Remew of Rerieus, 20/3/Oti. 



The Land of Silence. 



253 



Supplication. 



AND DUMB IN GESTURE. 



Love. 



Jealousy 



rt-sponsive chord in most hearts. And this is 

 general. The individual everjwhere feels the same, 

 but the corporate voice of the community — the 

 State — has not yet risen to the expression of the 

 general wish. Were Governments to act as we have 

 indicated, they would have the complete ac- 

 quiescence of the community. It has never been 

 i)ehindhand where measures for the relief of suffer- 

 ing have been concerned ; and the mighty uplift 

 which is manifest in the social legislation of the 

 States, where developments are taking place with 

 lightning speed with regard to the comfort and con- 

 venience of the toilers in business, is proof of the 

 fact that the heart of the people is throbbing with 

 enthusiasm of the right kind. What is the real sig- 

 nificance of movements like the eight hours', the 

 early closing, the weekly half-holiday, the U-gisla- 

 tion giving the people the power to deal with pub- 

 lic evils, granting them pensions in old age? It is 

 evidence of the growth of the sentiment of brother- 

 liness, the antithesis of '"every man for himself and 

 the devil take the hindmost." It is the expression 

 of the spirit of helpfulness manifest everywhere, the 

 spirit which has helped the deaf mute institutions 

 and missions and will help them still more. By-and- 

 bye it will be looked upon as the right thing for the 

 whole community, through the State, to see that the 



deaf mute is employed in ways which will not injure 

 his self-respect, but which he deserves as a person 

 with a natural handicap. What more natural for a 

 father with a family, one of whom is a deaf mute, 

 to see that the handicapped one gets the home 

 employment which he can do and- do well, al- 

 though the normal ones can do it equally well ! 

 What more beautiful and natural than for the State, 

 as the representative of the best that is in the com- 

 munity, to see that its handicapped children are 

 given the help they deserve. The idea of the State 

 giving preference in employment fo deaf mutes is 

 one that deser\'es attention. The normal man and 

 woman can look after themselves. Equal they are. 

 given health and strength, and I hail with delight 

 the idea of such expressing a willingness, through 

 legislative enactment, that those bereft of some 

 power should have first chance. It is akin to the 

 spirit which inspires men to risk their own lives to 

 save their brethren in danger, and which, translated 

 into legislative enactment, considers the weak and 

 needy first. That is the right spirit to pervade 

 all modern social reforms, the spirit which alone can 

 guide them in the right direction and make 

 them permanent. A little more working of the 

 leaven, and the deaf and dumb will be accorded by 

 the State the justice which their affliction demands. 



