Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1922-07-21
WARNED BY PHONE.
Telephone TranSmitterS Give
Alarm Of Breaking Dam.
Disaster May Be AVerted by Spoken
Word That Travels Faster
Than the Flood.

nan luC TlOOds
Terrible disasters have been caused
by the irresistible swirl Of rushing
floods, in which unSuspeCting persons
were caught without warning In one
instance, years ago, a gay party on
fOur-hOrSe tallyhO was enthusiastical-
ly exploring the wonders and beauties
of Turkey Creek canon near Golden,
Colo. Gathering rainClouds failed to
cast a shadow upon their high spirits
and no serious thought was given TO
danger from the rapidly approaching
storm, because the tourists were not
familiar with the characteristics of
the local tempeSts, nor with the topog-
raphy of the surrounding country,
The storm suddenly burst with great
fury upon the unprepared pleasure
seekers and the deluge of water
caused them quickly to abandon the
tanyho and hunt for shelter Closely
huddled against the towering sides OF
the canon, they soon realized with
anxiety that they had not reckoned
with the forces of nature. The ter
rife rush Of water down the canon
sides swept them from their feet, and
down to the bed Of the canon, where a
torrent of water now ragged. Despite
their struggles, many of the party lost
their lives, and those surviving were
seriously injured.
Another instance was the great
food at JOhnstown, Pa, and the more
recent was the disastrous flood at
Pueblo, Colo, where the toll of lives
and property damage reached enor
nous proportions.
AS protection against such ter
rible events as these, system Of
huge telephone transmitters and am
plifiers has been produced which vii
throw the human voice distance OF
four miles. Extensive tests have beer
made with this apparatus which have
proved the practiCabilty and success
of the pndeavor. These tests Wert
conducted in the CatSkill mountains
by a specially trained group of Op
orators. tower, thirty feet high, Wa'
erected to hold the gigantic ampIitier'
and the immense projectors which
measured fifteen feet in length anc
four feet in height
To determine just how far the hu
man voice could be heard with thes,
aids, was accomplished in rather
weird manner, because the time Sc
lected was at night. Four men took NJ
previously agreed-upon stations, a
distances of one, two, three, and fou
miles from the tower. As the TIM
drew near for the experiments tint
four men applied matches to special,
prepared torches, which gave larg
faring flames.
Meanwhile at the tower We're cath
cred a party of men chosen to ohSeY
the tests, and who intere>tedl
watched the tiny Pickering torches il
the distance. When the zero hour,
or time set for tests arrived, the oper
ator at the tower took his place he
fore the transmtter Of the apparatus
and in a natural tone Of voice, ORDERED
the far-off men to wave their torches
BreathleSsly the watchers AT tr
tower peered through the inky black
ness at the Pickering points of fire
and the nearest torch was seen TO de
scribe vigorous circles in the air E>
CARNATIONS of satisfaction came frol
the watchers. which rose to a Shou
as the second, then the third, an
finally the fourth torch was seen t
din and wave wildly in the darkness
thus showing plainly that all the me
had heard the command. The operate
al the tranSmitter then spoke to IN
men again, in reply to their read
signals and babe them wait for ful
Their instructiOns.-II. A. Lane in POI
ular Mechanics Magazine.