CONCERT, LECTURE, AND THEATRE TICKETS FOR THE BLIND.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
Si,—You have generously asked me to give an account of the founding in America of the Free Tickets Bureaux for the
Blind.
Some years ago my sister and I had the privilege of being near some blind boys at a concert. Our pleasure was doubled by their
added delight in the music. The house was poorly filled. The empty seats, the blind boys' great enjoyment, and the thought of the army of blind who rarely, if ever, have the satisfaction of going to an entertainment, led to the simple question : Why should not the blind who are fit to appear in public, but who are too poor to afford such pleasures, have in every community the advantage of using unsold tickets for concerts, &c.
This idea led to the founding of two bureaux in New York and a third in Boston, whence free tickets for musical and dramatic
entertainments are distributed, from a carefully classified list, to
blind persons whose tastes are noted, and who must be personally known to the distributing committee. The recipients of tickets
include many self-supporting individuals, teachers, musicians, tuners, upholsterers, ■Szc., who eagerly avail themselves of the privileges offered to them. The poorest will make sacrifices to save car fares and to buy boot-blacking to add lustre to his appearance at the entertainments.
From one bureau over two thousand tickets have been given out. The desire to secure them has had far-reaching results, and many apparently degraded blind people have made successful efforts to become respectably tidy, and have finally, by virtue of their appearance, been placed upon the books of the bureau. Owing to the intellectual interest thus awakened some blind have learned to read. One young musician, whose sole protection was a drunken father who had pawned his son's mandoline for drink, applied for concert tickets at the bureau. On account of his slovenly appearance he was refused; but after heroic efforts to rehabilitate himself he received tickets for an oratorio. He soon applied at the library for membership, learned to read, and with his now recovered mandoline is on the road to a self-respecting, self-supporting life. The educational side of this scheme has been so evident that the New York Public Library has offered to carry on the work there.
In co-operation with the blind teaching, the lending libraries, the missionary societies, and the generous subscribers to enter- tainments and others, a similar bureau in London should not fail to be helpful in doing good. A committee is now being formed of most influential persons, among whom I will mention the Right Ron. James Bryce, M.P., Mr. John Tennant, Chairman of the Indigent Blind Visiting Society, Mr. Rudyard Kipling, the Countess of Bective, and Lady St. Helier. The temporary secretary is Baroness Arild Rosenkrantz, 38 Cheyne Walk, who will be glad to give information to any well-wishing inquirer about the progress of the work in London.
Helen Keller, the wonderful deaf, dumb, and blind writer, in her brave and touching book called "Optimism" says that to be an American is to be an optimist. An optimist not only looks on the bright side of the question, but wishes all waste matter to ' be turned to a force productive of good. This is what the
American Ticket Bureaux for the Blind have done, and as Emerson says that "the American is only the continuation of the English genius," it is to be hoped that in the Mother- country this Yankee notion may take root, and may bring joy to a very appreciative and intelligent section of the community.
P.S.—No extensive funds are required, but a small amount is necessary for the usual running expenses of an office. Contri- butions for this purpose may be sent to the bankers for the "Concert, Lecture, and Theatre Tickets for the Blind," Sir Charles Macgrigor, Bart., and Co., 25 Charles Street, St. James's Square, S.W.
[We are glad to give Miss Holt an opportunity to lay this excellent scheme before the public. The idea of organising the waste spaces at concerts and other musical entertainments for the benefit of the blind is as kindly as it is ingenious, and the fact that it has proved a practical success in New York and Boston offers assurance that it will succeed here.—En. Spectatar.]
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