by a number of California school districts, tests not only distance vision of each eye but also coordination of eyes, focus problems, general health of eyes and color vision defects. From the American Association of Retired Persons NEWS BULLETIN: The Sewell Raised Line Drawing Kit features an oversized ball-point pen or dull pencil that can be used to mark on a new type polyethylene paper which will cause the imprint to raise, aiding those with sight problems. Using this concept, newly blinded or persons with poor vision are able to read ordinary print letters and numbers. From the NATIONAL NEWS OF THE BLIND (Canada): A more elaborate reading machine for the blind is being developed to provide accounting and billing services for clients. A blind person will be able to telephone directly to a computer and present a letter or a bill to a scanner and will be told the contents by a voice over the phone. -- In addition to processing 700 X-ray films a day two blind Canadians find time to teach darkroom procedures to a number of sighted students. -- John Wilson, Director of the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind, has become the third recipient of the Helen Keller International Award for outstanding service in blind welfare. The previous two were George Raverat, a founder of the AFOB, and the late Col. E.A. Baker, first President of the World Council. -- This issue contains a memorial to Capt. M. C. Robinson, world famous pioneer in blind welfare and a former president of AAWB. At the 1954 session of the World Council in Paris, he was my principal ally during a big floor fight over the adoption by the WCWB of a resolution favoring a handicap allowance for the blind. We won by a close vote. From the AFB NEWSLETTER: An estimated 50,000 persons will lose their sight during the 1970s, an increase of approximately 25 per cent over the previous decade. -- Reese H. Robrahn, ACB President, has been appointed to the AFB Service Advisory Committee. -- Anticipation of an expanded Library of Congress talking book program has caused AFB to add two new recording studios, bringing its total to six. -- After 22 years of service to the deaf-blind, Annette B. Dinsmore has retired from the AFB staff. -- A one-year study is being conducted as to the feasibility of using light plastic discs, which need not be returned, for the recording of periodicals. From the WCWB NEWSLETTER: Unless decisive action is taken soon to control Vitamin "A" deficiency among infants in the developing countries, governments throughout Africa, Asia and South America will face an unprecedented problem of child blindness. Two hundred thousand international units of Vitamin "A" concentrate, administered once every six months to children aged one to six years, has been shown to have a dramatic effect in reducing the risk of blindness. It would take only a cupful of green vegetables daily to prevent most cases of blindness from Vitamin "A" deficiency. The Illinois BRAILLE MESSENGER reports that the IFB (ACB affiliate) is beginning a drive on January 1 to raise $200,000 to be used for medical and social research, education, the improvement and promotion of the MESSENGER magazine and the hiring of staff. -- The Hope School in Springfield is a private non-profit, Illinois-licensed residential school for multiple handicapped blind children who are not eligible for programs for other blind children. Two new cottages are nearing completion, which will permit a potential enrollment of sixty-four children in five cottages. New York (UPI): William Henry Butts, born blind and abandoned on a Norfolk, Va., circus ground when he was 2 months old, was awarded a Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University. He became the first blind person to graduate from Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, then earned a degree in history at Virginia State College and a bachelor of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York. In addition to teaching history at Norfolk State College, Butts is a Baptist minister. From the LION: In Massachusetts it is now mandatory that all eyeglasses and sunglasses have shatter-resistant lenses, a requirement that will prevent many cases of blindness caused by broken glasses. From the NEW OUTLOOK: The laser cane has an extremely low rate of radiation emission well within safe limits for human usage. The cane is still experimental and at present there are only 10 in existence. -- SAS, the Scandinavian airline, is recommending that blind people be given fare concessions for their sighted guides. The recommendation results from suggestions made by the associations of the blind of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. -- The N.Y. Association for the Blind, New York City, has decided to close its school of piano technology at the end of February 1971. -- Albany now has a new client-oriented, comprehensive Vocational Rehabilitation Center to offer services to blind and visually handicapped persons in upstate New York. From PERFORMANCE: The State of Hawaii has broken through legislative barriers and passed a tax bill which will grant totally disabled persons exemptions similar to those granted to blind people. -- New handicapped students at Southern Illinois U. will be given special tours around the campus from now on. Guide James Rhoades, who is blind, will tell them all the things the handicapped need to know -- distances between buildings, their locations, shortcuts and accessible entrances. Rhoades has even developed a Braille map of the campus as a guide for himself and others. Miss Margaret Anne McGuire, member of the NAC Board of Directors and former Director of the N.Y. State Commission for the Blind, died on December 20, 1970, after a long illness. From the NAC STANDARD-BEARER: Carl Kupfer, M.D., Director of the National Eye Institute, states that "this year 350,000 Americans will suffer significant visual loss and 50,000 of these will become blind." From the FEDERATION NEWS (Mich.): A hospital employees' group in Pontiac is trying to have a law repealed which gives blind operators the right to operate stands and snack bars in all state hospitals, as well as other state-owned buildings. From NACO NEWS AND VIEWS: The U.S. is the only industrialized nation without some kind of national health insurance. We spend a higher percentage of our resources on health and yet lag behind 15 other nations in infant mortality, 17 in male life expectancy and 10 in female life expectancy. ** ACB Officers President: Judge Reese Robrahn, 329 Woodbury Lane, Topeka, Kansas 66606 First Vice-President: Dr. S. Bradley Burson, 917 Kenyon Street, Downers Grove, Ill. 60515 Second Vice-President: Vernon Williams, 217 Western Union Bldg., Aberdeen, South Dakota 54701 Secretary: Mrs. Mary Jane Schmitt, 510 Tarrington Rd., Rochester, New York 14609 Treasurer: Fred Krepela, 241 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301 ** Directors Mrs. Cathie Skivers, 836 Resota St., Hayward, California 94545 George Card, 605 South Few Street, Madison, Wisc. 53703 Floyd Qualls, 106 N. E. 2nd Street, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73104 Earl Scharry, 5714 Ridgeway Ave., Rockville, Md. 20851 J. Edward Miller, 2621 Chesterfield Ave., Charlotte, N.C. 28205 David Krause, 2121 P Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037 Fred Lilley, 7629 Dale Ave., Richmond Heights, MO 63117 Don Cameron, 724 S. Davis Blvd., Tampa, Fla. 33609 ###