Speech of Hon. Benjamin W. Harris of Massachusetts in the House of Representatives, February 18, 1881.
- Harris, B. W. (Benjamin Winslow), 1823-1907.
- Date:
- 1881
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Speech of Hon. Benjamin W. Harris of Massachusetts in the House of Representatives, February 18, 1881. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![Certificate of exam- STATE OF CONNECTICUT. So. • State board of health, bureau of vital statistics ination for visual power aud color-blindness. This may certify that I have this day tested carefully the visual power of , whose signature is attached to this certificate, and find that it is have also tested his color perception, and find that it is . He it respects, fitted for the position of . Given in presence of the examiner. He is, in these , 18 Examining Ophthalmic Surgeon. [Signature of party examined.] Stub accompanying certificate and retained by the examiner: No. ; name ~T~. • ago. t height, ; complexion, ; occupation, - vision, ; color perception, ; railroad, . . ’ Examining Surgeon. POSTAL CARD REPORT FROM THE EXAMINERS. 28 Report for week ending , 18—. ’ No. in class first examined No. in class second examined Total ..” No. with incomplete color sense ' . . . . No. with complete color-blindness No. with defective visual power Connected with which railroads In compliance with this law and these regulations, two ophthalmic surgeons have been recommended by the Connecticut State board of health and appointed by the governor to thoroughly carry out the examinations. They are Dr. W. H. Car- malt, professorof ophthalmology of Yale University, and Dr. W. T. Bacon, of Hart- ford. To them is firstcommittedin this country this extremely delicate duty. The results of their work in the report of the State board of health will be most in- teresting and of groat practical value. The American Ophthalmological Society, at its annual meeting last week at New- port, indorsed by vote these standard requirements of the State board of health of Connecticut in reference to visual power and color-blindness. It will thus be seen what has been done in the necessary work of reform the past year. It would be an injustice to a fellow-townsman not to recognize that, to the unremitting though unrequited labors of Dr. II. Joy Jeffries, is the movement in this country due. His services in the cause of science and the community, by his testing all tho public school children of Boston abovo the primary, has been recently admitted by the school board printing his report to them as one of the school documents. The Nation of January 15, 1880, well says : “ The subject offers the most striking recent instance of a strictly scientific in- quiry that has suddenly been transformed into a serious question of every-day practice.” The following is the joint resolution introduced in the House of Representatives: “Joint resolution relating to color-blindness and visual acuteness in persons em- ployeuin the Navy and merchant marine. Whereas it is important that definite and uniform standards of examination for color-blindness and tests for visual acuteness in persons employed in the Navy and the merchant marine should be established, which shall be in harmony with such standards and tests established or to be established by other nations : Therefore, Eesolved, <£-c., That the President is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint some suitable poison qualified for such serv- ice to attend and represent the United States in any international congress or convention held to consider and act on said subject; and the sum of $5,000 is hereby appropriated, out of any money in tho Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be paid, or so much thereof as may be needed, under the direction of the President, in full for the compensation and expenses of the person so appointed; and the person appointed under the provisions of this joint resolution shall join in a report of the proceedings of such congress, and of the conclusions reached thereby, if any, to the President of the United States, to be by him laid before Congress, to the end that an international system of examinations and tests as aforesaid may be established by law. c](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22448032_0022.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
