The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-04-21
Friday. April y, 1893.
A I!crEa or SPEAKING TlJses
oad Fate of "a Man of Peace who Is Situ.
ated Midway on ii Vocal Route,

I'M - S1tVa
ated Midway on ii Vocal Route.
There is Il man in this town whose
work keeps him sitting at his desk all
day. He thinks himself fortunately SIT.
uated, for his employers are c~onsiderate
IN their requirements and liberel in the
matter OF pay. and his work is eniova
Ole. Inc others who work in the same
room are busy men. They seldom speak,
out when they do have something 70
say 1t Is OF Ii pleasant nature. His mod
est nome has been all that heart could
Wis., SO far as comfort and contentment
go. All these things are sources of
grateful satisfaction to him. Tor he is a
man OF middle age and is no longer con
sumed by youthful ambition to possess
the unattalnable. He is of "a placid dis.
pnS1t1on and is. above everything else. a
lover OF peace. Thus situated he ought
to be one OF the happiest Of men. but he
u not. He Is wasting away, the HELPLESS
victim of continuous and violent conten. !
ton. |
-Aose to his desk. inelosed by a thin
wooden sheathing, are some tin speaking
tubes that run from sn upper story of
the building to a lover story. These
stories contain departments of the same
business, and the tn oes are in almost
constant use. The tubes are cracked at
about the attitude If this mans desk,
and the wooden slcathing is split in
places. The cracks in the tubes give a
curious querulous sound to every voice
That ascends or descends through them,
A feud OF long standing exists between
tne ot1ce boys and others who speak
o the upper floor and those who
speak from the lower story. A pleasant
word never ascends or descends. All the
h~arshness of infection that ACCOMPANIES
the harsh words is strangely multiplied
BY the cracked condition of the resonant
speaking tubes, and this man of natural
~ peaceable ~inclinations has to sit and
hear it all. t
Unfortunately his is a somewhat sensi-
i've and sympathetic nature 1t is i'm 6
for him to remain undisturbed |
when this continuous war of words is
gong on through the speaking tubes.
provocative Voice from above causes :.
nun to side with the floor far beneath :.
ann. II the reply that comes up grieyes =
nm, and he thinks that the upper floor =
las been assailed with un~pardonable Vi q
hence Then there is rattline exchange -
Y Warllke expressions in angry tones ;,
-".oe more angry to the ear by the :,
IdcRed speaking tubes-and the man of ;;
groans and signs for the quiet of a !.
odge IN some vast wilderness. He has "
card these savage exchanges so long =
so continually that his conception =
. to the sound of the male human voice .
l Ike thar which .4,,,. 3 ~
these diabolical speaking tubes.
1nls mas been gong on year after var. Ia
40 the feud shows no signs of abate- We
q Its effect on the helpless man of yo
ace Is deplorable. He feels constantly ha
II he were a party to IA never ending
2arrel. lie goes ont to his luncheon ca
like a man who has just been en-
lged In a riot, and he does not enioy
. food. He scolds his most obliripg on
a1ter without cause and gives him an yo
creased tap by way of apology. When tlt
goes home, he kisses his wife and chill
en- IN a perfunctory way and is irrita-
at the dinner table. His wife saws |
uiy, My dear, you are working too tin
"a. lie Is not working too hard, but do,
Is ashamed TO tell what ais him, for an,
knows that it would be difficult for
en- his conslderate llclpmeet to under I
nd the eli ct Of the continuous speak kin
tube strife on his nervous system !
ne changes the subject and enaeav- you
to make amends by his best behavior. Yol
) wife notices that his playfulness is
ced anu Is Il sorry imitation of the
luine article. and this is more alarm S
to her than his irritablauess-Naxr W
TX Sun. y