A VOICE AT SEA.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 30, 30 October 1907, Page 4

A VOICE AT SEA.

' LIGHTHOUSES THAT WILL SI'EAK. A DARING.INVENTION. On tho French coast there will soon bo a lighthouse equipped with monster mouths and a -compressed air device, which will enable it to shout, in ,tones of - thundor, to ships on the horizon. The invention by Dr. Marage, an ear specialist of Paris, is not a phonograph or anything like it, but an exact imitation of the human throat and mouth, with an air pump for lungs.

Teeth, lips, jaw-bones and all arc imitated exactly. Dr. Marage's small models, hardly appreciably larger than tho normal human mouth, can.be made to utter a faint whisper or give vent to an ear-splitting yell such as no man over made.

With a mouth six feet from corner to corner it is estimated that tho artificial voice could be understood from three to six miles away,, according to weather conditions. Mouths of this size are to be placed be-; ncath the lens of' tho new French light-, house. • :

A single mouth can only repeat a single syllable as often as air is blown into hi In order to speak a sentence several mouths are necessary. For instance, if the United States Government finds that tho French experiment is successful and adopts it for tho lighthouse on Fire Island, off Sew York harbour, the light tower would have four mouths.

The mechanism'used to revolve the lenses of a lamp would turn' the mouths.'''' As steamers of the' future come over the ho'rizon from Europe and see Fire Island lighthouse, one of its mouths will turn seaward'and bellow "Fire." ' , ,''/ \ Then mouth two, coming into range, will thunder the syllable "I;" fol16wed at once by. mouth number''' thrco, which will roar " —land," and will'be. followed after a short interval by the fourth mouth, which would finish the message by discharging like a- cannon, tlie word "Light." Everyone on. tho , deck of the steamer miles away will hear without,, straining their cars tho name of tho little speck of, land and light they see, for. it will come tothem in a .booming, voice, softened by the distance: ' "Firo Island Light." '~.,.-. . Whistling .buoys, instead ofy-their sepulchral .walls and grunts as .their present method of announcing their whereabouts, coiild 1 be made to say as loud f as desired: ( "Buoy number ten," or /; "Keep,to .the starboard." Ships entering tho harbour would obey the order-and outgoing vessels, would do tho rovorse. ..." There is nothing very complex or expensive in tho mechanism. ;'A diaphragm, a compressed air tank and a revolving wheel with slots in it like tho common siren whistle arc all tho essential parts- outside of the mouth and air pump. The possibilities, of the'device as an advertisement havo been seen by French < promoters, but have been discouraged by the Government for very good reasons.. : If tlie "J3on Marches" erects a talking machine of moderate size on top of its building and announces a marked down sale, all conversation in every part of Paris would:' have to be carried on by deaf and dumb language.

It was merely incidental that Dr. Marage's indention should hecome . useful for lighthouse and advertising purposes. ... He is an ear'specialist and devised the. little mouths for the purpose of diagnosing and treating deafness. > The appoarance of the mouths with their teeth and lips is strikingly human, and the .effect is startling when-one of Dr. Mai-age's moulds says swcotljv in a; feminine voice,, through smiling, parted-vlips "Oui" ("yes") and instantly there comes in deep, decisive tones from' ' a neighbouring: mould..with thicker lips and heavier chin,: ~. ~..'...'. '...■ ."Non." '; •; .'.'' .", ■_ When a record of a word spoken by the artificial mouths is taken on the phonograph and then 'one of tho same word enunciated correctly by a human boing, tho two records, examined microscopically, 'aro seen to be identical. Two mouths about half the size of automobile lamps aro being made for one of tho Marouis De Dion's big automobiles, with which he is to tour England this summer. One mouth will yell, "Look," and tho other, "Out," with a fraction of a second between the words. ■•'-,' Tho machine is already equipped with a double-cylinder air pump, which may bo connected with the motor and is used for. inflating tiros. Tho addition of a compressed air tank is all that,is'-noeded. Instead of' tho honk of a' horn or the wail of a siren, .tho Englishmen'who .get in the motor's way will, be treated to an ear-splitting bellow of: "Look out! Look-out! Look out!" Beside DrV'Marago's bed is an assortment of which he .changes' from timo to time,;' They are connected with a;.compressed air tank and an. alarm 1 clock. . • ".. • At'whatever, time the.alarm is set:the mouths; begin to 'speak softly .some sentence such as: 'V ... :...'-. ,■. .' '. ; "Get up! It's late!" : ; .' If tho doctor does not get up the air 'supply is automatically increased as tho mechanism gets to running faster and faster and the tones become louder and moro urgent.