Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 January 1900 — WEARING SPECTACLES [ARTICLE]

WEARING SPECTACLES

Carious Experiences of a New Orleans Eye Specialist “It is a singular and grotesque fact,” said an eye specialist of this city, “that a great many uneducated people get into the spectacle habit without any need whatever 1 for wearingglasses. Take, for instance,,a man whose eyes become a little inflamed from exposure to the sun or some other cause. His sight is all right, and what he really needs is a soothing lotion of some sort to allay the irritation of the membrane. Very frequently, however, he will imagine that he requires a pair of spectacles, and will buy them at the cheapest place he can find, without the slightest regard to the suitability of the lenses. In nine cases out of ten it is almost impossible for him to see through the things, but he will wear them as much as he can, believing that his eyes are being benefited. Such instances are astonishingly common among the poorer classes, and the peddlers who go through the country districts always carry several dozen cheap ‘specs’ in their packs. They find a ready sale. I have had several country people come to me for treatment who were wearing glasses that contained only one lens. They would explain that they took the other one out so they could see to get around. When they were fitted with proper lenses they, were very much surprised to find they could see better through them than with their natural eyes. The wearing of spectacles in some remote rural districts amounts to almost a superstition—when people arrive at a certain age they believe they ought to put them on, regardless of their actual vision.”—N. 0. TimesDemocrat.