Evening journal., 1898-10-11
THE MEeApHoNE IN WAR
Part Ia the Navy on the
Cuban Conat.


Part Ia the Navy on the
Cuban. Coast.
The megnphone has played a most
Important part in the war. Its use in
the navy began only within year, and
airendy a megaphone IS regarded "a
almost q necessity on every ship. The
negaphones used in the navy are made
ofu deep red colored composition rivct-
cd together anihave alighthandle and |
an aluminium mouthpiece. The stand
ard size Is about two and half feet |
long and about 10 inches across the |
end smaller craft and auxiliaries
carry only one, which Is kept on the |
bridge. but the larger ships carry
more. On the flagship New York three
are In almost constant use, one on the
bridge, one on the signal bridge. and
one on the quarter deck.
Tie officer of the deck uses the one
On the bridge. II takes the place Of
the small, heavy speaking trumpet
which used 20 be the sign OF that Of
fcer's rank at sea, as long glass was
is port. Speaking trumpets were gen.
orally the personal property OF the Of
fcers who carried them. ard were Of
ten handsome. Sometimes they were
made Of silver. They possessed two
advantages over megaphones Of the
present day, the chief one being that
they we're not so easily blown away in
heavy wind. On n sailing vessel in
storm the unaided voice will not carry
from the quarter deck TO the foremost
head. nor can Il be heard 20 windward
Of large sail. A speaking trumpet.
easily slung across the shoulder, Is al
ways at hand, and concentrates the
voice sufficiently for il TO be heard all
over q small ship, while n megaphone
would not be so handy and might be
} blown away easily.
The second advantage Of the old
: speaking trumpet also grows out OF ito
, size and convenience. The speaking
} trumpet has always been used as a sort
/ OF gayel, and in consequence was gem
orally pretty we'll battered and dented.
, SO also were the various parts OF the
! ship adjacent TO the standing place OF
e. the officer OF the deck. An experi-
: enced man with sharp eyes might
J Judge OF how pleasant q ships voyage
a had been by inspecting the speaking
a trumpets on board of il as IL came into
: port. Obviously megaphone will not
e stand such treatment, though some OF
f. them become mysteriously jammed
y and twisted. as though an absent
a minded officer had tried the same trick
Y with them.
The utility OF the speaking trumpet
IN communication between vessels was
a always limited. and It Is because the
v negaphone so far surpnsses IL in this
a respect that it has achieved it's sud
4 den popularity. About the frst neces.
+. sity recognized on each OF the news
d paper dispatch boats was mega
r phone, and tho exigencies Of the lleS
- West market suggested u tin mega
n phone as the best substitute for the
I. regular article. Some were made with
r the old-fashioned oval mouthpiecel
y and some with mono at all. These til
- megaphones have. most of them, re
,h ceiyed excelle1e care, nnd most o
,e. them bid fair TO last the war out.
IN To use n megaphmone artisucall
es and effectively is not nearly so easy n
ID fit loolds. One who has hosEd traln
fload OF college rooters at q boat rnc
,h Hroar their college yells through mega
,e homes at the struggling crew Of al
r. eight-oared shell knows pretty wei
IN how the power of the voice Is magni
No fed by the use OF megaphone, bu
ID probably the best Illustration OF It
n use In the navy has occurred TO the re
!" porters and crews Of the newspape
! L.. . .f.t. % Iuafn Fth ~
the blockade was first establishe
there. A boat would be lying TO, pre-
m sumably about five miles from tn
feet. The night would be calm an
dark and still, when suddenly on
would feel as though enveloped by
nv voice. II would be voice not 10
at recognized--a harsh, vibrating voice
something like the below Of an angr
u. animal, yet speaking the English lar
I'M puaqe with remarkable and startlin
distinctness.
no What ship is that?" would be th
hail, given in q manner TO comman
b. instant attention and profound II
he spect.
- It would seem TO take an unreasoni
10 bly, long time to tear the tin meg'
.ee phone from IFS lnshings, 10 point
~ vaguely in the direction from whic
the greatest volume Of the sound thu
L. sin pulsated in the ears seemed
." come, and to scream into it the boat
name and occupation. Then how wea
eu and attenuated sounded the repl
10 though the speaker may have straine
-, lis vocal chords to put all the pow'
-" possible into It. Surely, the speak'
a. thinks, such peeylsh sound cannotl
i'e card ten feet away, and with Il
thought that he may not know how
nse the megaphone, he essays a rep
tition Of his answer.
=" "All right, all right" comes the fre
~ ~. full response right from under his fee
80 Sc seems. II sharp sighted he mt
make out the shape Of a torpedo bo
% not far away, and he realizes that
has made a fool of himself yelling
at an object so near.-N. Y. Sun.