[king] presidential ADDRESS 3 



common defect is due to reverberation brought about by the successive 

 reflection of sound from the walls, floor and ceiling. A sound once 

 produced may, as a result, remain inaudible for several seconds to the 

 detriment of clearness of utterance. Absorbing materials, such as 

 carpets, thick hangings, cushioned benches, and the presence of the 

 audience itsdlf tend to attenuate these reverberations. If the absorp- 

 tion is too great, it is difficult for a speaker to make himself heard 

 at a distance, while a musician would pronounce the room to be 

 "dead." Professor Sabine has shown how to remedy the defects 

 of halls already constructed as well as to predict from the architect's 

 plans their acoustic qualities. It is not putting the case too strongly 

 to state that no auditorium, large or small, no music room public or 

 private, should be constructed without regard to the principles of 

 architectural acoustics laid down by Professor Sabine.^ 



Scientific invention and organized research may at the present 

 time be fairly stated to have indefinitely extended the limits I have 

 mentioned. Great artists, through the phonograph, now number 

 their audiences by the million. The every-day contact with the master- 

 pieces of the great composers is, in my opinion, developing and mould- 

 ing the musical mentality of the human race at large, and preparing 

 the way for what may be a world-wide "renaissance" in the art of music. 



Turning now to the more practical and prosaic developments of 

 acoustics during recent years, we again find that marked progress has 

 resulted from the introduction of sound-measuring instruments. On 

 the present occasion, I may perhaps be pardoned for referring briefly 

 to the study of fog-signalling, a branch of acoustic engineering to 

 which I have devoted considerable attention during the past few 

 years. For the protection of ships at sea in foggy weather powerful 

 sirens have been developed and installed on the coasts of most mari- 

 time countries. The extent to which it is possible to protect a trade 

 route in this way from accidents due to fog depends ultimately on the 

 power, penetration and reliability of fog-alarms which can be installed 

 and operated at a given cost. 



^A new acoustical laboratory has just been completed at Riverbank, Geneva, 

 Illinois. This laboratory was built for the late Professor Wallace C. Sabine, of 

 Harvard University, by his friend, Colonel George Fabyan. In this laboratory 

 Professor Sabine proposed to carry on the study of a number of problems in archi- 

 tectural acoustics requiring special building construction and entire freedom from 

 extraneous noises. The building was constructed with the most careful attention 

 to details, according to Professor Sabine's plans, and has many interesting structural 

 features. It was just ready for occupancy at the time of his death. Colonel Fabyan, 

 the founder of the laboratory, purposes to carry out, as far as possible, the original 

 purpose for which the building and its equipment were intended. (Note from 

 "Science," May 30th, 1919, p. 514.) 



