fully their leisure hours might be occupied. Constant entertain- ments were given at the hostel ; the men were taken to concerts and theatres ; they attended football and cricket matches, with escorts to describe the games; they found much pleasure in dancing, and threw themselves into the interest of out-door sports, swimming, foot races, tugs-of-war and rowing. The St. Dunstan's crews practised on Regent's Park lake, under the direction of a coach, and annually competed against one another in regattas on the Thames; they raced, also, against sighted crews with success.
The hours devoted to instruction at St. Dunstan's were short ; in teaching the newly blind it is necessary to remember the effort of intense concentration involved. Two-and-a-half hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon were spent by the men in the classrooms and workshops. The employment of many blind instructors was an important factor in the rapid progress that was made ; the blind experts gained at once the confidence of the blinded soldiers, who realized that their difficulties were understood and that nothing beyond their powers was being demanded. Among the officers and men were many already experienced in some branch of business or professional work, and when it was feasible they were encouraged to
Erepare themselves to resume their accustomed employment. The let that one of the blinded officers went back to his practice as a barrister, and another renewed his work as a chartered accountant, may be recorded as examples of the manner in which difficulties were surmounted. The occupations selected as being most easily mastered by the sightless man who seeks profitable employment were eight : massage, poultry-farming, shorthand-writing (by means of a machine), telephone-operating, joinery, boot-repairing, mat-making and basketry. All of these were taught, in addition to the art of netting, which may be regarded as a remunerative form of recreation for the blind. Many of the blinded soldiers learnt two trades. All of them acquired proficiency in typewriting and received instruction in reading and writing Braille.
While the war was still in progress some 60 blinded soldiers were already employed, largely in military hospitals, as trained masseurs. They had passed stiff examinations, and it is a remarkable fact that, in spite of their own disability, they had equipped themselves to help in the cure of other wounded men. As soon as the blinded soldiers had mastered an occupation they were found employment or set up in their new industry. Apart from the pensions they received they were able to earn incomes in some cases higher than they had gained as sighted men before joining the army.
Before the close of 1920 1,300 blinded soldiers were established in different occupations in Great Britain, in Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. At that time there were still several hundred others in training or to be trained. Besides the soldiers actually blinded in the war, 23,060 were discharged from the army with seriously damaged eyesight, and from this number men arrived at St. Dunstan's overcome by the blindness which had for long threatened them.
Early in 1921 St. John's Lodge, on the Inner Circle of Regent's Park, became the permanent headquarters of St. Dunstan's work.
The generosity of the public who supported St. Dunstan's was a tribute to the high courage of the blinded soldiers; it made it possible to do everything that was required for their new start in life and to create an organization for their after-care. A high percentage of success cannot be attained in the rehabilitation of any large body of blind men by training alone. Some definite assistance is required after men have been trained, supplied with their tools and equipment and settled in their own homes. A scheme of organized assistance was first tried on a large scale by the authorities of St. Dunstan's. The first concern of the blind craftsman is his supply of raw material. This must be constant, of the right quality and nature, and must be available at a good market price. Lack of sight makes the ensuring of these essentials difficult, and St. Dunstan's organization therefore established a stores and materials department from which any blinded soldier was able to obtain in small quantities the mate- rials necessary for his trade. Many hundreds of articles or kinds of material coming from all parts of the world were always kept in stock. All goods were supplied strictly at average cost, all expenses of buying, storing and distributing being met from St. Dunstan's funds. In order to ensure a constant market, even in times of trade depression, sales depots were established, and the men were paid by return of post the average price obtained when their goods were sold. All expenses connected with carriage and achieving the sales were paid by the organization. All arti- cles which were sent up for sale were critically examined, and any tendency to bad or careless workmanship was quickly stopped.
A staff of experts was employed to visit the men periodically in their homes where they were able to correct mistakes and teach new types of work in local demand. An employment and propaganda department was established to obtain work for, and promote the interest of, professional men, and steps were taken to ensure that their methods of working were modern and up-to-date. In addition to the administration of the services mentioned above, a number of convalescent and holiday annexes were established throughout the country. A fund was available from which men could obtain grants in cases of sickness, accident or business difficulty. The Blinded Soldiers' Children Fund, which was raised to provide a weekly allowance until the age of 16 years to every child born to a blinded soldier after his disablement, and therefore not pensioned by the Government, was distributed by this department. The men's typewriters were kept in working order, the visitors who went to see the men at intervals being given a short course of instruction in minor re- pairs. Music, reading and games were encouraged among the men, and books, magazines, cards, dominoes, and music were provided when these were required. In general, St. Dunstan's After-Care Organization aimed at reducing a blind man's handi- cap to a minimum in order to enable him to compete with his sighted rivals on even terms.
In the preparation of this article the author gratefully acknowl- edges the assistance of Mr. Henry Stainsby, the secretary-general of the National Institute for the Blind, and of Capt. Ian Fraser, director of the After-Care Organization of St. Dunstan's. (A. P.)
BLISS, CORNELIUS NEWTON (1833-1911), American merchant and politician (see 4.72), died in New York Oct. 9 1911.
Although prominent in the Republican party and long the
treasurer of its national committee, he would never run for pub-
lic office. His lack of sympathy with Theodore Roosevelt's
growing influence led him to retire from active politics.
BLISS, TASKER HOWARD (1853- ), American soldier, was born at Lewisburg, Pa., Dec. 31 1853. He graduated from West Point in 1875, was commissioned second lieutenant, and in 1880 was promoted to first lieutenant. From 1885 to
1888 he was professor of military science at the Naval War College; then for seven years aide-de-camp to Gen. Schofield and inspector of rifle practice, with the rank of captain from
1892. In 1897 he became military attache at the American legation in' Madrid. In 1898 he became major, and on the outbreak of the Spanish-American War was promoted lieutenant-
colonel, serving through the Porto Rican campaign. From 1898
to 1902 he was in charge of Cuban customs and collector for the
port of Havana. In 1902 he became a member of the Army War
College Board, and in the following year commandant of the
Army War College. From 1903 to 1905 he was a member of the
joint Army and Navy Board and also a member of the general
staff. From 1905 to 1909 he held various commands in the
Philippines. During the latter half of 1909 he was president of
the Army War College and a member of the general staff, and
then was appointed assistant chief-of-staff, becoming in 1915
chief-of-staff. In 1917 he was made commanding-general, U.S.
army, but later in the year retired, having reached the age limit.
He was a member of the Allied Conference (1917), of the Supreme
War Council (1918), and of the International Peace Conference
(1918-9).
BLOCKADE (see 4.72). The blockade enforced against Germany by the Allies in the World War was both in form and extent without precedent in naval history, and its enforcement has given
a new meaning to the word. It was not a blockade in the strict sense of the word; that is, a cordon of ships off an enemy's coast precluding all approach to it under ban of confiscation. In its
final form it constituted a vast system of economic pressure for the restriction of enemy supplies, and the power of the British navy to intercept, detain and search ships and cargoes afloat remained up to 1917 an essential part of it.
The Declaration of London, under which the navy attempted at first to enforce the blockade, proved mere filigree, entirely inapplicable to the intricacies of naval war. It represented an attempt to reduce prize law to a code, and its effect was to render
