The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-08-07
By DOLLY DALRYMpLE

By DOLLY DALRYMPLE
 1 ~ OMEBODY has said that music is N the very language of war; we
 t~S have music in peace times and
 in war what would take the place or line important part music plays?
 .T<een the Home Fires Burning is
 inc admonition of the sweet song on inc lips of our soldiers, and many a hoy now deep in the trenches and en-
 eaqed in the deadly game of warfare, lIooks back to the time when he went 10 church on the Sabbath day and heard the mighty organ pealing forth ifs beautiful concord of sweet sounds heard the appealing hymns sung that today are the sweetest and most com forting recollectfons to him ip this great hour of peril.
 With the thought of the coming gem erations who must give their lives mayhap to war, those of us ie1t In the "bome guard" look to the future ana make every provision for 1t that IS possible; the congregation or the Woodlawn Baptist church is among those who mind the slogan, keep the Home Fires Burning" and in their IZeal ings to all people, have worked ana planned and finally succeeded in ln- stalling in their pretty edif1ce one or thel handsomest organs in the entire south. At least this the verdict of one or Birninghams most capable and tai- tented organists-Mr. George h. liam rick, who has for the part two years been busy with pr. Hrabe and Mrs , -rie hnf inf1IIpntlAI prominent members of the WoodlaWn Baptist church, in working out the plans and specifications of the big <or- gan which was heard for the first time Tuesday evening when MT. Hamrick, who is the organist of the Handley Memorial church, presided at the new instrument and was assisted py the Woodlawn chorus and the quartet choir from the Handley Memorial church.
 Those who have heard the, beautiful new organ at the Woodlawn Baptist church agree with MT. Hamrick that tonally and mechanically the instru- ment differs from the greater exam ples of the splendid Austin organ only in size; as to flexibility and accessl- bility it is second to none.
 Tn speaking of the construction Of
 the organ and it's modern up-to-date |appliances and novelties MT. Hamrick, who is not only an acknowledged mas ter of church music, but in addition has proven to his hundreds or auditors each day who hear him at the strand theatre that he is musician of ability
 and adaptability, said:
 "In the selection of the Austin in strument which has been installed at inc Woodlawn Baptist chifrch only one thing was considered and that was quality An instrument of greater size with many more pipes could have been 1 obtained for the same amount or ! money but not with the quality de- sired. The builders of the Woodlawn Baptist organ are the builders of some | of the best examples of organ con- I struction in the world. Their organs
 have been the official instruments at leyery world exposition for many years.
 The large organ in the Mormon taber- Inacle at Salt Lake, made famous by I the daily concerts which were first 1n- | troduced there, is an Austin organ. The I Instrument in the Wanamaker estab- llishment in Philadelphia, and likewise Ithe famous Atlanta Auditorium organ
 are of the same make. The largest or gan in the world now being built for l the Public Ledger auditorium in Phil Iadelphia with hundreds of stops. was Ientrusted to these builders.
 | "The congregation of this church may well be congratulated, as their instru- ment differs from the greater exam fples only in size. This organ IS leouipped with the latest Austin electric console (keyboard), which is declared lby experts to be the wonder of the organ world. This instrument like all I Austin organs, will admit one inside the wind chest, even while the organ lis playing, and the system can be in spected or adjusted from the inside,' said Mir Hamrick. "The organ con- tains three sections, each with separate action, keyboard, and mechanical ac- lcessory: The great organ Qower key board) where the foundation stops, to- gether with it's solo and mpanl- ment stops are operated from; the swell organ, enclosed in an airtight expression chamber with several of each group of organ tone, and the lpedal organ with the great bass pipes without which the grand sorority of the full organ would loose it's effect lThere are over a thousand pipes. These Iare either of wood or metal and vary in length from two inches to Is feet and in diameter from one-quarter of an inch to 12 inches The pipes are all placed behind the front row of gilded lpipes. The air chest which supplies the
 air to the pipes and also contains the
 action, is 12 feet in length. nine feet in width and eight feet in length. When jentering the air-lock or vestibule we feel for an instant the air pressure or Jour ear drums. We find this chest lighted by electricity and overhead are
 valves with pneumatics and electro magnets innumerable.
 "The mechanism seems positively
 human, actuated by unseen power, re- tmote from the organist yet absolutely under his control it interprets his 1touch and feeling as sympathetically as the bow in the hand of a violiniSt,
 Mir. Hamrick continued. Tn the base fment is constructed a room for the blowing machinery Here the air is
 forced into the air chest through 12 finch conductor by an electrically op-
 erated fan, generator is belted te the motor which produces the low volt lage current used in the electrical ac- ton of the organ. The console, al l which the performer< Sits, is movable
 with 30 feet of flexible cable attached land can be placed anywhere upon the
 choir loft. It contains two manuals ant pedals and is of the stop-key type. II lplace of the old-fashioned draw-knob. lon both sides of the keyboards ar lranged in terraces, these stop keys ar. placed above the upper manual direct
 fly in front of the player.
 lover each group of stop keys i. Iplaced a canceller-bar. By this bar al of the stops are cancelled in an in
 |stant, and new combination may b,
 set by hand or with the use of tn,
 lpistonsH Thus the organist has at hi
 disposal 6S stop keys and pistons tt
 control the thousand pipes. The ma
 Iterial used in the construction of tn,
 @l