The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-03-18
MAKES DEAF HEAR
BY INVENTION CHILDREN BORN
DEAF WERE ABLE TO Hear
PIANO.

ne ieSioonl 8 ITIP 10 OIeSoH
He Comes in May-They
Shave the Beard and Clip
the Hair of Convicts
at Salem now
Other News.
New York, March 14.-By means
of an invention of Miller Reese
Hutchinson, a young Alabamian
who was recently decorated by
Queen Alexandria for his efforts ir
behalf of the deaf, three children
deaf, dumb and blind. have been
enabled to hear a pianist play Sou.
sa marches, a phonograph repro
duce the sounds and the sounds ol
their own voices uttering the words
mama" papa" and hello" in
quavering, childish treble. The
experiments were made at the LAB.
oratory of Mr.. Hutchinson and
were witnessed by many persons.
The invention consists, primar-
lily, Of transmitter, an ear piece
and small electric. battery. By
means of these instruments sound
is projected into the ear in a man
ner to stimulate the auditory nerve.
The volume of sound has nothing
to do with the action of these in.
struments. The penetrating quail
ty of the electric sound apparently
disregards the mechanism of the
outer ear, and effects the inner ear
direct.
The first patient brought out to
try the effects of the invention was
Orris Benson, who is blind, deaf
and dumb. A physician tried to
make him hear in various ways,
but all his efforts were vain. The
little. instrument was then clappsd
on the lads ear, the current switch
ed on, and Mr.. Hutchinson said in
an ordinary tone, "papa." The
youth worked his fingers rapidly in
the sign language.
He says he can hear something,
but does not know what it is," re-
marked Professor Vantassel, who
was in charge of the children. The
current was made stronger. The
youths eyeballs were raised and he
smiled. Then he tried to repeat
the syllable, and in weird treble
cried shrilly: Pah-pah."
Noticing that the patient was be.
coming quite excited over his nov
ell experience, Mr.. Hutchinson sug-
gested that one OF the girls be
brought into the reception room.
She could not hear a sound, no
matter how loud, but when she had
the ear piece OF the instrument fast
ened to her head and the pianist at
the end of the room began to play a
Sousa march, her cheeks flushed
and her fingers beat time on ia.
bile.
Another girl, born blind, deaf
and dumb, clapped her hands in
ecstacy when she heard her own
voice cry "mama," and reached
out toward the piano when the mu-
sician stopped playing, and the
new harmonies died out of her ear,
but fingered vividly in her memory.
Salem. March Is They are now
a hairless crowd who inhabit the
Oregon penitentiary. The new Sec
ond warden at that institution is.
sued an edict soon after taking
charge of the prisoners directing
that the hair of every convict be
cropped short, and that all cheeks
and chins be shaved. This was q
radical reform, but it has been suc-
cessfully accomplished. If the con-
victs didn't like it, they were care
full not to make a very vigorous
protest. Doubtless those who have
hopes of escaping would
prefer to keep normal amount of
hair on their heads, but they didn't
put up an argument along this line
in order to avoid being subjected to
the clipping process. Some of the
men were better looking with mus
taches and boards. but shaving
costs nothing at the prison, and
they can now enjoy the soothing
services of a tonsorial artist twice
a week or oftener.
Warden Mcpherson wasn't con-
sulting the pleasure of the convicts,
however, when he instituted the
custom. He thought it
would be easier to detect an escaped
convict who has his hair clipped
than one who has normal growth
Of the hirsute appendage. So off
came the hair and boards. Clip
pers have taken the place of shears,
and the barbering process is con-
Quoted in half the time formerly