ery short time. Electricians and those working in
chemical laboratories are susceptible to optic atrophy.

A common cause of eyestrain is reading on street cars, or using the
last, lingering bit of daylight to finish a chapter or complete some
fine work. It is easier to turn on the light than to spend years in the
dark.

The eyes of many people are ruined because, instead of going to an
oculist to have their eyes properly fitted to glasses, they go into a
ten-and-fifteen-cent store, try on a lot of cheap glasses, and purchase
the ones that magnify the best, and feel most comfortable on the nose.
The cheap varieties of glasses are often made from bits discarded by
opticians, and never intended to be used again. People are not always
careful in selecting eye shades, and often use those made of very
inflammable materials, which frequently catch fire, and destroy the
eyesight.

I can not understand how people can trifle with the most precious of
their physical possessions, and yet my records teem with such instances,
and the victims realize when too late how criminally thoughtless and
careless they were. Some of our grown-up children need instructions as
to the use and abuse of their eyes. In Los Angeles, I addressed the
various Parent-Teacher Associations on these important subjects, and I
believe that the note of warning sounded by one who is herself a victim
of unnecessary blindness, went straight home to every heart.

The percentage of adult blindness is increasing at a very rapid rate,
owing to the numerous accidents in factories and workshops, accidents
that are, in many instances, preventable. Owners of factories, quarries,
mines and other industrial plants have become alive to the necessity of
safeguarding the eyes of their operatives, and much needed legislation
is being enacted in all parts of the country. The National Council of
Safety, an organization in existence but five years, has accomplished a
great deal and this council co-operates with State Industrial Accident
Commissions, and with civic and social organizations. The National
Council of Safety estimates that there is one worker killed every 15
minutes, day and night, in the United States, and one injured every 15
seconds, day and night. This gives 30,000 killed and 2,000,000 injured,
and of this number 200,000 are eye injuries. The National Committee for
the Prevention of Blindness estimates that there are 100,000 blind in
the United States, and half