Copyright 1920 
 by 
 
 H. W. Johns-Manville Co. 
 New York 
 
business NOISE 
 
 Its Cost and Prevention 
 
 E whole development of building 
 construction and building materials 
 during the past twenty-five years has 
 been in the direction of POOR ACOUS¬ 
 TICS and consequently more noisy 
 offices. This is particularly noticeable 
 in the evolution of the modern office 
 building, where three main consider¬ 
 ations, demanded by public safety and health, have 
 had a very radical influence on the choice of 
 materials and the mode of contruction — namely, 
 Fire Protection, Sanitation and Dura¬ 
 bility. 
 
 This demand has naturally led to the almost ex¬ 
 clusive use of steel, concrete, tile and hard plaster, 
 with a minimum of wood finish, steel often being 
 used not only for trim, but also for office furniture. 
 
 The inevitable result has been an unbearable in¬ 
 crease in unnecessary noise, confusion and nervous 
 excitement, which has had a marked effect on the 
 normal efficiency of both executives and office work¬ 
 ers. This condition has been aggravated by modern 
 practice in office planning which favors large, open 
 spaces, because they afford better light and ventila¬ 
 tion and facilitate the work of the various depart¬ 
 ments through closer contact. The drawback, how¬ 
 ever, has been the decided loss in efficiency which in 
 many cases outweighs the advantages gained under 
 such an arrangement. 
 
 Racket from typewriters, adding machines and 
 other mechanical appliances, telephone bells and con¬ 
 versation produces wearing nervous fatigue, dimin¬ 
 ished concentration, decreased efficiency, multiplied 
 
 l 
 
Federal Reserve Bank, Transit Dept., New York City. 
 Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction Installed. 
 
 mistakes, increased expense, and errors of judgment 
 that hamper the executive as well as the clerk. 
 
 The losses due to such conditions are not theoreti¬ 
 cal. They are actual and apparent and can be easily 
 checked up. Investigations by Welfare Depart¬ 
 ments of corporations and others interested in scienti¬ 
 fic business management have clearly demonstrated 
 the huge PREVENTABLE waste of money and 
 energy due directly to poor acoustics, noise and the 
 resulting confusion in offices. 
 
 The Phenomenon of Reverberation 
 
 Stop for a moment to consider the physical action 
 of noise in your office. Here is what happens. 
 Many little noises arising from conversation, dicta¬ 
 tion, typewriters, adding machines and mechanical 
 office devices, and many other sources, none of which 
 originates much disturbance in itself, are created in 
 your office every minute of the working day. 
 
 Because the walls and ceilings are made of such 
 hard, non-porous materials they absorb a very small 
 
 2 
 
Armour & Co., General Offices, Union Stock Yards, Chicago, Ill. 
 Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction Installed. 
 
 percentage of any sound striking them and this 
 means that any given individual sound must be 
 reflected from surface to surface many hundred times 
 before its energy is so far absorbed that it becomes 
 inaudible. If, during the several seconds of time 
 this requires, other sounds are successively generated, 
 they, too, will be similarly prolonged and will over¬ 
 lap and add their energy to the first sound and to 
 each other. This superposition produces an ac¬ 
 cumulated mass of sound many times more intense 
 or loud than would exist if each component sound 
 were absorbed before the next one were produced. 
 
 The phenomenon is known as reverberation. In 
 order to understand it better it may be likened to 
 the diffusion of light in a brilliantly illuminated 
 room. If the walls of the room are painted white 
 so as to reflect the maximum amount of light and 
 if the source is very bright, the intensity or glare of 
 the light within the room will be so great as to be 
 uncomfortable and fatiguing to the eye. If, how¬ 
 ever, a neutral tint of gray or buff is given to the 
 interior surfaces, so as to absorb a percentage of the 
 
 3 
 
First National Bank, Check Dept., Boston, Mass. 
 Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction Installed. 
 
 light, the intensity is greatly reduced and the eye 
 is thereby much relieved. An exactly analagous 
 action takes place in diminishing the reverberation 
 of sound by absorptive treatment. 
 
 The effect of reverberation upon the noise of type¬ 
 writers, adding machines, telephone bells, conversa¬ 
 tion and all of the ordinary office disturbances as 
 well as on the street noises entering from without, is 
 to magnify them and cause a din that is fatal to 
 proper concentration and nervous repose. 
 
 Actual fatigue of the nerves is engendered, similar 
 to muscular fatigue after physical exercise. This 
 vitally affects the well-being and efficiency of every 
 worker in the office, from executive to office boy. 
 It causes a multiplication of errors on the part of 
 clerks and prevents concentration and clear think¬ 
 ing on the part of managers and other officials. 
 
 All this means loss of production just as surely 
 as poor lighting, faulty heating, or bad ventilation. 
 Business organizations, large and small, learned 
 long ago to take care of the last named items, but 
 the noise factor, which is equally important, has been 
 
 4 
 
 
United States Rubber Co., General Tire Sales Office, New York City. 
 Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction Installed. 
 
 neglected in a great many cases—not because of a 
 lack of appreciation of the discomforts and actual 
 losses, but more because of lack of knowledge of how 
 easily they can be corrected. 
 
 The Action of Johns-Manville 
 Acoustical Correction 
 
 The remedy is simple—Johns-Manville Acoustical 
 Correction. By the Johns-Manville System of 
 Acoustical Correction this noise and confusion is 
 eliminated WITHOUT CHANGING THE ARCHI¬ 
 TECTURAL APPEARANCE of the rooms and it 
 can be installed WITHOUT INTERFERENCE 
 WITH DAILY ROUTINE. By the Johns-Man¬ 
 ville System of Acoustical Correction the sound 
 absorbing properties of a sufficient proportion of the 
 interior surfaces of any given room are radically 
 increased so that the period of reverberation of every 
 individual sound can be so far reduced as to prevent 
 overlapping and accumulation, thus reducing the 
 total volume of noise to a minimum. 
 
 5 
 
/. 
 
 
 John W. Ladd Co., Detroit, Mich. 
 Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction Installed. 
 
 In rooms so treated, dictation can be given almost 
 in a whisper, telephone conversation can be pitched 
 in the lowest key, conference can be carried on in a 
 quiet undertone. Noise, bustle, confusion, excite¬ 
 ment—all those enemies of constructive thought 
 and highest efficiency are eliminated. 
 
 The effect produced by Johns-Manville Acoustical 
 Correction is remarkable. It produces a sense of 
 comfort and quiet and of relaxed nerve tension which 
 is hard to describe in words. There is a new sensa¬ 
 tion to be found in entering a room after the installa¬ 
 tion of Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction. It 
 has been most aptly likened to the sensation of relief 
 experienced when one emerges from a noisy tunnel 
 onto the open track. The office assumes a mien of 
 order and dignity always impressive to the visitor 
 and helpfully restful to the worker. 
 
 Statistics show that an increase in efficiency of 
 three-quarters of one percent in the average office 
 will pay for the cost of Johns-Manville Acoustical 
 Correction with interest in five years. Many office 
 managers claim that the increased personal working 
 
 6 
 
Irving National Bank, Foreign Dept., New York City. 
 Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction Installed. 
 
 efficiency of their employees in quiet surroundings 
 amounts at least to ten or fifteen percent. On this 
 conservative estimate the quieting treatment will 
 pay for itself in three to five months. The time 
 would be even shorter in large offices with many 
 employees. 
 
 How These Results Are Obtained 
 
 The work of the Johns-Manville Acoustical En¬ 
 gineers in your office is marked by two definite 
 accomplishments: The noise nuisance is corrected 
 yet the architectural appearance of your office is 
 not disturbed. This ideal condition is brought 
 about by applying to critical surfaces, usually ceil¬ 
 ings, but sometimes walls as well, a sufficient amount 
 of Johns-Manville Akoustikos Felt, which is fastened 
 securely in place and then covered with an absorptive 
 membrane which gives it a finished surface. 
 
 Johns-Manville Akoustikos Felt has been de¬ 
 veloped particularly for the purpose of acoustical 
 correction and office quieting. It has the highest 
 
 7 
 
American Can Co., General Offices, Chicago, Ill. 
 Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction Installed. 
 
 possible absorbing power and at the same time is 
 durable, non-inflammable and free from attacks of 
 moths, rodents or vermin. 
 
 It is composed of selected long cattle hair, chemi¬ 
 cally treated, burr picked to remove all foreign sub¬ 
 stances, such as bits of dried flesh and hide, steamed 
 to remove animal oil and then felted to the requisite 
 density and porosity to give the proper degree of 
 sound absorption, with an interlining of gauze to 
 give added tensile strength. 
 
 This felt is applied in location, extent and thickness 
 in an amount scientifically determined for each in¬ 
 dividual case, while the membrane used as a cover¬ 
 ing for the felt causes the treated areas to blend 
 with surrounding surfaces in such a way as to be 
 unnoticeable. 
 
 The Johns-Manville Company has devoted par¬ 
 ticular attention to developing the best materials 
 for this class of work, as well as the technique of 
 their installation. The scientific methods employed 
 are the result of the researches of the late Professor 
 Wallace C. Sabine, of Harvard University, the bene- 
 
 8 
 
Procter & Gamble Co., General Offices and Treasury, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction Installed. 
 
 fit of whose advice and counsel the Johns-Manville 
 Company enjoyed up to the time of his death. 
 
 The Scope of Johns-Manville System of 
 Acoustical Correction 
 
 The comfort, profit and satisfaction of Johns- 
 Manville Acoustical Correction is not confined to 
 commercial offices. It is equally effective in the 
 elimination of unnecessary and disturbing sounds, 
 reverberation, echoes and poor acoustics in Banks, 
 Restaurants, Churches, Theatres, Schools, Colleges, 
 Hospitals, Gymnasiums, Indoor Swimming Pools, 
 Rifle Ranges, Clubs, Hotels, Court Rooms, Legis¬ 
 lative Chambers, in fact, in any place where acous¬ 
 tical difficulties or the noise nuisance are experienced. 
 The scientific nature of this treatment makes it 
 possible to plan for correcting acoustical conditions 
 even in advance of the construction of a new building. 
 
 Since the Johns-Manville Company first under¬ 
 took this class of work in 1911, it has installed acous¬ 
 tical treatment in hundreds of institutions, some of 
 
 9 
 
Christie, Brown & Co., Ltd., Toronto, Canada. 
 Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction Installed. 
 
 which are shown in this book under “A Few Repre¬ 
 sentative Installations of Johns-Manville Acoustical 
 Correction/' on the last page. 
 
 The Answer to Your 
 Noise Problem 
 
 The toll that noise takes is a considerable drain on 
 your resources—physical, nervous and financial. 
 It goes on all day long, year after year and its total 
 is huge, but because it takes only a bit at a time it 
 passes unnoticed. While the business man of to¬ 
 day has not the time to make a study of reverbera¬ 
 tion, echoes, resonance and interference, he does 
 want to know “What is the easiest, quickest and best 
 way for me to eliminate confusing noises and loss of 
 efficiency in my office?" 
 
 The answer is—Johns-Manville Acoustical Correc¬ 
 tion. A request made to the nearest Johns-Manville 
 branch will bring you engineering service and full 
 information concerning your particular problem. 
 
 10 
 
A Few Testimonial Letters 
 
 What Others Think of Johns-Manville 
 Acoustical Correction 
 
 The few testimonial letters on this and the fol¬ 
 lowing page show the enthusiastic approval of those 
 who have so greatly benefited by the installation of 
 Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction. 
 
 They also indicate the practically unlimited scope 
 of the field in which this scientific corrective treat¬ 
 ment can be used in the solution of acoustical diffi¬ 
 culties and the elimination of the costly noise nui¬ 
 sance. It will be noted that the letters are repre¬ 
 sentative of practically every phase of endeavor— 
 banking, mercantile, automotive, theatrical, legal 
 and insurance. 
 
 11 
 
Ur. L. C. Hart, Mamgir Aooustlosl Department, 
 
 H. ». Johne-Manvllls Company, 
 
 W1ohlgan Avenus & 10th Street, 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Inaeoiuoh as you have applied your eyateo of aoouetloal 
 oorrectlon and Office quieting treatment to one of our larger 
 offloee and It hae proven highly euooeeaful, I am very glad to 
 take oooaelon to write you as to our extreme eatlofootion In 
 the result#* 
 
 for some reason or other, owing to the nature of the 
 eonetruotlon and the peculiar shape of the room, ae well as the 
 large amount of stenographic work done In It, the nolBe and re¬ 
 verberation were almost unbearable and very distracting to the 
 employeee engaged In the room in question. We had heard of your 
 treatment and made a thorough Investigation of 1t as well as 
 that of one or two other companies. lour success was so apparent 
 In oertaln work whloh you had done In Chicago and hew jork which 
 the writer had the privilege of inspecting that we decided to 
 give your oompany the opportunity of oorreotlng conditions In 
 our offloe. 
 
 The results were evon better than we had antlolpated 
 for the noise and reverberation have been. In a large part, 
 eliminated with the result that the aoouetio features seem to 
 hare a soothing effeot to one In the room. While there Is etlll 
 some noise, of course. In the room Its displeasing quality hae 
 been removed and It has not that sharpness which Is so trying 
 upon the nerves. We oan highly reoommend your work to any one 
 who has the same condition In their offices tnat we have prior 
 to your treatment. 
 
 haT# llvln B in our banking 
 room a matter of several months slnoe vou treated 
 the oeillnge of the main big room and the aloove. 
 The improvement ie very marked, and oepeolally so 
 
 v^J h# -! l00T# *v ar * dolD « our worlc now in oom- 
 fort, whereas before the oorreotion w«» mads we 
 were In misery. 
 
 Tours truly. 
 
 Yours very truly, j? 
 
 Ssorstary and Actuary, 
 
 A Few Testimonial Letters 
 
 Representative Installations 
 
 The installations on the next page by no means 
 show the many hundreds of satisfactory installa¬ 
 tions of Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction in the 
 various sections of the United States and Canada. 
 
 A request sent to the nearest Johns-Manville 
 Branch, a list of which is shown on the back cover, 
 will bring a pamphlet containing a complete list and 
 permit a ready reference to those installations in 
 your city or its immediate vicinity. 
 
 12 
 
A Few Representative Installations of 
 Johns-Manville Acoustical Correction 
 
 NEW ENGLAND STATES* 
 
 A. C. Lawrence Leather Co., Boston, 
 Mass. 
 
 City National Bank, Danbury, Conn. 
 
 First National Bank, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Merchants National Bank, Worcester, 
 Mass. 
 
 New Haven Bank, New Haven, Conn. 
 
 Old Colony Trust Co., Boston, Mass. 
 
 Standard Oil Co., E. Providence, R. I. 
 
 Submarine Signal Co., Boston, Mass. 
 
 The Norton Co., Worcester, Mass. 
 
 MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES 
 
 American Can Company, New York 
 City and Chicago. 
 
 Beechnut Packing Co., Canajoharie, 
 N. Y. 
 
 Bullard Machine Tool Co., Bridge¬ 
 port, Conn. 
 
 Chase National Bank, New York City. 
 
 Dining Room, Chamber of Commerce, 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Federal Reserve Bank, New York 
 City, Buffalo, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, 
 Dallas and Helena, Mont. 
 
 General Electric Co., Schenectady, 
 N. Y. 
 
 Guaranty Trust Co., New York City. 
 
 International Y. M. C. A., New York 
 City, Headquarters. 
 
 Irving National Bank, New York 
 City. 
 
 Lee, Higginson & Co., New York City. 
 
 Link Belt Co., Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 New York Butchers’ Dressed Meat 
 Co., New York City. 
 
 Pennsylvania Rubber Co., Jeannette, 
 Pa. 
 
 Remington Typewriter Co., New 
 York City. 
 
 U. S. Rubber Co., New York City. 
 
 Western Union Telegraph Co., New 
 York City, Chicago, Cleveland, 
 and Detroit. 
 
 Worthington Pump & Machinery 
 Corp., New York City. 
 
 CENTRAL STATES 
 
 A. Krolik & Co., Detroit, Mich. 
 
 Armour & Co., New York, Chicago, 
 St. Paul, Omaha, St. Louis, and 
 Kansas City. . 
 
 Farwell, Ozmun, Kirk & Co., St. 
 Paul, Minn. 
 
 First Wisconsin National Bank, Mil¬ 
 waukee, Wis. 
 
 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, 
 Ohio. 
 
 First National Bank, Mobile, Ala. 
 
 Harris Trust & Savings Co., Chicago, 
 Ill. 
 
 Herring Motor Co., Des Moines, la. 
 
 J. T. Ryerson & Son, Chicago, Ill. 
 
 John W. Ladd, Detroit, Mich. 
 
 Ludowici-Celsdon Co., Chicago, Ill. 
 
 Mansfield Sheet & Tin Plate Co., 
 Mansfield, Ohio. 
 
 Merchants National Bank, St. Paul, 
 Minn. 
 
 Pompeian Manufacturing Co., Cleve¬ 
 land, Ohio. 
 
 Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, 
 Ohio. 
 
 Southwestern National Bank of Com¬ 
 merce, Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 WESTERN STATES 
 
 Bank of California, Seattle, Wash. 
 
 California Packing Association, San 
 Francisco, Calif. 
 
 Colorado Packing & Provision Co., 
 Denver, Colo. 
 
 First National Bank, El Paso, Tex. 
 
 Lunch Room, Adolphus Hotel, Dal¬ 
 las, Tex. 
 
 Sperry Flour Mills Co., Tacoma, 
 Wash. 
 
 Christie, Brown & Co., Ltd., Toronto, 
 Ont. 
 
 
 AVERY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 •Arbitrary geographical subdivisions 
 
JOHNS-MANVILLE 
 
 Incorporated 
 
 Executive Offices: NEW YORK 
 
 Akron 
 
 Albany 
 
 Atlanta 
 
 Baltimore 
 
 Birmingham 
 
 Boston 
 
 Buffalo 
 
 Canton 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Cincinnati 
 
 Cleveland 
 
 Columbus 
 
 Dallas 
 
 Dayton 
 
 Denver 
 
 Des Moines 
 
 Detroit 
 
 Duluth 
 
 El Paso 
 
 Erie 
 
 Great Falls 
 
 Houghton 
 
 Houston 
 
 Indianapolis 
 
 Kansas City 
 
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 Memphis 
 
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 Nashville 
 
 Newark * 
 
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 Pittsburgh 
 
 Portland 
 
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 St. Louis 
 
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 San Diego 
 
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 Syracuse 
 
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 Havana, Cuba 
 
 CANADIAN JOHNS-MANVILLE CO., 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Toronto 
 
 London 
 
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 Winnipeg 
 
 LIMITED 
 
 Ottawa 
 
 Windsor 
 
 Form B-71—ao-11