SIILUNCIE ti ILAST:

Silence is coming, a time when sounds of mechanical power will be muffled and at most, betray their presence only by a low, rather pleasant burble. Even that nerve-shattering horror of our roads, the pneumatic drill, will go about its lawful, if somewhat destructive, business in

silence, and no more will its dreadful voice be the bane of shop traders’ lives. Our future wars, too, may be conducted with some degree of quietude, for the machine gun will be able to spit out its venom in silence, whilst the drone of aeroplanes will be a thing of the past, and we shall see the rare spectacle of whole squadrons flitting through the air with the silent swiftness of migrating swallows. Submarines, also, will go about their mission beneath the waves with the quiet deadly purpose of man-eating sharks, and no longer will their crews have need to fill their ears with cotton waste to shut out the roar of the engines in the confined space in which they live and work.

Why imagine such an idealistic scheme of things ? Why, because the brains and ingenuity of two men, one a musician and the other a silencing expert, have evolved the perfect silencer for mechanically driven engines. The Noiseless London of the Future It is said that “Silence is Golden.” In these days when our streets and everything around us seem to be one concerted nerve-racking roar—the thunderous voice of our much boasted civilisation in this year of Grace, 1937, as it clatters clamouring past us, making the very air we breathe almost hideous with its vibrations and metallic noises—silence, when obtainable—and there are very few places nowadays where it can be found—is worth more than gold ; it means health to many, a soothing balm to others, a profound blessing to all. Any doctor will confirm that loud prolonged noise takes toll of hmnan life. Nearly everybody suffers from nerves to a lesser or greater degree ; such afflictions are but the results of our

super-mechanical state of life. There is noise below us—deep down in the very bowels of the earth itself—noise around us, noise in the big open spaces above us ; we cannot get away from it, wherever we may go or however much we may try. Mankind, in its craze for speed, may have given us the mixed blessing of smooth and faster means of locomotion but in doing so it has deprived us of one of the most priceless joys of life, quietness. It has given us in its stead a monstrous noise, the combined din of tens of thousands of noises emitted by as many exhaust pipes. Having regard to these conditions, which obtain not only in London but in all big cities, it seems too good to be true when we are informed that the perfect silencer has now been evolved a new invention which will completely revolutionise the silencing of all motor-driven vehicles, a wonderful solution to the acoustic problems which for many years have baffled engineers and motor-car designers. Until recently it was im

possible to fit a silencer giving a 100 per cent. silencing efficiency without retarding engine power ; silence, therefore, had to be sacrified to the demand for more power, more speed. But now the :.ervais Silencer has been definitely perfected and placed on the market. It will not be long before most of the new cars’ will be fitted with it. Already exhaustive and official tests have been carried out, already many cars are equipped with the Servals Silencer ; and proof of its amazing performance can be seen— but not heard !—on any night by watching the L.C.C. fleet of road sweepers around London, as they glide with uncanny silence through the darkened and deserted streets. By no means the least remarkable part of this silencer is the exceptionally low price at which it can be obtained, prices being from 27/6. It seems a very small amount to pay for perfect running and complete inaudibility. Another instance of its effectiveness was illustrated during

an official demonstration. A shot was. fired in an exhaust pipe, and the official present was unaware that a gun had been fired. Servais Service Limited is the name of. the makers, and Mr. Edward Sworder,. a clever young engineer, who has contributed much towards the marketing of the Silencer and the publicity it has. received in the Press, is the selling agent for the London area. His office., are at. 86, Victoria Street, S.W.1 (Victoria 5376) where all enquiries should be made,