The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-04-14

90~.~%
the health department are unrns.
onahle-that about one out Of evsr,
ten refers to q single noisy instance
and not to = whole series OF thsm
Yet his attitude is distinctly Nm
pathetic toward the anu-noise en-.
saders.
New York" he declares, .ls f.n
becoming a city Of neurotics s..
cause of the unnecessary noisa a,
automobiles, elevated trains. larrs
trucks and continual traffic. to ssv
nothing Of household noises. ".
have the noisiest city in the world
The effect Of the noise on ths
nervous system is. as dangerous =.
any bodily disease. The vitality il
lowered by the constant wear and
tear OF noise. The health Of fhs
average person depends upon his
or her vitality and power to throw
of any disease. Nervous disorders
are as hard. and sometimes harde-
to combat than some physical d..
fects.
Anti.Noise Society,
"A society has recently been
formed to do away with unneces-
sary noises grinding brakes
nerve-racking automobile horns,
loud motors, and other meaus al
disturbing the much-needed ouie
and it is a work heartily endorse
In fact, l believe 1t essential To The
health Of the city"
While continuous noise is a vsrv
great strain. sudden and intermit-
tent noises are much more dancer
Gus to our nervous systems. &C.
cording to the data accumulated BY
the Anti-Noise society Of which Dr.
Copeland speaks. Each loud and
sudden noise" it says. produces
a distinct nerve shock and these
shocks often repeated cause a loss
Of nerve vitality. Immunity to
such noise can never be attained,
for the sound waves of the air.
thrown into violent action BY q
loud and sudden vibration. strike
actual physical blows upon the au-
ditory nerve, and constant sue
cession of such blows inevitably IN
lures and finally destroys the deli
cate mechanism of the ear. Bells,
whistles, gongs and the startling
shrieks of street vendors are there
fore more injurious to the health
than the continuous roar of elevated
trains or the monotonous whir Of
machinery"
Noise is regarded as particularly
fatal to the person who does Gro.
alive work or any mental work
which requires deep concentration.
Where a farmer or road builder OF
routine worker could endure the IN
termittent sound Of blasting with.
out marked effect, the sensitive
nerves of a creative artist would
suffer.
Years ago, Edmund Yeats, The
Celtic poet, wondered why America
was making so small a contribu.
ton to the fine arts. Then h
thought he had discovered the ans
wer.
4 stayed in an American town
he said, where a railway train
with a changing bell went up and
down the main street every hour Of
the day and night. Perhaps the
arts await until some Apollo shall
rise and slay the python"
Charles Dickens was another ere
alive artist who found noise ,
great interference to art. He moi
only found great fault with TIL
noise of America. but he was cou
stantly exasperated by the nnneces
sary nofse-especially the noise &C
casioned by street musiciansIl
his own country. Finally he ap
pea1ed to parliament on the subject
in an eloquent memorial that wa
also signed by Tennyson, Mil!ais
Holman Hunt, Joseph Leech, vii
kie Collins and Thomas Carlyle.
Thus it may be seen that the AT
lists, who precipitated the existinI
noise controversy in New York ar
not without their precedents. An
they are certainly not without thei
followers. Since the dismissal
Mrs. Wilson's case. because OF III
expensive nature of the noise, thou
sands of letters Of sympathetic pre-
test have been pouring into the oil
fees Of the New York newspaper
as we'll as into the Newton and Hal
sam Households, which show thi
public sentiment is clearly agains
music that lasts after / a. m.