The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-05-07

FIELD KIT FOR KITE PHOTOGRAPHY.
Jan be put. The experiment has been rrisd
~ military men at Governors island,
where messages were sent by hosting
code flags, o line and pulley attached to a
coating kite being used.
A Chicago inventor claims to have a
much better method. He sends up five or
six kites of different 'colors in tandem rig,
each kite being attached to a string fas-
tened in turn to d lover. Certain pulls at
certain levers would spell out the letters
of !. signal code which would be as simple
as the dots and dashes of telegraphy. II
the person watching did not understand,
such word could be flashed back by a SIM
liar arrangements of kites, which would be
visible for miles by the aid of fieldglasses.
Night signaling by means of lanterns car
ried up on kites has been accomplished.
There is kite photography, which has
been SO highly perfected by W. A. Eddy
and ether kite experts. Lieutenant Hugh
d. Wise Of Madison barracks, Sacket's
Harbor, N. Y, has been conducting ex-
perilnents in aerial photography for war
purposes by means Of the new Eddy Wise
kites. He has devised an ingenious field
kite for ner;al photography and signaling.
He is anxious TO try his new devices in
Cuba, where be expects to be ordered soon.
photographs taken by the army officer
are to illustrate what can be accomplished
by an invading army in Cuba in discover
ing tho position of the enemy. These views
are taken by means of kites while the
operators remain behind cover.
A third method Of utilizing Kites is in
telephoning at sea. English naval officers
have experimental with the "kite tele-
phone and pronounced it a success. TN
kite used was of the regulation sort, ex-
cept that it was minus a tail. 1t was 6
feet long and 3 feet wide at the broadcast
point. In place Of the tail the kite carried
two lines, ~ of which was retained on
board tho Daring, the Institutional tor
pedo boat destroyer, from which the ex-
periments wero conducted. With the wind
between the two lines referred to it was
found that the kite wa SO easily managed
that it was no trick at all to drop letters
or even a hawser into another ship, and in
this way establish communication.
Following this experiment. came n
with a wire. Tho end of the wire which
the kite bore away from the ship YVES
dropped upon tho deck of H. M. 6. Daunt-
less, whore it was secured by the ~electri-
clan of the ship and attached to a tele-
phone apparatus in waiting. Tho other
end, which had remained aboard the OAR
ing, was also attached to a telephone, and
as soon as this task was completed the two
ships were in perfect communication. The
kite remained suspended, secured by two
lines, for moro than four hours, during
which time communication between the
Daring and tho Dauntless was uninter-
rupted.
The real war Kite, though, is the one
which drops dynamite into an enemy's
camp or on tho dock Of a hostile warship.
Mr.. Eddy has ezperinented in this direc-
ton and has proved that it is possible to
send a dynamite projectile up on a kite
string by means CT messenger kites.
Mr.. Eddy's plan to use tho apparatus
for war purposes on land or sea would be
to first send up q strong line of tandem
kites in the darkness, and when a mile or
more Of line is out to sail up the line a
messenger signal kito with its lantern.
and to follow this up with a dynamite