A PLEA FOR THE SIGHTLESS.
By Editor
THERE are indeed few greater misfortunes than that of blindness. To have shut out from the mind all the beautiful works of nature, the faces of our friends, the glorious privilege of seeing the stars by night and the sun by day, is a calamity which only those who suffer from it can rightly appreciate. Often he loses the friends with whom he is wont to associate; their paths lie in different directions, and they neglect him or entirely forget him. They do not seem to think that he needs their sympathy and encouragement more than ever before. Thus neglected, some one may help him, or he may be left to depend on public charity, separated from former friends. Instead of pleasure and light and color, he finds everywhere only the inky blackness of midnight. If he has learned to read the embossed books furnished for the blind, he may not be able to purchase them on account of their cost. For instance, the bare cost of producing the Bible, which makes eleven volumes, is $21.00. Two-thirds of this the government generously pays, and yet this leaves seven dollars as the cost of a Bible, a sum which poor persons rarely pay. Yet above all other things, it would seem that the blind need the message of the Gospel, and they are crying out for it everywhere. Surely the very hunger of the blind for companionship and instruction ought to make it an inviting Gospel field. Our work is to give the blind the Gospel message. For this purpose we have been called out of darkness into marvelous light. The Saviour said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." That Gospel brings to the soul, parched and thirsty and ready to perish, the water of life from the springs of life; and the individual who drinks deep at the fountain of life is refreshed, and fitted to revive those with whom he may associate. There are souls perishing to-day who know nothing of the wonderful peace which comes to those who abide in Christ. "Peace, peace, wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above;
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In fathomless billows of love." Christ spoke the parable of the great supper to illustrate the giving of the third angel's message to the world at this time. "A certain man," said He, "made a great supper, and bade many; and sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. . . . So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind." The Master is now saying, "Bring in hither the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind." We are His servants, and this call comes to us to bring them in. But you may ask, "How shall we explain to the blind the invitation, 'Come, for all things are now ready'?" As the truth of God has come to many of us through message-filled literature, should not the blind receive it in the same way? In His providence God has provided a way whereby those who can not see may read through their sensitive fingers. It is estimated that there are not less than two hundred thousand blind persons in this country and Canada. I appeal to you in behalf of these precious souls to consider their need. We can point them to the Lamb of God by placing a copy of the Christian Record in their hands. It is printed in the two leading systems used by the blind in this country, the New York Point and the American Braille. The Christian Record was established six years ago, and has increased from seventy-five copies to nearly a thousand. Hard has been the struggle of those who have had the responsibility, but their desire to see the great Threefold Message go to their fellows in like affliction has led these workers, who are also blind, to labor on. The blind would gladly pay the subscription price of the paper if they had the money, but the majority of them have no way to earn money. The bare cost of producing the paper for the blind is much greater than ordinary printing for those who see. The subscription of two dollars a year barely covers the cost of producing the thirty-two-page journal monthly for a year. How many are there who would give at least the price of a subscription for this needy work? Of course, from those who can not afford so much as this, we will gladly receive smaller sums. All donations should be sent to Miss Katie Coleman, Secretary of the Christian Record, College View, Neb.