New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1902-01-08

IN IJISAN ,E1ls IN a CITY
HoWLAWs AND sclENcEgcAh AGATE
MANY OF THEM.
The Soft CoAl, Cabbage ana Noise
s Problems chimes Instead OF
Church Bells 80 How the Nofae OF
Trahic Could he Reduced.
Closely akin to the improvement Of
the streets as the alb tement of certain
nuisances which are the natural out
growth Of lnsty and unrestricted urban
life. While large constructive schemes
can only be carried out in the course
of many years, a vast improvement in.
urban conditions can be achieved sim.
ply by restrictive measures. First Of
all naturally comes the question Of
smoke. The problem is rather new for
some cities, because it is only Of late
years that bituminous coal has been
used to an ectionable extent. Ten
years ago a fall Of snow would lie
fresh and unsullied for weeks. Now it
becomes dingy almost immed iately,
simple test OF the change.
There has been commendable pub
lie concern in the matter, and the
whole question has been thoroughly
debated, but the subject must not be
allowed to drop. The insidious advan-
ces of the soft coal nuisance must be
met as far as possible, with the hope
that mechanical science will before
long give complete relief. In the
meantime there must be a jealous
watch for any pollution of the air.
There are practical smoke consumers,
and the laws are adequate to the case.
1t is only necessary to see that they
are strictly enforced. 3.
Another problem that the present
century must solve is that Of river pol
luton. The time is not ripe for action,
vet, but it is not unlikely that in few
years an efficient and practical method
of destroying refuse Of all kinds will
be available, and every city should be
prompt to adopt it. There is no ex-
cuse for making open sewers Of our
rivers, and the reform is one to keep
constantly in view. -.
Sight and smell are not the only
senses that need to be propitiated. It
has been shown by medical science
that the nervous strain Of city life is
in large measure, perhaps chiefly, due
to the distraction Of city noises. Only
by an occasional fight to the ineffable
peace Of the real. country, where the
whir Of the trolley is never heard and
the silence Of eventide descends like a
palpable thing, can the citizen appre-
ciate the nervous strain brought by in
cessant and &multitudinous noise.
Now, much Of this jangle is absolutely
preventable, and it's survival is a bar
barism. The municipality can contrib
ute first Of all by eliminating intention
al noise which is disturbing to the peo-
pie. =
In considering sounds that are to be
regulated rather than abolished one
naturally thinks Of bells. There are
many who have detestation of bells
and would ofhand abolish the tradi-
tional Sunday morning peal and let
worshipers go by their clocks, as peo-
pie do when going to concert or a
play: Now, it may be freely admitted
no <1,a NJ, H. =,
tonal beauty to commend it to any ear.
1t is harsh, clamorous and out of tune.
But really fine chime is quite another
thing. No one who has heard the peal
from famous cathedral, say Antwerp,
or in some of the smaller Italian
towns, whose chimes Mrs. Meynell has
so beautifully described, can easily for
get the effect. Hardly any one thing
seems so well to give a city an. atmos-
phere Of it's own. The peculiar charm
of the bells hangs over the whole place
and is inseparable in memory.
We have more than enough bells. We
need to substitute quality for quantity.
Here is need which well deserves
the attention Of people who would do
well by their city. A first rate chime,
with the. sweet mystery Of softly voic-
ed and perfectly tuned bells, is expen-
sive and not easy to get, even with the
money in hand. but the possession of
such a treasure is enough to make any
city proud. Let us in the meantime
tighten the labors of our common, rau-
ccus, workaday bells which disturb
and give no compensating pleasure.
More difficult and yet ultimately
feasible is the reduction of the noise Of
necessary traffic. Here paving is an
important factor in the problem, and
when there is an even choice between
two kinds Of paving material. as brick
and wood or asphalt, the less noisy
should be chosen. r Reasonable care can
do much to eliminate the most often
sive noise. For example, no teamster
has moral right to drive through the
public streets with rattling truck, ev-
cry individual piece Of which makes
noise enough to wake the dead. 1t Is