Comment on Massive Helen Keller archive reveals little-known details about the advocate's extraordinary life

"Is it not a disgrace to this great, prosperous, resourceful country that there should be thousands of children growing up under conditions which hinder their normal development, dampen the ardor of youth and quench the fire of aspiration in their young hearts?Thousands of boys and girls - the most precious treasure of the nation - live in crowded tenements where the walls are bare, the furniture cheap and ugly, and food coarse and served in a slovenly manner, wear shabby clothes, play in alleys and gutters, exposed always to soul-destroying influences.