Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 February 1917 — Page 2

Americans Working for French Blind Soldiers

Devoted men and women from the United States teach warriors who have lost their sight certain vocations by which they can earn a living a

By DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER.

All TIME Paris is full of flnvil big new street signs, ,mW / flag s u rmnji n ted^nn- \ wd jMMI nouncing in very large iplryYx letters the existence of gjpQc*-) war philanthropies of one kind I another f*>r the relief of- those stricken by the disasters of this disastrous age. No signs are bigger, none have larger letters than those i surmounted by the crossed flags of France and the United States which announce that a Franco-Ameri-can committee is at work there. - And yet one of the most interesting, unique and valuable of these fine American philanthropies has no big sign, no large letters and is so little known in America that I am sure a description of its work will he news to most Americans, and very good news at that- This fs the Phare de France (the French Idghthou.se for the Blind). It is supported by the Franeo-American Committee for Men Blinded in Battle, and is under_lhe direction of-Miss-Wlnlfrcd Holt, whose years of work at the American Light—bouse for-tlie _Blind in New York lms - so marvelously transformed life for the blind of that city, v- She has been in France for a littte more than a year, throwing herself Into work for men blinded in battle with tfce same tremendous energy and Indomitable perseverance which has accomplished so much for the blind in America. The French Lighthouse Is the result of that year’s activity. ln£o Quiet Courtyard. Imagine that you are now about to visit that institution under the guid•'tmee- of one of the volunteer workers, perhaps that charming young granddaughter of our President Grant, to whom is often assigned the task of showing visitors about. You_ring_atNo. 14 on the Jtue Daru, the quiet old street of the Russian church, with its gold-tipped domes.

The heavy door swings open, you step into a large, peaceful, stone-paved courtward. with a handsome old palace facing you, at -the top of a flight of broad step?. A’soldier or an officer in a natty uniform is probably either going nimbly up of coming confidently down those steps, swinging a light ..'bamboo cane. Ills alert, upright bearing give you no hint of his blindness. If you fallow him as he turns to his left, you find yourself in a well equipped gymnasium for the blind, which is, so your guide tells you. the only thing of the sort in France. Your blind soldier (who is enjoying a rest between lessons) stoops, puts on a pair of roller skates, and is off in a dashing swoop about the polished nasium floor. His face is soon tingling and plowing with the exercise, the strong rhythmic swing of. lus—lmd-y +s-~exhil-arating to witness. Your gilide murmurs that four months ago that man _W as in hospital, n lone., sick, ntterlydiscouraged, life a black abyss of despair before him. Here is oae of ~-tfte achievements of The French Lighthouse. ’ " ■ V “Hut is he really blind?” you ask4tfccredulously. “How can he have won back that fine physical poise, that splendid confidence in his body which means so much for seeing people and which we never associate with the blind V America's Great Gift. “Ah, that is the special secret of this American institution, the es]>ecial gift of America to the French blind. Our blind soldier, his interval of recreation gone by. has slipped off his roller skates and stepped quickly into a nearby room. His blindness only revealed by a flourish of his light cane to make sure of the position of the door. /=/ die has. gone to take a lesson in massage, which is one of the most profitable means of livelihood open to jmen without eyes. Like nli liis-fel-. "lows in the Phare; he takes very sliifcr lessons; "with frequent recreation and change of occupation, because war blindness means nearly •always bead wounds and head wounds mean a brain that must not he overtaxed. We leave him to his study of the .skeleton, the idg plaster casts of muscular arms and legs, and to his expert teacher; while we turn so other things. Our guide tabes us back through the

TAKEN FROM EXCHANGES

'Jhe United States has 380 piano sac- , tories. ' v . Argentina Is not taking kindly to foreign soft drinks. Australia’s peart fishing industry is jbelng held up hy the war. A scoop which is also a scale has s been invented hy man in Mobile, Ala. Three breweries went out of business In , St. Louis within 30 days last - wmi- • - ■

shower hath room and pauses proudly; If you art- an American you probably look blank. Shower ,bnths .are not such uncommon objects, as all that. Oh, but they are, she tells you, in France, for the hTind ! So uncommon, injfact, that only at the Phare you are visiting can blind men, after exercising, have the stimulating tonic of showering water, which helps so much to tone up the system shattered by the nervous shock of wounds. This is one of the Americanisms of the Phare. Look at it respectfully. At the door of the court your guide hesitates between possibilities and then decides to-show yon the -printing" press in the big room above the gymI nasiuni. This Is an American tnai chine, the only electric press which prints books for the blind in France. By the time this article appears the first issue of a monthly magazine for the Wind will have been issued from this press.

Blind Editor Busy. The magazine is under the direction of a blind editor, who with a corps Of seeing—assistants —(volunteers)-. —wilt also, during the winter, arrange for the publication by this press of a sei ries of manuals in raised type, Which will help the blind In their re-educa-tion. You descend the stairs, glance in at tlfle gymnasium, where a couple of blind men are now fencing/ undty the Ca.eful direction of a teacher,, and your guide tells you that file teacher is perhaps the best-known master of arms in France. In spite of being mobilized, he manages to come three j times -a week To' give" himself to his | blind comrades. Yon cross the court to the room of the, handicrafts, Haj^-ywc-ga^sight* which. if you are inexperienced in what may he done for the blind, seem miraculous- to-ymr. Year see~ _ a TTnoarmod blind man who in five weeks has learned to manage a knitting machine so that he can earn a- good livi ing by knitting sweaters and bands. You see' another blind soldier with only one arm who is weaving successfully by means of a device of his own invention, which enables him to make one foot do the work of his missing hand. Y'ou see blind men weaving colored rugs with but-slightly more supervision than, is usually given to sighted weavers.- and others who are making lilet work. ——■ l /■' —; Then your guide steers you away and astonishes you by saying that you have not yet even set foot inside The main building proper. This main building is a beautiful old palace, belonging to the Vatican. The entrance hall is a nobly proportioned room, which serves as a general meeting place. You Are Astonished.” Here come AvlvS^^lsters/~~s~u-eet. hearts tqjiisit-tvith thf‘lr~pidO.; to hear of progress made, in re-education. to guide .the sightless heroes out for a walk in the pleasant paths of the nearby park. Through this room pass the' teachors of stcndgraphy*, typewriting, Braille reading and writing, clay modeling, who daily fill the rooms of tlie old palace with stielt useful industry as it can never have known before. Here the blind men

Holland offers a market for American filing cabinets. One hundred and fifty aristocratic families of Spanish descent, are said* t» govern Chile. An extremely hard artificial wood of German invention is made of sawdust and chloride ,of magnesium. An airplane with seven planes drranged hi A semicircle h* claimed by its French inventor to be perfectly stable.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, Ijfp.

I us they step out of the dining room adjoining, pause for a moment to light their cigarettes and pull down their well-fitting uniforms, before they take their brisk way along the ingeniously placed paths of coca matting. Now you are to see the stenographic department. Everyone who uses a ■typewriter knows that the best work is done without 'looking at the keys; and tliis means that in typewriting the htind are perhaps more nearly on-a footing of equality with the seeing than in any other gainful occupation. Your guide (remember that she Is the granddaughter of our Genera) OrantT" stops ~T<r chat' tor a moment to one of the teachers In the stenograublc department. a tall, steadyeyed, extremely attractive American girl who is another gift of the American White House to the French blind. This is Miss Esther Cleveland, who is giving all her time to the work of ■ Miss Cleveland IS no amateur teacher of stenography. She lias mastered the entire Hraille system of instruction at tlie Pennsylvania Institute for the Blind and has been working for months in England. There are the dormitories (for this American institution is housing and feeding its men as well as re-educat-ing them), here are the bathrooms (strange innovation in this eighteenth ■century abode), there is the clinic room, where minor medical attention is-gi veil, where wounds are cared—forr antiseptic treatments carried on; as well as the other rooms already re--f er-fed-to: —-——— Keeping Men Cheerful. Tt is difficult to realizfi-Jthfi-flffact--reqwived <‘feaie and matrrtalnthe cheerful -atmosphere, of—the house., which means as much for the future, health of tlie men as does their careful technical re-education. Outside the classes, the institution is like a %-ell-ruu club. The president of the French republic has several times given his box to,,the blind men at the I'll are, and they often go out to the theater and tlie Opera Coifiique: Owners of automobiles send their cars to take tlie blind out for long, exhilarating drives. .V.T. ' The blind men have a club of their own where tliey discuss all manner of Topics and enjoy music ami recitations. Some of tlicfii go- for horseback rides in the Hois, uytl otlmrs, on. their vacations, have found theniselves so bene- 5 fltpA bv tlie toniii- liealtbgiving atmosphere of tlie Phare that they have been able joyfully to take up again mid delights of swimming and fishjug. And- all rills comes from Americf. Here is an Ainer can woman who..ha3 left a big' Ami¥n terpriso ami give 1 a solid year of her life to alleviating the misery-fFaused l>v the war im-wiich her country has officially twepart.' Here is a compnra-tiv.-ly small committee of American menand women who, without dipping into any of tlie funds raised by the great war-relief organizations, has keen able to raise money enough to start and carry on the work you have seen. «. . ■ r

• * - Phinn is once n)<»re offering » profitable market for American metals. . \ Tlie seraphine whs a keyed musical instrument now obsolete, which preceded the harmonium. During n recent thunderstorm in Lunsford. Pa.. lightning struck a tel-' ephone pole three times. Pink bolhvorms have increased the severity of their attack* on this year 9 * cotton crcp in Egj’£t._

New Sash for Spring Skirts

’ 4i' i Will Differ From Those That Achieved So Much Popularity This Winter. v " T“* GOWNS IN BUCK AND WHITE ■ —: i Effective Combination That Has Made a Decided Hit With Parisiennea— Oray in Differing Shades la Also Being Widely Use Just Now. Paris r —Sashes,. sashes and again Bashes. Until a year ago there were only long belts, hanging or crossed. In August they came to us glorified because they were enlarged and lined with a different color to call attention to the important place they occupied in the decoration scheme. Up to the last month, these belt-sashes were ,tlcd In big loops at the side und dropped Softly to the hem of the short skirt. Now the loops have disappeared, and the sash, coming from some part of the waist, is simply crossed and falls to the very edge of the skirt, producing a long, severe lino. The sash that will adorn spring skirts will be about a third of a yard wide and will he lined with itself, unless the owner has -a black and white costume, when.the sash will show white underneath. —_ Speaking of black and white, the j combination was brought out by two j big houses in August. Other places called the idea “old,” “demode,” and did' not advise their clients to order I anything in it. During the last month ; the very best gowns I’ve seen at the frpern"Tnen rer_ nv teas have been the one of black satin or velvet with touches of white; and they have been so much admired and have been l such a success that it is not surprising j that nearly every smart frock being ordered today follows the black-and-white craze. Combinations in Gray. In the spring it is sure to be repeated, for byi the side of the black and white, colors'-appear garish. If anything shares equal popularity with this combination, it is gray, which is used in different shades, The gray is apt to be built on white, either in corsage or skirt, and with the many foldings, the shades vary from pearl to iron. As all the layers are of mousseline or tulle illusion, the en-sembte-fcr~ delicately soft Ttnd seductive. : ' ,- T • ■ We occasionally use_ gray with-Nat-tierblue, but by itself or with white satin it is best and most flattering. Gray used with white in this manner will greatly influence spring styles here. Parisiennes who afle tired of black, or even of the black and white combination, instead of ordering new things in colors, will brighten the black r with gray ; the couturlers, scenting the

Short-Waisted Afternoon Frock of Dark Blue Satin, with a Long Straight Tunic Embroidered—at the Top and Dropped Over Narrow Skirt Showing Band of Embrotdery at Hem The Long Sleeves Flare Over the Hand.

demand, are, I am told, making charming combinations of it to be shown in -February. New. Dye a Success. Dyes are difficult to obtain in Paris, just as other things are, and while black may not be easier than-any other dye, with such great experimentation going on in it, it is probable that the dye used now is purely French, and if so, then it is a great success. ninth, trieotine. serge and gabarffine will make tattered suits and ornate frocks for spring, with thousands of yards of satin, to be sure. Satin never-enjoyed such popularity in Paris as during the last year, and it is decidedly not on the wane. Some gowns and-long spring coats put satin only in part of the construction,—ln the upper or lower portion, with any Ssf the other materials added, , “ Satin enhances the value aDd beauty of any fabric it touches. It is frightfully expensive here, but jwomen will • have nothing else, for they know that a gown of it is worth six of another

material, bo there’s method In their madness. Again Greek Drapery. Thq evening frocks showing the tunic that suggests the Greek draping are very <*hTssieal. Some of the new ones are in Nattier blue, with the entire front 1 embroidered in a shadow-work stitch in dull gold. Paris does so love these gold touches and many, many gowns are more than touched-With.lt. I have seen new evening gowns almost entirely composed of gold lace, one tier on unother, and the picture was enchanting. All the decoration that some of the afternoon and eyenfng gowns have.is this embroidery across the front and back, forming a veritable medieval armor. New things that are admired employ the gold in the same manner, and we are sure to see the idea reproduced Tor spring and summer; Satin for Coat Suits. The designers here are bringing out a heavy weave of satin for the first spring suits, as a substitute for serge. There is a strong tendency to omit a

Spring Hat in the New Shape, of Brown Straw and Satin, With a High, Irregular, Flaring Crown and a Severe Visor Brim Turned Down, ward in an Even Line Around the Head.

blouse and arrange the coatsothat it~ can be kept on. A few of these new coats are buttoned down the buck from neck to hem, which removes any possibility of-their being-takea-oft In a public place. Tt Appears that the prevailing creed in fashion is that a woman must not think of going in her shirt sleeves any more than a man would think of doing it; she Wears a" wash blouse TSeheath the jacket for purposes of cleanliness, but not publicity. So far-reaching is this creed that the medieval tunic which extends only to the hip line and is fastened tothestioulder or slipcover Tlie head, Is worn with a cloth skirt over a blouse, even in the house. Probably the best thing to remember in buying clothes now is that the figure must be straightened out in the medieval manner, from bust to hips. You can choose your own way of doing it, whether by a deep girdle, by the straight lines of the fabric or by a belt* of suede or leather that conceals any inward curve beneath the arms to-, ward the waist. There is no evidence that embroidery in bullion and silk thread will go out of fashion this, spring, but the ornate French designs taken from stained-glass windows" of"the fifteenth Century have given way to the more primitive designs that one sees bn the pottery of Indians, “The fashion for the cashmere and Paisley shawls that came out in October will again find expression this spring in figures printed on flat surfaces, and also the reproduction of the Paisley pear, which is an old Indian design, in embroidery done in colored and bullion threads. (Copyright, 1917, by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate.)

SPORTS VEST WORTH WHILE

White Chinchilla the Material Employed, With Touches That Add . • -... Much to Its Appearance. An attractive sports vest is made of white chinchilla with standing military collar, back w aistline belt, buttonholes and buttons either made or piped with billiard-green satin. Gray suede-formed another vest worn for golfing; this model had sleeves of a heavy wool jersey in a darker tone of gray. * Sleeveless fingora and soft leather waistcoats with or without sleeves are valuable possessions for the lover of winter sports, and tß#* short leather coat, on the order of a shooting coat, lined with angora wool, fur or flannel, is warm, light and very comfortable for strenuous exercise. The sheepskinlined short coat of corduroy so generally worn in cheap form in the country districts where winters are cold, is made up In de luxeiorm for the sports, woman and, with fur coliar and cuffs is very good looking.

Chinese Effects.

Fancy link buttons are being employed in great capacity on one-piece dresses and waists. The buttons are sometime like fine filigrees in the shape of balls, of dice, although small cabochons. diminutive dumb-bells, wheels and other designs are also customary. The Chinese effect makes itself seen .tn these link buttons as tJrejUsSfcow characteristic Chinese motifs. ' ;/ ■.

MOTHERHOOD WOMAN’S JOY ■f Suggestions to Childless Women. Among the virtues of Lydia EL Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound is the ability to correct sterility in the cases of many women. This fact is well established as evidenced by the following letter and hundreds of others we have published in these colums. Poplar Bluff, Mo. —“I wpt other women to know what a blessing Lydia H- ■ E. Pinkham s Vegetable Compound has been to me. Wehad always wanted a baby in our home but I was in poor health and not able to do my work. My mother and husband both urged me to try Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound. I did w_— 'bo, my health iraE roved and lam now the mother of a ne baby girl and do all my own house work."—Mrs. Allia B. Timmons, 216 Almond St., Poplar Bluff, Mo. In many other homes, once childless, there are now children because of the fact that Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound makes women normal, healthy and strong Write to the Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co., Lynn, Mass., for advice— it will be confidential and helpful.

Very Poor.

“Is he so very poor?” “Gracious, yes! He’s so poor that merely to live is an extravagance!”

HAVE SOFT, WHITE HANDS Clear Skin jind Good Hair by Using Cuticura—Trial Free, The Soap to cleanse and purify, the Ointment to soothe and heal. Besides these fragrant, super-creamy emollients prevent little skin troubles becoming serious by keeping the pores free from obstruction. Nothing better at any price for all toilet purposes. Free sample each by mail with Book. Address postcard, Cuticura, Dept L, Boston. Sold .everywhere.—Adv.

Professional Announcement.

Mrs. Knicker—What is your tradeT Weary Willie—l’m a diet squad, mum.—New York Sun.

Children who are delicate, feverish and erase will get immediate relief from Mother Qray’a Sweet Powders for Children. They cleauße Uio stomach, act on the liver, and are recommended for complaining children. A pleasant remedy for worms. Used by mothers for 30 years. All druggists, 25c. Sample FREE. Address, Mother Gray Co., Le Roy, N. Y. —Adv.

WORLD FULL OF CONTRARIES

Many of Them Are Hard to Explain, but It Is Certain That They Exist—Some Examples. The most popular 1 books for children have been written by the childless, and some of the most powerful stories of love and domestic bliss or misery have been' written by unmarried women and men. And then, as you probably know, almost everyone thinks he knows more about other brandies of business than the one in which he is engaged. The average man can recall the time when he thought the other fellow’s job was much easier than his, and was haunted more or less With the notion that if he had taken ufl almost anything else but what lie had, lie would have made a great success o{ it. It is said there has never, or hardly Fver/lieen a great copied la n who didn’t believe or think he believed, that his forte was tragedy; and as if not to be outdone, the successful tragedian ceases to curse the luck that prevented him from becoming a comedian. You may not think this is a coutrary sort of world, but there are a lot of people who do—Pittsburgh GazetteTimes.

Tongs that grip a door frame have been invented for hanging babies’ chairs or swings in doorways. It is said that som~ evils are necessary. Cua you name one that is?

Before starting the youngster* to school give them a piping hot cup of Instant Postum School teachers, doctors and food experts agree on two points —that the child needs a hot drink, and that the drink shouldn’t be coffee. Postum fills the need admirably and its very extensive use among thoughtful parents,, coupled with the child's fondness for this flavory, nourishing food-drink, show how completely it meets the re0 "There’s a Reason” No change in price, quality, or size of package.