The Washington herald., 1916-01-16
Noise.
by JOHN D. HARRY.

1
As was walking with man on the San Fran
cisco Exposition grounds our ears were suddenly
assailed by the shreking Of the o'clock whistle
1--WE are very uncvilized In regard to sound
aren't WEI" he said. what contrast between
i the beauty here and the uglness of that whistle!
It's curious that the authorities don't recognize
1t and realize the contradictory effect it makes
| in these surroundings
| Those words set me 10 thinking OF course
lthey expressed Just criticism. If we were really
Icvilized would not endure the gratuitously
ugly noises that we encourage all about u.s. Why
was it that the civilizng effect of the beauty on
the exposition grounds appealing to eyes did
APPEALED to the earsa If, for example the ugliness
OF that o'clock whistle had expressed itself in
terms of architecture on the exposition grounds
the effect would have been horrible.
! One reason for our submitting to ugliness of
sound is that it has long been associated with
what we call advancing civilization. Think of the
hideous noises that have come IN with some OF our
greatest modern inventions. railway train must
; have been terrifying to those who first heard it
tearing across the tracks. Now people have be-
think nothing of living beside railway tracks and
hearing the shrieking of locomotives and the
crashing of trains all day long.
| l know lady who says that she loves the
sound OF the trains that tear under her windows
and should be lonely without them. She takes
an attitude toward the noise that keeps it from
being menace to her peace and her health and
gives it the qualities of solace. So much de-
pends on our attitude in regard to noise we'll
as to nearly all other disturbances in life. If we
hate them and resist them and, in nerves, shrink
at their approach they to do us harm.
But if we regard them cheerfully pay no at
tention we put ourselves out Of their reach.
In Jean Christophe' Roman ROLAND intro
duces young priest who leads beautiful life
and keeps himself in fine control except when he
talks about noise, for which he expresses passion
ate detestation. Wise as he in regard to many
circumstances in life he had not acquired wisdom
here. The ordeal of mere physical sound he had
not learned to meet with equanimity.
There was an old gentleman used to know
who had wife generally regarded a common
scold- One might have fancicd that living with
| her would have reduced him to shadow OF
his former self, but he looked like strong healthy
man. A friend of his once gave me the explana-
ton: Long ago he placed himself beyond the
reach OF her scolding The more she talks the
farther he seems to go away" Curiously enough
we'll together If that husband had not been so
we'll poised, if he had allowed himself to be tor
mented by his wife's scolding. his life and hers,
too, might have been shattered.
On account of the prevalence OF noise in our
llte 1t is important for every one OF us to meet
noise in the ri ght way, to keep from being dis
turbed by it and made ill., | know a woman who
says that the shrieking OF automobiles at night
side her house keeps her from sleeping and is un-
dermning her health. The truth is, however, that
tshe is letting the automobiles upset her. instead
iof keeping out of their reach, and she could easily
Edo it II she only realized ahow muchspower lay in
herself.
Its perfectly awful" she says "the noise they
make tearing up the hiH, sometimes at ? Or ;
wake the dead"
| She is right. The law is trying to stop the
practice and it ought to be stopped. Meanwhile
however good is accomplished by frcttng
about it and by letting it get into the subcon-
scious where our rcsentments have a way of in
Producing themselves and creating battleields.
| A few weeks ago | met young English officer
on sick leave after several months OF service in
France. HI told that, during his war expert
ence, he suffered most from the terrible noises He
had developed curious affection Of the ears which
was still causing him serious trouble. He prob
ably had very sensitive hearing that made him pc
cuiary susceptible to shocks. And yet, he said
there men lying all about him in the trenches
who did not seem to mind the noise at all, and who
even took kind OF pleasure in hearing it, respond
ing to it if it martial music drawing from
| it an excitement that like cxataton.
This officer told me that one day as he was re-
connoitering in field a shell came whizzng over
from the enemy and plowcd the ground nearby
covering him with dirt. When asked him how he
felt, he replied: Angry. l began to curse them
for making all that racket for nothing. | suppose
ferent from Fritz Kreiser who found the sound
of shreking shells interesting on account of their
difference in musical pitch, and who could make
shrewd calculations about them by means of his
delicate and subtle perceptions.
| There are unQucstionably natures that can
maintain mental and spiritual equilibrium even
IN the midst OF battle clamors. 1t is if they
kept an inner consciousness nviolate, free from
the agitations of the world outside Those who
can achieve this feat among the most enviable
of human beings. Most OF us cannot hope to emu
late them; but all Of us profit by their example
| AS matter of fact mere physical noises are
only small part of the clamorng that goes on
in life, the part that is comparatively easy to con-
troll. There are those who live in quiet places and
who nevertheless suffer from the turmoil of the
spirit. Indeed of the hardest tests we can
subject ourselves to is that. OF absolute quiet.
There those who actually love noise for the
simple reason that it enables them to escape from
the disturbances in their minds. The ideal way is,
of course, to be in that state Of pose where mere
physical sounds have no power over us and
where peace of mind can provide that harmony of
being which transcends the merely physical rele-
eating it to the incidental, the transient and the
unimportant
| Water-Logged Planks.