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Man is his own star; and the soul that can
Render an honest and a perfect man
Commands all light, all influence, all fate.

The spirit of true philanthropy and fraternal kindness is prevailing to a degree never reached before, and there is no danger that the blind will be neglected and left unassisted in their efforts for independent, manly and womanly self-support. One of the most hopeful signs of their condition appears in their disposition and eager desire to go forward and seek the proper ways and means for rising above the clouds of their infirmity, as well as in their ardent wish to learn to rely upon their own exertions so far as possible. There are not a few among them, who, instead of clinging in timid helplessness to a seeing leader, or letting themselves sink in the waves of dependence and misery, are striking out and learning to swim across the river of misfortune. They feel the need of a life preserver. If it is not best to procure one ready-made for them, let us enable them to find the needed help in their mind and muscle, in their courage and iii their enterprising spirit. But let it be distinctly understood, that we cannot provide for them the right kind of assistance by building for their benefit immense asylums and by supplying the inmates of these abodes with food and shelter. This sort of aid will prove injurious rather than beneficial.

Every measure of relief which operates to weaken the motives for self-help and the sense of dignity must be condemned and avoided as fostering the degrading habits of indolence and idleness, as paving the way to gentle beggary and as tending to block the road to permanent improvement. The blind must not be made parasites clinging to the tree of dependence, nor satellites revolving around the charitable organizations of special poor-houses, the real character of which is thinly disguised under the plausible name of "working homes." It is not by dispensing charity to them or by smoothing their pathway of life with the pavement of alms, but by clarifying their mental and moral vision and by stimulating their power of independent thought and enlarging their sources of self-help, that we may render them active and productive members of society and not passive and idle consumers. Assistance given to them in any form which tends to enfeeble the moral fibre, to paralyze every motive of self-reliance and to remove all incentives to activity is both unwise and harmful and proves a curse rather than a blessing to the recipients.

How to train the blind and equip them adequately for the active duties and occupations of life, preparing thereby their way to self-maintenance and independence, has always been and still continues to be one of the most serious of all the problems with which their educators have had to grapple.

There was a time in the early history of our schools when it was much easier and less expensive for them to educate their pupils in a practical way and fit these thoroughly to earn their living through their own exertions. Then the industrial department was one of the prominent features of institutions for the blind, and, as it was very lucrative to work at one or more simple trades, the majority of graduates found it very wise to do so and to provide both for themselves and for those who depended upon them. But now all this is a thing of the past. The mechanical or technical pursuits in which persons bereft of the visual sense can profitably engage are very few in number. Their circle, although limited already, is becoming smaller every year, and all the eager efforts that have been put forth to enlarge it have proved futile.

Most of the institutions for the blind in America have tried the experiment of introducing one trade after another with a view of securing gainful employment for their graduates and apprentices, but without avail. Such industries as seemed to give promise of fair profit have in turn been taken up only to be dropped after a few years' experience as inadequate and unprofitable.

Thus every attempt to utilize various mechanical arts and render them reliable sources of income, even to a limited number of men and women of average ability, has failed. That broom-making, or seating cane-bottomed chairs, or mattress-making, or upholstery and willow work are still carried on in some places with a small gain or without great loss furnishes no solid proof of the value of any of these occupations and no strong argument in favor of their continuance. A careful study of the matter shows, that in every instance of unquestionable success the result is wholly due either to the superior skill and natural business cleverness of an individual or to special local advantages and peculiarly helpful circumstances. Those who are free from the bias of selfish motives and able to take a broad outlook over the general field of the employments of the blind cannot but see that so far as industrial pursuits are concerned the prospects are far from being encouraging. Indeed, on account of the division or specialization of labor and the universal use of machinery which cannot be safely handled without the guidance of the sense of sight, it is simply a question of time when those who are deprived of this faculty will cease to travel the road of mechanical trades in competition with ordinary workmen. In the natural course of things this is inevitable, and sooner or later it will come to pass. It cannot be otherwise.