Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-06-26
IN NOISY NEW YORK.
Englishman Marvels at the Awful
Din.

DIN.
You may shut yourself up behind
double doors and double windows, but
you can never exclude New York's
noises.
1t is the noisiest city on earth.
| went up to the top of one of the
sky-scrapers, writes correspondent
of the London Mail. It was 30
stories high, SO high that great build
ings which seemed colossal from the
street were fiattened to the eye and
the wide thoroughfare of Broadway
looked like a narrow trench. At that
height the most striking features of
New York shrank into insignificance,
but New York's noises swelled up in
starting volume. A mail cart NOV
ing over the granite pavement of the
street below looked no bigger nor to
| move less smoothly than one of the
| tiny clckwork toys that hawkers sell
in the asphalted city streets. But
the noise of its heavy wheels made
humping and rafting over the granite
blocks leap upward undiminished.
| The electric cars on Broadway and
| Park Row looked to be gliding as
gently as IL afioat, but the hum of
their motors could oe heard and the
jolt of their framework as they
bumped over points came with a sue
cession of shocks to the ear, and the
air was full of the horrid staccato
clang, clang, clang of their bells. The
elevated trains on the Sixth avenue
line, winding round the downtown
but as they pounded along over wood
en- beams and iron pillars they sent
up n ceaseless clatter that supplied
sort of fearful drum effect in the
mighty chorus of New York's noise.
The great bridge across the river
from that height seemed a light,
graceful structure lying low to the
water. Its multitudinous traffic scarce
ly discernible to the eye; but great
deep vibrant hum came up from 1t.
Beneath, the gray of the wind-stirred
waters was streaked in lines of white,
where a hundred tiny-looking ferries
and tugs fioated across it, But from
the tunnels of every one of them kept
bursting little white puffs of steam
with prettiest effect, as of yacht
breaking out additional sail, and from
out of each little white puff came the
shrill-edged, agonized boot of the
steam siren.
The exuberant vitality of the peo-
pie has something to do with it;
their excess of energy converts partly
into sound. 1t is the noisiest city
on earth, because everyone in it seems
to try to make as much noise as he
possibly can. Everyone talks just as
loudly as he can-at least, you think
that it is his limit until in some mo-
ment OF accumulated energy he pulls
the cord Of his safety valve and lets
off a wild explosive yell.
am sure that the trolley car motor
man clangs his horrid, ear-splitting
bell more for delight than necessity.
The street traffic in New York lis small
In comparison with that in London or
Paris, but the noise 1t makes is in.
finitely greater. When the motorman
moving slowly and silently amid a
press OF traffic, takes you nawares and
comes near to running you down, he
does not clang his bell at all; the
sporting interest in your chances OF
lie and death provides him for ths
moment with all the necessary stimu
LUIS. But when he finds himself with
a clear stretch of road and no danger
OF hurting anybody, then he pulls
the fullspeed lever hard over. grab,
with wild joy and exultation tn.
pulley Of his bell, and clangs it witt
marvellous rapidly and vigor as Ion,
as there is nothing in the way. Ther
ne goes slowly and quietly among tn,
traffic, and accumulates energy for an
other wild orgy of bell ringing. 70,
cannot escape the trolley car bell. TO
trolley cars in long PROFESSIONS are /,
every important thoroughfare-aI
! ringing bells.
| The payements seem to have bee,