The San Francisco call., 1899-10-06
CALLS TRIUMPHS
BY WIRELESS
TELEGRAPHY

IELEOKAP1Y I
Wireless telegraphy is no longer an ex-
pertinent in modern journalism. Il is an
unqualified triumph. This triumph was
made possible at this time through the
initiative Of the San Francisco, Call, but
this paper, in all mOdesty and in absolute
awe a the grandeur of the achievement.
lays no clam to credit other than that
Which is irreVocably coupled with its ever
desire 10 furnish the news to California
and the Pacific Coast ahead of all COM
petitoTs.
The arrival of the transport Sherman
from Manila in the latter part of August
gave The Call its opportunity TO demon
strate the adaptabIity of Marconis dis
covery TO neWsgathering forces. II was
the first to herald through that agency
the early arrival of CaIfOTnia's heroes
from the Philippines. So taken up were
The people Of san Francisco with JOY at
the return Of their sons that the marvel
of this scientific achievement was lost
sight of in this city. Not so in other
parts OF the world. Into thousands Of
newspaper offices on this continent, in
Great Britain and Europe was flashed the
story of The, Calls journalistic coup. Edi-
tors. calloused TO ordinary emotions by
reason OF frequent surprises, were
astounded and had TO ADMIT that there
Was dl ltdSL one NILllS IltN uIlhNl ll4O
sun and that IL was wireless biography
adapted TO the needs of the up-to-date
new spapers. A journal away OIL on the
western edge of the cOntinen. had taught
them the lesson, and even those VINO were
10th to do so admitted that The Call had
recorded the greatest scoop OF the cen
Lury.
In spite Of the proof that the Marconi
system had been securely harneSsed TO
the car of modern Journalism there were
some to doubt and others to scoh. They
needed another lesson and The Call pro-
ceeded 10 give II to them. Ihe grand op-
portunlty presented itself in the interna-
JiOnal yacht races between the cup chal-
lenger Shamrock and the defender Colum-
bia. In conjunction with the New York
Herald, the first paper a the East TO ap-
prcCIate the value Of The Calls feat. this
paper invited Signor MarcOni 10 superin-
teLd the working OF MS system IN repOrI-
ing the progress of the marine racers The
great Italian accepted. He sailed for
New York with a corps of capable assist
ants and installed his apparatus on the
vessels provided by The Call and Herald
10 accompany the heet-winged yachts.
Last Tuesday, with every condition as
favorable as could be for the StereOtyped
system in use by newsgatheriug agencies,
the Marconi wireless telegraph was easily
first, the ancient method nowhere. The
Cali, in this city, and the Herald, in New
York, were enabled to post the news Of
every movement in the race two minutes
after it had happened. Other New York
and San Francisco newspapers had no
bulletins to post and, as is the custom
of the yellowest, faxed but did not fool
the public: In this city the attempt of
the Examiner and Chronicle to keep up
With the procession led by The Call was
pitiable and unavailing. The Examiner,
true TO its policy that desperate cases
call for desperate remedies. was shame
less in its attempts to deceive the peo-
pie into the belief that it was receiving
bulletins of the race. 1t had little OPP
;portunity ii having become early evil
dent to the gathering crowds that The
Calls bulletins were more reliable, fuller
and more realistic than the belated and
faxed In consequence, only the few that
Call bulletins wasted any of their time
on the Examiner or Chronicle delayed
offerings.
It was another signal triumph for
The Call and wireless telegraphy, but it
was absolutely overshadowed by that of
yesterday. 1t would be worse than use
less to attempt to describe the hundreds
and hundreds that gathered in front Of
the business office of this paper long be-
Tore the hour set for the start, or to try
TO picture the growth of the crowd, its
surgtngs and its excitement as the bulle-
tins were posted and the race was pic
tured on the painted canvas over the
arch. Market street is wide, but that it
was not blocked IS entirely due to the
heroic efforts of the squad Of patrolmen
detailed by Captain Spillane. They were
adopts at handling crowd and kept the
way clear for pedestrians and vehicles
without so much as an angry word
And the bulletin service was superb.
spectators had no cause to grow i'm
patient Marconi on the Ponce was do
ing his level best, sending to land on the
waves of vibrant electricity the runnine,
story of the movements of the Yachts
From the land station on the NavesinI-
Highlands, the precious messages were
turned over to the Western Union Tele-
graph Company and flashed 5000 miles
across the continent to The Call and
tin boards
In some instances less than two min
utes was taken from the time Marconi
sped his message until 1t was being post
ed IN this city. It was marvellous Nothing
Ike 1t had been believed possible until
The Call for the second time demon
strated 1t last Tuesday. There had been
till then many doubling Thomases, the
yellow journals, by their unpreparedness,
showing that they were the chief of
these. They discovered their mistake too
by an all-wise Creator in front of their
jaundiced vision and all their efforts to
pierce 1t came to nil.
The Associated Press. until the advent
OF wireless telegraphy, the greatest sin
gle news agency on earth, tried for a
time to battle against the inevitable
The futility Of its endeavor was plain to
those who cared to step in front of the
Chronicle bulletin board. It admitted
the curtain of haze and indulged in pos
sibtlities all the time Marconi was send
story Of the great yacht race and while
the desperate Examiner was fretting and
taking till further orders.
All the excitement over the achieve
nent of wireless telegraphy was not