St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-01-08
THE DUMB MAY SPEAK.
An Inventor Claims Discovery which
VIII Produce Speech.

Will FfOOUCe SRcCCMs
Now that machines have been made
to repeat articulate speech, as the pho
nograph and the gramophone, the next
wonder which has been announced as a
scientific discovery by an eminent in
ventor is that by means of simple ma
chine the dumb car be made to speak
and the organs of our churches and con-
cert halls deliver orations, songs, and
operas as If they were intelligent hui
man beings. 1t is not a reproduction OF
something which has come from the
mouth of human being-it is apply
ing to person a part of an organ and
combining the properties OF the two
in such way that the organ is governed
entirely by the intelligence of man,
vet, though he says nothing, from the
instrument will come the sound as II
lie we're speaking, only in volume and
tone the sound being that given by the
instrument.
In other words, the miracle OF the
Bible will be performed in simple way
by science, and just as the eyes OF the
blind have been opened by the ocullsts
knife in cutting cataract or the deaf
made to hear by means of the denta-
phone, so now there comes into the use
| of man an invention which will supply
the wanting sounds and enable him to
converse with articulatcd speech. And
the huge power of the organ or the siren
on the shore can be converted into songs
that will fill a city or choir that cost but
little, yet render the most attractive
music for opera or church.
Mr.. Berliner's first conception OF the
idea of making an instrument produce
speech of itself, instead of reproducing
that of persons, was due to the fact. so
he AYERS, that the mode Of vocalization
in the human body can be almost en-
tirely counterfeited by mechanism, and
that it occurred to him that it would be
a useful thing to apply the principles to
human vocalization SO that the ex-
pensive choirs of churches could be
obviated by machinery. That he has
produced by machinery such speech-in
other words, that he has made an organ
talk"-he asserts is true, and that the
experiments. while vet in their infancy
show conclusively that the completion
of his apparatus is but matter of time
and study of the human voice.
The method employed by Mr.. Berline,
in his experiment was extremely sim
pie. Regarding the organ and the body
it will be remembered that the lung.
of q person act as pair of bellows, tina
the windpipe is the organ through
which the air is pumped, and that thu
vocal chords give the sound pitch, thu
words being formed by the movement
of the tongue, teeth, and lips combined
Now, the sound of tone as it comes on
of an organ pipe is similar to that giver
up by the human windpipe before tn
words have been articulated by tn,
mouth. Hence, Mr.. Berliner reasoned
if this pipe sound of the organ coul'
be conveyed to the mouth, just back il
the throat, and articulated properly b.
the right motions of the lips, tongu
and teeth, the organ could be made I
talk.
With a bit of rubber tubing, whicl
was placed with one end in pair o
bellows, and the other Mt the back o
the mouth, he found that by simply Civ
Il
use in uttering certain words the COZ
rect sound was produced on the volum
of air coming out of the tube in tn
mouth, Just as it would have been mad
BY the mouth in speaking with air fror
the windpipe. Though not a sound wa
uttered by his own mouth, which dumb
" went through the pantomime me
tons used in articulation, there wer
words spoken by the vibrations just a
If they were done in the ordinary wa
only. of course, as there was no us
of the vocal chords which give the vary
ing pitch, the sound was all in the sam
key.
The use in church choirs would be
great feature of the service. Mr.. Be
liner suggests that for choir ther
ought to be four men, each one artic'
lating from different tube, represen
ing different pitches or different voice
such as bass, tenor, soprano, and col
y tralto. Thus all the varying shades {
, music could be cheaply produced at
j, third of the present expense.
d But the chief benefit to humanity wi
e be the use to which the dumb can p,
this new invention. The dumb are alb
t. to move the lips in the motions used
/" speaking, though they cannot utter
is sound. Now, if the sound be brougl
II into the back of the mouth, forced on
Is and properly articulated by the teet
A. lips and tongue of the dumb person, II
is result will be speech. With the simp
d and cheap apparatus this effect can
n obtained. OF course, it will requil
time for such person to learn the co
q rect motions to give to the mouth in 0
= der to produce the right words, but tn;
- will come readily with the practice. Jul
- as one learns the typewriter or to rio
= the bicycle.-Washington Cor. Phil
delphia Times.