Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 4, No. 2 (1929-11)

The Phonograph Monthly Review 45 November, 1929 " that is printed herewith; also the fine photograph of Mr. Cooper himself. After the lapse of several months my hasty notes are so cryptic as to be of little help in remembering the technical details of Mr. Cooper's descriptions of the Somerville and other installations, but the remembrance of the astonishing effectiveness of the example I saw in actual operation, and the vivid demonstration of the potentialities of the system itself, is still very keen. I hope it will serve to give the readers of The Phonograph Monthly Review at least some idea of what unmatched possibilities lie in the development and general adoption of auditorium phono- graphs and public address systems for educational and municipal work. Mr. Cooper first became interested in amplification prob- lems when he heard the “Magnavox” some six or seven years ago. The subject fascinated him and later he helped to interest his friend, Mr. Bristol of the well-known Bristol Company in loud-speakers and amplifiers. Mr. Bristol be- gan in a small way to make experimental speakers but so great was the success of the first models he put on sale, that he was led to go into the manufacture of speakers on a large scale, with the result that the Bristolphone is now one of the leading types of amplifying systems. Mr. Cooper strove earnestly to convince the school com- mittees for whom he was designing buildings of the bene- fits of amplification installations, but such radical ideas appeared altogether too new-fangled for them. Finally however, he succeeded in persuading the Windsor School in Quincy, Mass., to install a public address system, con- sisting of a central broadcasting unit—in this case a micro- phone placed in the principal’s office—and speakers located in every room. The principal himself viewed this innovation with distrust, but its efficacy was quickly demonstrated. When the school was first opened for occupancy work on the interior had barely been completed and the room numbers were still missing from the doors. The sudden influx of hundreds of pupils, bewilderedly seeking their rooms, led to veritable chaos. The teachers rushed hither and yon distractedly trying to shepherd their flocks, which needless to say were nothing loath to profit by the con- fusion. As a last resort the principal bethought himself of the speaker system. At least it was worth giving a trial. He threw the switch that put all the speakers throughout the school into the circuit with his microphone and nervous- ly began to utter commands and directions. The milling pupils stopped short in amazement as the amplified voice came miraculously booming from every room and down every hall and then, quietly and not without awe the various groups went as directed to the proper locations. Many schools throughout the more progressive west are installing such systems and gradually the efforts of Mr. Cooper and similar energetic pioneers are leading to its adoption by the best modern schools of the east. Its potentialities are almost infinite. Not only is the principal put in more direct contact with the enire school body, but it is possible for a distinuished lecturer or one of the leading teachers to address all or part of the students as they sit in their rooms. School auditoriums are rarely ade- quate to accommodate all the students at one time. Disci- pline is difficult with a large body of pupils in one hall; many find it difficult or impossible to hear the speaker. But by the room-speaker system such difficulties are avoided. The room teachers act as monitors while the specially equipped teacher or lecturer directs the lesson. And of course this system can also be used for the broadcast of music, whether from actual performance, records, or radio, throughout the entire building. However, not every school yet dares to attempt so ambitious an installation. The auditorium system is less extensive and equally effective if more restricted in scope. A number of Mr. Cooper’s schools are putting in such systems and for a characteristic demonstration of their working he very kindly took me to the high school in Somerville, a suburb of Boston. The school was being re- modeled and greatly expanded, but work on the auditorium had already been completed and the phonograph installation in operation for some time. The accompanying photograph of the hall and stage shows clearly the attractive, organ- like mask for the speaker, a giant horn six feet eight inches wide, eight feet high, and three feet deep. The pick-up Frank Irving Cooper unit is located at the back of the balcony (to the rear of the position of the camera that took the photograph), and con- sists of an automatic phonograph and radio housed in an attractive cabinet. Instrument and speaker were manu- facured by the Victor Company and are similar to that installed in the Cadwalder yacht. At first these sets were manufactured only to order, but the demand proved so great that production has now been established on a regular basis. When we arrived at the high school we found a concert going on to an audience of some eighty or a hundred students—members of the school orchestra, band, glee, club, etc. The radio was in operation, broadcasting one of Dr. Damrosch’s lectures for school children. The reproduction was excellent, once the boy operating the dials had been induced to avoid over-amplification. Dr. Damrosch’s voice and his orchestral illustrations filled the good-sized hall not only with ease, but naturally. The most impressive feature of all, however, was the remarkable way in which this disembodied concert held the attention of its audence. It is not easy to keep the interest of high school pupils for any length of time, but this lecture kept their eyes glued on the loud speaker mask as if on an actual lecturer. There was far less shuffling of feet, stirring about, and coughing than an audience at Symphony Hall! And at the conclusion of the lecture the applause was spontaneous and sincere. A few records were played, no less effectively, for con- clusion. Again it is. hardly necessary to stress the possibilities of an installation of this nature, they must be readily mani- fest to every one interested in the phonograph and its use in educative work. Not only may large audiences or smal- ler special groups listen to the reproduction of fine records (and hear them at their best, broadly sonorous and yet tonally pure and undistorted—given intelligent and ex- perienced handling of the controls), but a hallful of pupils may “listen in’’ on the broadcasts of great world events. The teaching of civics and national government assumes a