New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-11-01
PROFESSOR BELL ON HIS LABORS


THE PROBLEM OF sHfINo BY ELHcTEiciTf-coh-
MCNIcATIoN BETWEEN SHIPS.
Professor Alexander Graham Bell. Of Wash
sgton. was In this city recently guest at the Gisey
House. In TO TRIBCSH reporters inquiry as to
bis views tho Garland case. he said:
lido not think 1t would look we'll for 20 nay any.
thing oil the subject particularly THE TRIBUNE has
freed its and brought him down. The Bell Tele'
phi ne Company. you know. has riamphed in all It's
legal warfare which has been long and excruciating
Perhaps you would prefer to discuss the future
assge OF the telephone for long distances.
81 certainly should twenty-five new wires are now
being laid between SewYork and Phi adephla and your
eity 10 destined to converse freely with that
city a' within IT'S limits EXPERIMENTS between New
ucsblity OF such communication between those cities
We yet create al least perfect. new species
u wire VIII oh VIII not be effected by
All OF this will come In due time. There
little systems OF telephones all over the country.
ng until before long the country will have grand net-
work OF telephone communcation the same az us eie-
graphic with one centrr. say New YORK or Chicago.
Have patience, and San Francisco viii be 10
this block to another"
friend. to whom enc talks, as well AZ hear th"m
That Is question which Is now being asked on all
sides, which | can snswer aihrmativety
cannot tell how only know that the problem IL
90 nearly solved =" TO encourage inveseaior' to pcre
Al work on the subject The reason why kuo" IS
amusing. Several years ago was experimenting with
the problem OF pbotophone. A you may r-ineinDer
ray OF light from the sun Was the motive power and
When had solved this problem posted dcscrirti
Of my discovery III the Smithsonian Institution without
to What the sealed packet contained. some
parsons began TO speculate q. to the prSoanie
sfterward, 1he London Nature stated 10 paragraph
that had solved tn problem of seeing long distances
ard that fun particulars OF the discovery contained
In sealed packet deposited in the Smithsonian insitu
ton Instantly SIX investigators rushed into print ia
their respective localities TO that hey had already
solved the problem and protesting against my aeGcl
assumption Of priority In your own city Mr. SAWYER
tnnr as1nR el lne IN
III, sealed packet brcame object OF tender soctnde
.u mae a. Ahougs tnr Indignant ak claimed the
ton has yet any else at long dis
tances nor has any instrument been exhibited which
looks ike solving the problem think can say. how
ever that Will not he long before you eau seem TO SIT
IN the and converse with your friend FAR away
individual car then he in any number of places
At once automatically speaking How Is the problem
of communication OF ships at SEA going iorwardf'
"Ihat problem is solved, but have observed
80 make ss of what has done paesP
Troe,idge Of Harvard College and myself arTi we'd at
publish HIS theory first, and inay won't At together
can s my o% sISry pest ,hs mi con do
what Professor Trobrdge has done recently
gine, and are electrically lighted suppose .tanco
OF the should trail wire mile long any LENGTH
sesses, ensfsed tn. wrs would praeeay have
ground connection by trailing In the water at least
telephone to the cad on board Of ship. Then Jour
dynamo OF telephone end would be positive and the
All of the water about tine ship win be positive WITHIN
circle whose radious Is snchaf OF the length Of The
wire All OF the water about the trailing end OF The wro
will negative within circo whose radius Ia the other
half Of the II your wire Is one mile long. there Is
than a large area OF water about the ship which IL
aneeted either positively negatively by the dynamo
engine and tho electrically charged WIRE II will Do i'm
possible for any ship object ~ approach within the
water so charged IN relation 10 your SHIP without tho
Telephone telling the whole story to the listening
Now, 10 ship coming In this area also has
A simiiar apparatus. tho two vessels can
eommunica,s With each other by their
teiephoncs IL they are enveloped In n fog they
ksep cut OF Others way The ship having tho tse
other ships in s track and keep out OF
the way - fog storm; The matter $50 simple that
hope our ocean stoamsktps will experiment with IT,
The principle Is net now 1t II old with new nae walt
Ing !or commerce 10 utilize It. have experinented on
the Potomac and msrvellsd at the simplicity Q. the
apparatus and the stupcndoos Importance OF the 70
s0ita-" .
.You have also made other studies recently TO aid
vessels In = fog. have you nctf'
"My studtes In this line have to deal with eohOea-
friend OF mine gave . ride on bis steam yacht u
Waat to suow zee something he said He began airing
blank carrsd vessels 1T various distances from
ne weasel men angry and ssisiled him 70 nfo 10
ether directions; zach back echo.
fAsss iatensy according the distance
END coneiusivsy 10 that BY tho
blank cartridges ereA at randsm In fes ssips could
detect each eaers presence by hs echoes returned e
ksrgs ssad - sasilT dssscsed In tais nAInse."