Bogalusa enterprise. [volume] (Bogalusa, La.) 1914-1918, 1915-07-01
final TONE OF
LIBERTY BELL?
What Is Believed to Be Its Last
Ringing Is Said to Have
Recently Taken Place
at Philadelphia.

What may prove to be the last ring
ing of the historic Liberty bell took
place in Independence hall at Philadel'
phia recently.
1t was decided to transmit the tones
of the bell across the country to San
Francisco over the recently completed
transcontinental telephone line, partly
fulfilling in a literal sense the prophet
ic words cast on the bell, proclaim
liberty throughout all the land, unto
all the inhabitants thereof The bell
was struck three times with mallets at
intervals of five seconds. By an ar
rangement of three very sensitive
transmitters, which were suspended
beneath it on rubber bands, SO as to
exclude all foreign vibration, the
tones were caught and clearly heard
over the telephone wires on the Pa
cifc coast. At the same time pho
nographic record was made of the
| notes so as to preserve them for pos
terity.
This is the first time that the great
bell has been sounded since it was
cracked in 1885 while tolling the death
OF John Marshall, the first chief JUS
tice Of the United States Supreme
court. The reason that it may never
again be rung is that new crack,
mere serious than the old one, has de-
veloped in it.
1t has been found that the bell is
afflicted with the disease of metal"
This is partly responsible for the ap-
pearance of the latest fissure and has
made it necessary to support its
weight on padded props in order to
relieve the stress which has gradually
been pulling it apart.
The new crack is now plainly Wis
ible, while only a short time ago II
was microscopic. 1t begins at the up
per part of the original fracture, ex
tending from the letter "P' in the
philadelphia" diagonally quarter Of
the way around the circumference, t
the letter ~" in Liberty" near the
> top. 1t is believed that the new cracl
!. might not have occurred had the bel
: been allowed to remain at rest aftel
it was first broken. 1t has, however
: been shipped on different occasions tt
. New Orleans, Chicago, Atlanta
. Charleston, Boston and St. Louis. Tha
!. it is actually suffering from a malad!
+ known as the disease of metal" Il
the description of its ailment in tn
technical phraseology of the metallul
!! gist, and is not a popular figure Q
|. speech. The reason for this distempe
!: is to be found in the history of tn
!. bells casting.
! IT was originally made by Thoma
!; Lester at Lendon, in 1852, and shippe
! to Philadelphia. When it was hung t
! try the sound it was cracked by th
! clspper. At first it was intended t
!. return it to England, but subsequent
!! two workmeH, Pass and Stow, neithe
+ of whom was experienced in the ar
{. undertook the recasting in Philade
: phia. Obviously the bronze was tC
: brittle, and in order to tcughen
! they added approximately ten per Gel
- of copper to the original metal. Whe
the bell was later rehung it was four
!: that too much copper had been use
: and, to the chagrin OF everyone, Il
!: tone was destroyed. The same mt
!. again undertook the work, and tn
( time are supposed to have added t
!; TO restore the tone The third b.
:: was accepted, but too much tin b;
!: been used, and the tones were so hig
>. ly resonant that it was seldom rung.
:. Popular Mechanics.