The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1893-07-08
NOISE IN A BIG CITY.
.PRoeREss FROM eARBARlsM MAY BE
MEASURED BY NOISE.


The higher the Civilization the Greater
she Desirs For Less Notes.-The EmOrta Of
City Authorities Of To-day Arc Directed
Toward Reducing IL.
There always comes a period in the
history OF progressive community when
desire TO keep down noise begins 70
show itself. In the primitive stages Of
Culture-the savage, the barbarian and
the semibarbarisn-th passion for noise
"a always strong. All ssvages and bar
barians love to make all the row they
can. Their Joy and sorrow both express
themselves In yells, walls and shouts
and the beating and blowing Of loud ~
sounding instruments, more especially
the drum and the horn. The noise Of
primitive savage warfare almost equals
that Of the gunpowder engagements Of
modern arms, although II was, as we
might say. almost wholly manual or
vocal.
The din Of q barbarian funeral, too,
was, and is something appalling. The
practice Of hiring mourners 10 make a
loud lament on such occasions has come
down almost to our own time Rmong
the Celtic Irish. All African travellers
describe the noise of little meTrymalKing
In an African village assomething rs which
no civilized man easily forgets. Those
who have passed an evening at q Chinese
theater have probably never In their
widest dreams thought II possible 10
produce plays with musical acoompani-
ments OF such awful shrillness and In
tensity.
In fact, It is hardly an exaggeration 10
say that the progress Of a race In CIV
ilisatieh may be marked by steady ~
duction In the volume Of sound which Il
produces In connection with It's deaths,
births, marriages, feasts, merrymak-
ings, Its wars and peaces, trade, COM
merce and manufactures. The more cul-
ture Of all kinds II acquires the less noise
It produoea There is no BureT hgn, In
fact, Of an upward movement Of the
tribal soul than the appearance Of Q de-
sire to got along with less uproaE. When
Its leading men begin to ask themselves
whether this or that could not safely be
done with fewer yells OF smaller drums,
IL shows that tits becoming self conscious
and is feeling the throbs Of q new hfe.
After this comes change In the charac-
ter Of the musical instruments, q general
lowering Of the tones Of the voice, the
substitution at funerals Of the silent tear
for the half maniaoal "keen," and the
exaction Of silence In military drill.
In cities this mental and moral growth
Is Of course displayed In the repression
Of street cries, Of street mudo, Of all
noises made for mere amusement, such
as beating Of drums, and blowing Of
horns. and purposeless and persistent
shouting and yelling. These are bat
rudimentary steps, and we have already
taken them In New York. The next and
most important one, the reduction Of the
noise made by the ordinary and leRit-
mate street traffic, We are only begin
ming. Its importance has besn recog-
nized In the modern world paE4 passu
with the increasing interest IN and care
for public hygiene.
There Is no modern city health board,
and indeed no modern city Doctor, who
is not well aware Of the evil effects Of
incessant noise IN the vast and increas-
ing multitudes who in all the great cities
now live, one might soy, by thsiH Wits,
bat, more accurately, by their nerves.
The amount Of mental operations which
require silence, OF at all events an ap-
proaoh to silence. for their healthfulnekS
In cities like New York, London or
Paris, carried on by merchants, brokers,
bankers, bookkeepers, preachers, protese-
ors, architects, designers, engravers,
painters, students, judges, lawyers, ed
itors, ministers, Is something enormous
and grows with all our material growth.
The performance Of this work In the
midst Of tremendous upFoar Of any hind
Of course greatly increases the expeudi-
ture Of vital force which accompanies
all mental exsrtton. Consequently ths
reduction Of city noise is now one Of the
most important elements In all city rO-
forms.
In New York we have as yet only
made beginning on IL by the introduc-
tion Of tho asphalt pavement, but this d
being rapidly extended and must pro
duoe q marked effect IN sound reduction
before long. What this pavement doel
TO lessen noise In the stVeets IN which II
eXists everybody who has passed along
them or lived on them knows II make
conversation In cabe OF carriages and b
rooms facing on the street comfortable
and makes sleep In summer nights With
open windows an easy possibility-factI
which are really complete answer t.
all the complaints Of aiipperinesa.
Better far that an occasional horst
should come down than that the nerves
Of thousands Of hardwoTldng men and
women should be continuously sgt OF
edge by clatter which Is all the more
wearing Tor being intermittsnk In Lon
don the hard grinding, soul penstratinl
; noise Of the New York stone pavement
has been suppressed, or rather has beer
largely converted into subdued, con
tinuous roar on boom by means OF wood
asphalt and macadsin, and though
horses fall much on them all humanity
gains. New York Post