Peeps into the Deaf World
By W. R. Roe, Ph.D. 1917
Preface
In sending forth this book, “Peeps into the Deaf World,” I do so in the hope that its contens
will attract the eye and the thoughts of many who have hitherto given but little
consideration to them I also trust that it will remove many wrong impressions in the public
mind as to what the deaf really are…
The Deaf-Mutes in Norway
The Norwegians, terrible as were their attacks on certain countries in bygone centuries,
infuse a breath of new life into their inhabitants, which has lived on ever since.
Illustration: Deaf girls in Norway.
Norway is not at present a leading agricultural country, but it is growing very fast. Its
principal industries are, at the present time, timber and fishing.
The latest returns of the deaf and dumb in Norway show the proportion is 1 in 1,000 of the
population. Of the number said to be of school age about 85 per cent are under instruction.
The Government makes very large contributions towards their education, and it is found
here, as in other countries, that they more that repay the money spent upon them.
The deaf in Norway are to be found engaged in almost every trade or profession, and among
them is Mr I. N. Havstad, M.A. who is chief editor of one of the most widely circulated daily
papers for the hearing in Norway.
Illustration: Norwegian peasants reading the bible.
Mr. Carl Werner, one of the leading merchants in Christiania, is a prominent deaf-mute, and
takes and active interest in all that concerns the well-being of the deaf. He is a famous
skater, and is also one of the founders of the the newspaper The Journal for the Deaf.
A Norwegian deaf man, Mr E. Schetnan, who has been in the United States for some years, is
a clever fellow: he not only acts as correspondent for papers published in Norwegian, Danish
and English, but has learned to operate the Linotype machine.
The adult deaf of Christiania number about 200, and aided by the State and city, have
purchased a handsome church.
(bilde av en stavkirke)
The Rev. Mr Svensden, who acts as missioner to the deaf-mutes of Norway, preaches in their
church at Christiania for eight months of the year, and for four months visits the deaf in
other parts of the country. (side 123 – 125)
A Little Negro Deaf-Mute
The little fellow whose features are here reproduced is in the Alabama Institution. The
question is often asked if the deaf negroes make the same progress as the white. Those
teachers who have had experience with both classes have invariably replied in the negative.
There are, of course, exceptions, and one deaf-mute negro at least has proved himself a very
fair author, and several have made their mark in the industrial world. It is said that each
generation of the negro race has been an improvement on the last, and this being so, the
coloured deaf should in the future be endowed with better brain-power. (side 289)
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