The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-08-10
NERVES BREAKING DOWN.
American Dread of Noise One of Il
Alarming Results OF Civilization.

|
Alarming Results of Civilization.
Although according to certain philos-
| ophers, sound ceases when noise begins,
| to the world at large there is no sharp
| division. Thomas Hood said that the
| Germans, for a musical nation, were
| the most noisy he ever met with, and
| Schnopenhauer quoted the opinion with
approval, alleging as cause that his
| countrymen do not think, they only
| smoke, which is their substitute for
thought" The great pessimist regard
ed noise as the assassin of thought, but
DR.. johnson made the same charge
| against music. As a nation we delight
| in the fre-crackers of the Chinese and
ioathe their national music; they in
| turn can not endure our scale and our
| system of harmony. The Bostonian
! who does not jump at discordant church
| chimes, harsh and out of tune, will fret
at the street cries of foregn city, al
| though they are often pleasantly pitch
ed and of rare historical interest The
worshiper at the shrine of Brahms will
stop her ears when Maggie Murphy"
issues from new and improved hand
organ, although the melody is charac-
teristic, the rythm of the performer is
faultless and his bravura is of dazzling
! accuracy. There are people in Detroit
/ to whom the factory whistles are such
an annoyance that by city ordinance
workInen now go to their labor and re-
turn homeward in a depressing si-
lence, and yet even the chromatio
whistle, with its predoninating color
red, and its ascending wall, was heard
with joy at noon by women who thus
knew there was a loafng spell for their
men. After all, this distinction be-
tween noise and sound is, in a measure,
question of individuality, as well as
of association of ideas
When Elizabeth ruled England man.
ual laborers and mechanical artifcers
sang at theit work. The merry cob
bier is extinct The tinker raises his
''Robin Hood" but in his daily life he
gives vent to his feelings in prose. Our
street cries in America are few, chiefly
in the months of wandering hucksters
of fruits and vegetables Their calls
are all too short, as though they real
ICED that even in this respect time is
money. Then, too, they know that in
summer when windows are open, their
vocal approach is feared by our nervous
citizens, whereas, if we We're truly civ
iized, it would be welcomed. 1t is true
there should be training school, and
the work Of Georges Kastner should be
the text book. Each vegetable should
have its peculiar song. The butcher,
miikman, the hurler of ice, the buyer
of old clo', the mender of windows or
umbrellas, all other purveyors to hui
man needs should serve a canorous ap-
premiership. The orientals are our
masters. They clothe the announce
ment of their merchandise in poetic
phrases; they recommend fruit as
consolation; flowers are perfumes of
paradise for the present delectation of
the faithful. Were we to adopt their
methods, street cries might not in fu-
noise, as terrible as a neighboring and
busy pile-driver.
The unreasonable dread of noise is
one OF the most alarming symptoms of
the sickly condition of our civilization.
This is the age of the nerves and OF ner-
vous diseases. And yet in spite OF the
prevailing fear of shocks to the ear,
human ingenuity adds daily to the
number of disturbing causes. Famili-
arity with such causes acts, it is said,
like a potent, stupefying drug. But
we can not all attend the concerts of
season, nor can we all live in the vicin-
ity of boiler factory. The growth OF
the fat should therefore be encouraged.
The privacy of such dwelling is tumul-
tuous. The kitchen is close to the par
lor: voices above and below assume un-
natural proportions through the speak
ing trumpet of the elevator; the irri-
tating electric bell is at the mercy Of
any flippant passerby. This discipline
of a year may bring such callousness
of nerve that the loneliness of an iso-
lated farmhouse or the waste of ocean
may in turn shatter the town dweIler
beyond epair.-Boston Transcript
One of the novel exhibit> IN machin-
cry hail at the worlds fair viii be
model paper mill. II viii be in active
operation and win show all the process
r---r-, ba "a.