Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-12
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

cannot stand the grating of a pencil
on paper, while others rebel at the
slight friction of hand over a surface
of a peach.
One man will shrink from the tick
ing Of clock, which his neighbor
will not mind, although this latter
may growl at being forced to listen
to a dog bark. If it be said that all
such sensitivities are abnormal the
reply is simply:
The modern world is making for
tremendous number of abnormal per
sons, in that case, and the number
will be larger every year, If some
thing is not done to curb the grind,
CRATE, rattle, Shrek, bang and Whang
Of modern city life.
Some years ago an editorial on this
page declared:
1.-The public is long suffering in it's
endurance of noises, both necessary
and unnecessary. A certain amount of
noise is inseparable from city life, and
is not beyond the normal person to
stand.
ITO get away from all noise one
would have to seek the middle Of a
desert, and even there the winds would
bother him. The seashore is lulled
with the strong but melodious noise
of the breakers. The city, too, has
its proper noise.
but there can be little question
that the bounds of auricular good
sense have been passed in Washing
ton, and that some real action to curb
unrestricted noise-making is neces-
sary here. Scientists have proved
that the effect of improper noises on
the physical system is distinctly bad,
whether u man realizes it or not.
Mans ears are channels of com
munication with the outside world.
which are never closed in life. When
he goes to sleep most Of the nerve
ganglia in the body separate, accord
ing TO the theory, and the whole man
rests in a largely unconscious state.
But his faithful ears are always
on the job. He is unconscious, but
his ears are open to the slightest
sound. The sounds of the world come
in the same as when he is awake. The
slightest noise, sometimes, will suffice
to awaken heavy sleeper.
Thus, although a man sleeps, he
is not entirely cut off from the wide
world in which he rests. The great
Power that made and keeps him, in
order TO protect him from danger in
time of helpleSsness. keeps his auricu-
lar sense ever working.
1T may be seen, then, what these
faithful friends on each side of man s
head suffer day and night from care
less persons who possess more health
than kindness and more energy than
thoughtfulnesS for others. With the
aid of powerful motors they make the
night loud with unmuffied engines.
They cannot take a car from its ga
rage without racing the engine for
minutes. When they come back,
usually about midnight, they give an
other imitation of an airplane. Usually
the car needs tinkering with, and this
allows for much Clinking Of tools on
the alley stones, and clanking Of
machinery. Sometimes loud CONVEX
sation, with snatches OF song, enlivens
the midnight air. Then comes the
final scene of all, when. with one ire
mendous snort, the engine dies, and
the garage doors are carefully scraped
together with all the noise possible.
Truly, less noise would go a long
way toward making the National Capt.
tai an even better city than it is"
If those words were true six years
ago, they are more so than ever to-
day, what with the growth of the pop
ulation and the increase in the num-
Der of automobiles.
The traffic in the ear is real, and
has legitimate place in the general
traffic problem of the city.