The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-07-21

EFFECTIVELY Ia not nearly 80 easy as II
looks One who has heard rainload OF
college r0oters at boat race roar their
college wells through msgaphones at the
struggling crew OF an eight-oared shell
knows pretty well how the power OF
the voice Is magnifed by the use OF
meeaphone, but probably The best MUS
tration OF SIS u-e in the navy has oc-
Cured % the reporters and crews OF
the newspaper boats in the vicinity OF
Havana when the blockade was first
established there. boat would be lying
10 presumably about FIVE miles from the
feet The night would he calm and dark
and still. when suddenly one would feel
AZ though envelopcd by a voice IL
would be voice not 10 be recognized
A harsh vibrating voice. something Ike
the below Of an angry animal. yet speak
ing the English language with remarka-
bic and startling disunctness.
What ship II THAR would ne the
hail. given IN a manner 70 command IN
slant attention and profound respect.
II would seem TO take an unreasonably
long time 10 tear the tin megaphone
from its lashinge 70 point It vaguely IN
the direction from which the greatest
volume of the sound that still pulsated
in the ears seemed 10 come ana 10
scream into II the boats name ana oo-
cupation. Then how weak and attenuat-
"a sounded the reply. though the speak
or may have strained his vocal chords
to put all the power possible INTO IT,
Surely. the speaker thinks. such peeN-
ish sound cannot be heard ten feet away,
and with the thought that he may hol
know how 10 use the megaphone' ne
ESSAYS repetition Of his answer.
can right. all right" comes the FRET
el response right from under his feet, II
seems II very skarp-sighted, ne may
make out the shape of a TORPEDO podt
not far away. and. he realizes That ne
has made fool OF himself yelling so at
An object so near. and after that ne
conducts some private experiments Win
the megaphone.
after a few trials. but II is not. Every
infection and every component part OF
every sound Is magnihed. and the re-
suit gives the impression OF sound or
definite size and extent literally striking
the ear. and great is the impact thereof
Half the orders to the vessels of the
fleets doing blockade duty off the Cuban
coast have been issued through mega
phones Torpedo boats and the convert
ed Yachts and tugs, assigned 80 frequent
IL 10 special duties. receive a large pro-
portion OF their orders frorS the fagship
by megaphone. and turn in their nlst
brief reports In the same way. The GUS
tomarv hail adds There" to the name
Of the ship hailed. and nearly every an
swer Is Ave. ave. sir" Rigid etiquette
"a observed in the transmission OF or
ders though sometimes dropped imme-
diately in private conversation. \ t2lK
was heard. not long ago. beginning. Ihe
Admiral directs. sir, that you proceed
etc. continuing. AYE. aye, sir and
ending az say. old man, VIII YOU etc.
with the response: "Sure!
II a person talking through a mega
phone removes n from his mouth for
remark 10 some one right beside him. the
remark seems much louder than what
was being said through the megaphone.
Another peculiar effect is produced when
two persons speak 10 each other through
negaphones at the same time, for the
two sounds seem actually TO strike each
other and bound back and each speaker
hears his own words more distinctly than
the others.
Bystanders frequently observe good
deal of humor in megaphone conversa-
tions. but it Is generally lost I'm a repe-
tition without the peculiar effect Of the
megaphone itself. The Captain OF tor
pedo boat which arrived off Santiago
with the transports. when ordered into
the night patrol in front Of the MORO
and told what other vessels would be
near him. caused a laugh by asking:
DO all those ships know / am 10 he
there or will they take me for q SPAN
iard?'-New York Sun.