Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 May 1918 — THE BUND AND THE MUTILATED [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE BUND AND THE MUTILATED

By Dr. ESTHER LOVEJOY

IN the years to come this war will prove a blessing to the ; blind. A new world is being evolved. Nature has at least one extraordinary sense in reserve for those who lose anyi of the five ordinary senses. The blind feel things that are not) within reach. They are conscious of vibrations that are not; perceptible to seeing men. The sightless learn to read very quickly by the Braille method. It is interesting to watch the face of a blind man as his fingers pass over the upraised dots of a Braille book and his mind perceives theYnysteries recorded there for him. They have special stenographic machinesand special print-, ing presses. Books and magazines are translated into the written language of the sightless. Men blinded in battle are acquiring great skill in the textile arts, as moulders, and in other industries where a highly developed sense of touch is essential to good work. The higher type of blind men have great personal charm. Their souls seem nearer the surface. They are culiarly beloved people, and their cjairvoyance makes them conscious of the kindness and affection witK which they are regarded. Naturally they react to it Perhaps that is why they usually seem so happy, and cheerful. Unfortunately there are forms of mutilation which ( have the opposite effect When a man knows that he is repulsive to every man, woman and child who looks upon him;’ when he shrinks from the reflection of his own disfigured face in the mirror, and shudders at the strange sound of his own voice, he wants to die. A great deal is being done for these mutilated men. They are being refitted with arms and legs. Plastic surgery is doing its part, too, in the way of restoring palates, teeth and facial contour, and the American Red Cross in Paris isj attempting to make life more livable for them by providing masks which restore their original features. They will be useful members of society, but the,soul of man craves more than service. Life and liberty are precious possessions, but the pursuit of happiness is the dearest right of man. We are all alike. We want to go through life with the sweet illusion; that the blue bird of happiness is just within reach, and this illusion is almost impossible to the disfigured man. It is the sacred duty of all those who have been bene-, sited by their sacrifice to leave nothing undone to restore their usefulness; to employ every art to increase their mental and physical powers and the charm of personalities, to,, the end that their lives may be enriched rather than impoverished by the fortunes of war.