OCR Text |
Show Blind Workers Prove Proficient in Man Sized Jobs X KVrlaNO w-s smnne the flrQ , I "'(les In the country t.. tee the pos-l- bllifies in Indnstrv for hifni srtlsans and a starl was nigde in Peliruarv. 101 'nhc-n :h Soclei for ibe Rllnd p'c-d , sir ht less man to do hand nutting n 'be Laks Krie Rotr and Vul Company H earned from eighty cepis $1.C5 a dav. and rf- work rsve eomr'ete satisfaction What Js a!d .f him 'a echoe,' by the v'ce presi-dcni presi-dcni of the Lincoln FJecfri- Company of the same city about a totally blind workfjuin er.'.p!n'ed on piece work In assembling compensator com-pensator 'witches The official s report says: "The fact that his work Is perfect ano1 thai his specu i.- Mzn enough so that he makes out on a j-'ece ,.ork rate Is pretty good proof of the foct that he has been ab'. -o mastc r difficult job satisfactorily. This vn9 a beginning. To-day there are. according to figures puhjhed In the Iron Ave eighty one blind men and women working In forty different factories Itl Cleveland. This development of ability gives .1oy to tbe blind. fo. althouh the time worn trades of chair caning, broom making and carpet weaving ar atfll useful, the blind m.m prefers i regular man's size job. Visa Eve B faimer. executive secretary of the Cleveland Society for the Blind, reports re-ports that the electrical field has so far de-velopo'1 de-velopo'1 more practicable operations than any ether, but the automobile Industry will, she thinks, eventually take the lead, as It Offers many feasible machine operations ( r bib d workmen. Miss Palmer said: ty ' Three questions are nearly always raised when the matter of employing blind labor Is hrnught to a concern for the first time. tne Is the danger of accident. A large percentage ot Cleveland factories carry State insurance, but many Insuring with private companies are interested to experiment with blind workers Ir, PM3 the following modification was made In the Ohio law 'Xo agreement bv an employee to waive his rights to compensation com-pensation under this act shall be valid, except ex-cept 1 that an employee who is blind may waive the compensation that may become duo him for Injury or disability in case 9 here such injury or disability may be dl-rectly dl-rectly caused by or due to his blindness The Industrial Commission of Ohio may adopt and enforce rules Rovernlng the em-p em-p toy men t o; such persons and the Inspection of their places of employment.' "It 1 Interesting to nolo that onlv two concerns employing blind workers ' have i Sightless Artisans in Cleveland Factories Master Sixty-nine Industrial Operations availed Ihemsehes of this opportunity to escape pavi,c rompensatirn for possible ln-lury ln-lury The blind man Is easily the most careful care-ful In the entire plnr.t, as loss of slshf ha do.jhled his caution, and as a resull there hav l-eon no accidents so far "Tbe second query raised is the one as to product loo The person having the responsibility responsi-bility of Pttlng the blind man Into his Job must not only be familiar with labor con-f con-f . dltlons hut must know blindness its splendid splen-did possibilities as well as its painful limitations. limi-tations. When the blind man's production is up to normal It l because most careful selection has been made, first of the Job for the man and then of the man for the Job. "A peneral error of the uninformed public is to consider ?hat blind people have traits In common, owing to a common handicap A remarkable showing of work now fceinc performed by the sightless m the ) metal working wdustries of Cleveland, where the blind men are proficient in the following sixt;-nine manufacturing operations: rncnr carbon brushes on trays. Nutting bolts by hand and machine Assembling- Bill-bearing cups for Foed cart. Operating.- Cheneys for oil stoves rlSfJ-f rnnchme Compensator switcnes Centring and counter sinking ma- Control levers. n ch'ne' Controller slates. Drill press. Doorbell transformers ach,neK . . . Drive flanges and shafts. Te fr fa brke hubf . , Generators Milling machine, power and hand Crease cups. "u f?c,nZ machine Ground wire telephone clamps '7 Hot air boxes Porter-Cable lathe. Junction boxes. unc,h DTe.ss- , . . Kelly handle bars Single-spindle and nwltiple-spmdle oci?. drill presses Pntman rods Jp' wc,d'nS machine Plug, nut and bolt in oiler Stamping machine Radiator parts. Tapping machine Steerin" pear Warner & Swasey hand screw ma- r, St. - rhino J enzion studs and shuttles for sew- 7 ' - c . ... mg machines Warner rft Swasey turret lathe. Tools Parking: Trolleys for electric cranes. Icpl plcs Vacuum cleaner ,arts Tools. Vibrato -park coils Packing and sorting metal stampings Vacuum gas tanks. Setting up cartons Wick raisers for oil stoves Splitting mica for condensers. V.re rope clamps. Stacking: Bench Work: Laminations. Cleaning castings Commutators. Cleaning fire brick. Straightening wire brushes. Clamping wicks m metal ungs. Taping: Countm, by weight Field coils Creasi.ig boxes High-speed magneto coils Cutting and skinning cables Open armature coils. Etching electric light bulbs. Shunt coils Foiling mints. Stator coils. Inspecting separators m storage bat- Wrapping and packing: tery cells Butter. Making hand-woven hats. Candy. - . u hen the cmplovcr realizes that their abilities abili-ties are as varied as possible, and when he has been shown that lack of sight Is no hindrance on certain operations, he Is willing will-ing to try one worker arter another until the right person Is found. "In many Instances the blind workman exceeded the average speed for sighted workers This Is not exceptional, as In several sev-eral cases blind men nre maintaining a higher speed rate than seejntr people on the same jobs in one lare plant a blind man arranging carbon brushes on trays does almost al-most twice as much -as an one else, and Is paid accordingly In the same factory a blind man does all the work formerly performed per-formed by two sighted glrl9 with perfect vision. "In each instance the hllnd worker conforms con-forms to the rules of the shop If piece work Is the rule he receives the same rate ns the other workers, while If day work Is the rule he is paid in proportion to his production and receives his bonus if such is given to others In his shop "The thiri question raised Is as to transportation trans-portation Rut how In the world will he cot h.re?" asks the sceptical employer. Here ngaln the skill of the placement agent, musr be shown Every effort Is made to place tha workers In shops accessible from their homes and while most of the blind men and some of the women go to and from work alone. In some instances this Is impracticable im-practicable There are several ways rtf handling this difficulty. Sometimes another member of the family 'is placed in the- same shop, or search Is made throughout the factory fac-tory for an employee who lhes near the blind person's homj and can act as guide In several cases the entire family has been moved near the factory. "The placement of blind women In Cleveland Cleve-land factories was undertaken at their own earnest request Good news travels fast and the girls learned with astonishment of the hlch wages being earned by the blind men. Some of the operations now Vlnc done hv women are. Counting by weight on balanced bal-anced scales, taping small colls, assembling small parts of electrical apparatus and of sewing machines, running single spindle drill presses on small work foiling mlns. packing candy, stacking commutators and small lamination.', setting up cartons and vrapplng butter blocks." The work of giving employment to the blind by Cleveland manufacturers Is based c:i the theory that the blind hae lonir been p.n object of charity and Injustice. The new movement demands that the communis, i. for the blind what It does for the seeing Judge each Individual according to his merits mer-its and K've him a fair chancel to make cood. |