n are
knitting, one is making squares for the Belgian baby blankets, and the
other a muffler for the Navy League. When I asked for volunteer
knitters, one old colored man said, "Madam, my hands are not steady
enough to knit, but I can hold the yarn for some man to wind."

I am also teaching in the State Industrial Home for Adult Blind in
Oakland, and I look upon the afternoon spent there as the redletter day
of the week. I go from there each Tuesday with a fresh supply of courage
and inspiration. The men collect funny stories to tell me, and the women
show their appreciation in countless, little ways. The State Library is
proud of its borrowers in this institution, and not long ago had some
pictures taken, showing the men reading[1] and the women knitting. It is
an inspiring sight to see the men waiting for their lessons. They come
in from the shop, where they have been sorting broom corn, sewing or
tying brooms--young men and old--all eager to avail themselves of the
services of the teacher, anxious to learn everything possible that will
help to broaden their outlook on life--fine, brave fellows, all of them.
Many have become blind within recent years, victims of industrial
accidents in factories, quarries or mines. The thought of the blinded
soldier has roused these men to renewed effort, in the hope that their
success as broom makers may encourage other blind men who must learn a
trade after the war. And their broom shop is a wonderful place to visit,
with seventy blind men, and a blind foreman to inspire and encourage the
workers. The business of the institution is principally wholesale,
although some of the blind men have worked up a good retail trade in
Oakland. The sales of the institution average $6,500 per month, and with
increased capital, more material and a larger plant, it could handle
three times its present business. The board of directors will ask the
legislature to increase the appropriation, to enlarge the plant, and to
provide an industrial teacher to go into the homes of the blind, teach
them weaving, basketry, chair caning and knitting, the Home to market
the products, deducting the cost of material from the amount paid to the
workers. This industrial teacher is greatly needed, and it is hoped the
legislature will make it possible for the Home to enlarge its sphere of
usefulness and provide employment for many who are not inmates, but who
need to contribute to their own support.

[Footnote 1: See i