The evening times., 1899-10-31
MARcon1 wARsH1p TESTS.
What Was shown by Yesterday's Ex-
Deriments at Sea.

What Was shown by Yesterday's Ex-
Derinents at Sea.
NEW YORK. Oct. 31.-over twenty-one
miles OF the Atlantic Ocean, over house,
tops, church spires. towering office build
ings, the Marconi electrical ripples sue
cessfully carried and dropped messages be-
tween two moving warships yesterday.
The naval test at sea proved, it is
claimed, that within a radius Of twenty
one miles. messages can be transmitted
by wireless telegraphy with all the accu
racy and precision Of an ordinary land line.
1t proved that hills, high buildings, wires
of the electrical waves, and do not inter-
fere in the slightest degree with the trans
mission Of messages.
1t failed to prove that when two points"
are in communication they are free from
interference from a third point" tele-
graphing wirelessly at the same time. 1t
also failed to prove that message sent
into the air is not the common property OF
any person who happens to have the Mar
conf receiver. There was nothing shown,
for example, that would prevent a message
sent from one ship to another in the same
fleet being taken and read equally well by
an enemy's vessels which happened to be
in the neighborhood.
By a prearrangement operations cn board
the New York were conducted by Marc nj
himself. One Of his assistants. named
Bradfeld. operated the instrument OF the
Massachusetts, while TelegIapSer Bowde1.
another Marconi expert, was stat oned in
the lighthouse on the Highlands OF Nave
sink.
From the Marconi transmitter on the
lower floor of the lighthouse annex the
wire was carried through the window. up
the tall flagstaff, and up sort Oh Jury
topmast, making its total length from the
ground about $50 feet. Through the hatch
ways of the two warships the wires were
extended to the same height Tne mes
sage which the New York, as she passed
down the North River. sent to the Massa-
chusetts, lying at her anchorage at nirty
fifth Street, vas read plainly in dots and
dashes at Navesink, nineteen milss away
1t was: Follow US down at p. m.
This message was the overture to the
telegraph testing programme, wnicn in-
cluded about seventy-fve messages. all OF
which had been prepared by the Naval
Board. and were especially difficult. Ev-
cry five minutes during her course down
the river the New York teiegI aphed over
the constantly increasing distance 70 the
Massachusetts,, and the battlesh.p repiied
to the flagship without break. All the
messages in the correspondence were
caught at Navesink. and a careful record
Of them was kept by Lieutenant Com
mander Blish, the naval representative at
the lighthouse
1t was during the voyage down the river
that the official test for interference was
made. Without any warning TO Marconl,
Mr.. Bowden, at Navesink- at the direction
of Lieutenant Blish. sent several messages
in quick secession to the flagship The
result was a message from the Aassachu-
setts to the New York: "Navesink has sue
cessfully interfered. F. K H." But a
few minutes later the lighthouse caught
Marconi's explanation that one OF the
ground wires on the New York had not
been secured properly which allowed the
stray message to break in on the conyersa-
tion between the two warships-
A point had been scored against Mar
conf. however, the only one OF the day.
And the report will read that the inter
ference test was a failure'-meaning, Of
course a failure from the standpoint OF |
Marconi. whose claim is that such inter-
ference is impossible. 1t was long time |
after the telegraphing began before either |
of the warships was visible from the light |
house Without a wire. without any appar- |
ent connection messages kept dropping out |
of space as II some supernatural power
were hurting them GOWN lrOin tue Siouo'-
The New York came in sight ABOUT Ii
and, although messages from the
continued TO rain down a.
fast as the receiving instrument could reel
them off it was fully two hours before she
could be made out through the spy glass,
creeping slowly toward the flagship Then |
the New York wired the Massachusetts,. |
..Put out TO sea in a straight line. keeping !
careful account of your distances. The |
black smoke of the Massachusetts. few
minutes later trailing back toward the !
Highlands, showed that she was o5eying |
The telegraphing continued for more THAI |
an hour with just as much accuracy as that |
with which two telegraph operators con-
verse between Yonkers and New YORK. |
Then. when about fourteen miles OF grey |
ocean were between the two ships syilables |
began 10 drop out OF the words Sentences |
were rained down in which articles and |
prepositions were missing. Later longer |
words began to disappear. until hnaiiy the |
messages became unintel- |
ligible at the lighthouse. although she was |
evidently in Communication with the Ne"
York still The last Ineligible message |
from the Massachusetts, was sent at BIZ |
m.. when she was twentyoue miles from |
shore and eighteen from the New York II |
was as follows: The Massachusetts is at |
twelve knots, under two boilers"