The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-08-20
c L A M B A K E S Large or Small, Supplied A T To w P B I c E S w. D. COOK 6 SON. 523 Water Street
 PHONE sssO
PHYSICIANS CONVENE
 TO SUPPRESS
 UNNECESSARY NOISE
500 of Thenn-From All Over the
 World--Attack Existing Evils.
AUTO HORNS THE
 SUBJECT OF DISCUSSION

Boston, Aug. 20-More than five hundred prominent physicians from all parts of the world, are assembled fflis week at the International Otolog- ical Congress.
 One of the principal meetings was devoted to the subject of the suppress sion of the noise evil. The opening address was delivered by Dr. Clarence John Blake of the Harvard Medical School and President of the Congress. sDr, Blake discussed the question of noise from the standpoint of it's dele terfous effect upon the human ear. He cited locksmiths, blacksmiths mechan- ics iron turner's, boiler makers, en- gineers, and stokers, as we'll as per sons working in machine shops. f1e showed the effect of their surround- ings as diminishipg their hearing pow
 .sThe multitudinous noises of the streefn said pr. Blake, with their disharmonious and metallic over tones, together with the subjection of the ear to such prolonged, shriH notes as are incident to raliway anu anu factory whistles, are also productive of aural defects. although Tn a les ser degree than where the impair ment of the hearing is the direct re- suit of occupation and exposure.
 pr. Blake dwelt at length upon the the increasing amount of noise com ing from the use of automobiles and showed where large proportion of this was entirely unnecessary. The use of the muffler cut-out, for instance, he described as being inexcusable.
 On the subject of automobile warm ing signals he urged the necessity or greater uniformity. He pointed out that primarily the automobile warn ing signal was a public. utility ana that the use of some signal was Svi- tally necessary to the safety of the streets. He declared that in order to fulfill it's function as a true warn ing, a signal must have certain es- sential characteristics. It must be loud and abrupt and convey an un- niistakable expression of danger. He showed that devices that did not have these Qualifications were, in reality, not warnings and that they were con- sequently responsible for unnecessary noise.
 The old-fashioned bulb-horn," said | pr. Blake, lis a relic of bygone. days and as much as we dislike to have it supplanted by the loud, discordant 1 siignal of to-day, we will have to rec | oncile ourselves to it. What we can do. however, is to prohibit the, use of these modern signals except when they are actually necessary and to
 urge then that they be used only in homeopathic doses
 Stoughton Bell, a Boston lawyer, then discussed the legal. aspects of
 the noise problem. He urged the ne- l cessfty of making statutes for the suppression of unnecessary noise def l mite in their terms. He showed that a. number of present. day ordin- ances of this kind were ineffective and I practically useless because of their T ambiguity and the consequent diffi-
 culty experienced in their interpre- l tatfon.
 Tn discussing the question of auto mobile noise, he cited the Chicago or dinance as being an ideal piece of I Ianti-noise legislation. He showed that while this carried out the ideas of Dr.~Blake and provided that auto I nals capable of efficiently fulfilling their function, 1t likewise provided
 against the unnecessary use of such Esignals.
 I Tn this connection Mir. Bel Ibrought up the Massachusetts ordi- nance directed toward the same ends This, while it allowed the use of al kinds of signals in country districts was supposed to prohibit the use 0l all save the mild and harmonious va.
 riety within the limits of cities. Fl
 showed that as a result of the en. Iforcement of this measure automobile } accidents in country districts decreas Fl tincreased IS per cent The conclu sion to be drawn was that while thu
 suppression of all unnecessary noict ltwas highly meritorious thing i
 should be done reasonably and no
 at the sacrifice of public welfare. The closing address of the smeetins was delivered by Professor Edward. s
 Moss of Salem. Professor Mos
 showed that while the country wa Hfar advanced in the suppression O
 other evils, the solution of the nois, problem was as yet in its infancy. H,
 urged the crying necessity of organ Iized action.
 '.The American people, he said 'sare the noisiest nation on the face o
 the earth. The only nation whicl
 approaches this in this respect i China. The continuace of our pres ent policy.'' said Prof. Moss, twill b.
 a moral wrong and an economic fol ly."
 l, Bringing the meeting to close, Dr
 Blake urged all to direct their effort as much as possible to furthering tn tcampaign against unnecessary noise