Obsolete Word Meanings

Was the subject of the news article regarding the Liberty Bell?

No, a new bell to be installed for fire alarms.

In that case… yeah, I got nothin’.

Tapping a bell means striking it with a hammer (a hammer in this context being a globe on a stem). Ringing a bell involves swinging the bell itself on a horizontal axis until the bell makes contact with the hammer, generally suspended on a hinge inside the bell (where it is known as a clapper). In the UK the term ringing a bell is reserved for when the bell is rotated through nearly 360 degrees before being halted by gripping the rope. The bell may also be made to sound by a tug followed by an immediate halting grip on the rope. The bell stops rotating, the clapper continues to meet the bell and create the sound. This latter activity is known as chiming the bell.

Now you know where the expression "going like clappers" comes from.

This sounds like a reasonable and likely accurate explanation of the phrase, but it seems counterintuitive that it (the soothing and pleasant tone from only tapping on the bell) would be desirable for an ‘all hands’ type of auditory alarm signal.

A single tap may be soothing and pleasant, but multiple rapid taps will be more likely to be an alarm (as in my alarm clock)

Well, okay. This sort of thing?

Cannot get an image to stick.

The sort of wound spring bedside alarm clock with a bell (or two) and a strike hammer sort of mechanism?

Exactly. Or a clockwork kitchen timer

A "bit" bigger! The new bell was to be 350 pounds.

I would suspect that a cast bell this size would require an extremely vigorous tap to be discernible at the specified two miles.

Would you tell us; are you trying to make sense of the news article, or intending to somewhat reproduce this bell alarm system, or… what?

This was for a fire alarm to call the volunteers; so they wanted it loud and were expecting 2 miles.

Mounted in a tower, a bell that size would definitely be audible at 2 miles.

"Tower" might be misleading. I suspect it was just above the roof (or stairway) of the village hall/fire station building; that is, about the third story level.

From what 1911 newspaper (location) is the mysterious quote from? The region and original language will be important.

The newspaper is the weekly The Herald for Louisville, OH. This is in NE Ohio between Canton and Alliance. Language is English.

Then my guess is simple. The bell cannot be noisy. The bell resides in a quiet region but will still draw attention if struck. For instance, the bell may be in a hospital nursery to announce an emergency. The bell may have a paper wedge to dampen the ringing interval.

I believe the rest of the article would imply the meaning.

It was a fire alarm bell and needed to be loud.

Well, that's a critical missing piece of information.

Maybe the sentence describes how the striker has become misaligned and muffled the bell. Maybe this is a poetic sentence describing the death of a Pyotr Stolypin. Maybe this sentence describes a failure discovered by a new building inspection and warns others to check their fire alarms. (Why else would this be news to spread far and wide?) Maybe, just maybe, this sentence comes from a paper found as insulation in a wall that was never meant to be read.

Is there anything else you are not telling us?

I didn't want to say too much at the beginning in order to enhance the variety of replies. phph001 (#4 reply) was almost exactly what my suspicions were. Louisville was a village incorporated in 1872; Canton was the county seat. Our sewer system was not installed until 1910! The quote was from digitized and searchable copies of the microfilm of the weekly newspaper.

Thanks to all the participants. This confirms what I thought after a long time and other consultations. The use of the English language then and today is similar except a few phrases like that. One that still eludes me is "The alarm thimble tipped over and was not put right-side-up for days." [That is a paraphrase.] What is a "thimble" in this use? I suspect some sort of short tower or stand to hold the alarm.

AI Overview This phrase refers to a specific mechanical fault in an oil or kerosene lamp heater (often a Valor brand heater). In these vintage heaters, the "alarm thimble" (or cap) is a safety mechanism designed to tip over and snuff out the flame or sound an alert if the heater is knocked over. If it tips over and is left uncorrected for days, it usually means fuel has leaked, the wick has dried out or flooded, or the safety mechanism has jammed, preventing the heater from functioning safely or lighting at all.

How about "menporsche" - the tendency for middle-aged men to drive flashy sports cars?

Menoporsche?

“The bell can only be tapped, not rung.”

Does it refer to a sticky situation that needs careful handling and discretion?

This is what AI had to say on it

In modern language, this sentence can be translated both literally and metaphorically depending on how it was used in the 1911 context:

1. Literal Translation

“The bell can only be gently struck, not fully rung.”
In 1911, newspapers frequently used this phrase to describe the physical state of the historic Liberty Bell. Because of its famous structural crack, swinging the heavy internal clapper to "ring" it would shatter the metal. Instead, handlers had to gently strike the outside with a mallet to produce a quiet, symbolic sound without causing further damage.

2. Figurative Translation (As an Idiom)

“We must handle this situation with extreme caution; we can’t afford to push it too hard or make too much noise.”
When used as a metaphor in early 20th-century writing, this phrase meant:

• Proceed with caution: A situation or system is too fragile to handle aggressive action.
• Keep it low-profile: You can draw a little bit of attention to an issue (a tap), but you cannot make a massive, loud public scene out of it (a ring).
• Work within strict limits: You are allowed to use something in a limited capacity, but you cannot use it to its full, normal extent.

This reminds me of the little, portable, bell with a hand-striker on top to which the customer taps. It is used to call attention to someone, such as a clerk or bellboy in a hotel. Why it would appear in a 1911 newspaper is a mystery, so that is probably not what the sentence was referring to...

All of the replies makes sense, but yes I was about to say that tapping means giving the bell a slight ding while rung means a repeatedly swinging it so the clapper strikes