The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-01
pairing to unfold the discovery to an
admiring world. Sir William Henry

pairing to unfold the discovery to an
admiring world. Sir William Henry
Preece, who could be expected to know
of such discoveries if any one did, never
heard of the doctor, and the Russian
embassy knew him not The reporter
who wrote the story yelled himself in
mystery 1t seems he had been miSied
into handing in an item that had been
printed two years ago. There really
was a Dr. Peter Stems in London at
that time, and he really had made some
progress toward wireless telephoning,
but as he has not been heard of since 1t
must be supposed that his discoveries
didn't go far enough. So far as known,
no one else, except Marconi, has done
anything practical in this line.
The inventor starts for the United
States this week to conduct some expert
ments and demonstrations in wireless
biography. 1t may be set down as GER
tain that the United States navy depart
ment, and, perhaps, also the war depart
ment, will have a hand in some of those
experiments. The date OF his return
has not. been fixed, and even after he
comes back the experiments In telephon-
ing without wires will have to wait,
for there are two more big steps to be
made in wireless biography before the
inventor can be expected to switch off
If these two steps can be taken success
fully, we actually shall have messages
sent across the Atlantic without the aid
OF wires, and not only that, but there
is possibility that they can be sent
in the next six months, and without any
great expense, either.
The preliminary step in this direction
will be tried some time this winter, if
all goes well. 1t will be an attempt to
xyirn fo, Aax
distances than have yet been tried-pos-
sibly from Lands End to the coast of
Spain. 'f G
UP to now the greatest distance over
(which Geographic dots and dashes have
been tossed without wires has been sixty
two miles, the message having been sent
between her tmajesty's steamship Europa
and her majesty's' steamship Juno, when
both were at sea and both in motion. In
struments of exceeding delicacy were re-
quired to make the messages distinct and
it was evident that to, send messages to
much greater distances without wires it
would be necessary to find some new de-
velopment of the original idea, for the in
struments used in: the sixty-two mile ex-
pertinent were about as fine as instru-
mentS well could be.
1t can be announced here that after
many experiments, SCR. Marconi has
ment. Just what the modification is he
will not tell for publication, but it can
be said in a general way that by means
of 1t he can make an electric current do
more work than it has done hitherto
1t was thought at first that the limit of
distance was set only by the strength of
the current used and the height of the
poles from which the message was lib
Grated and received, but the further ex-
whole truth
In spite Of the occasional interviews
purporting. to come from SCR. Marconi; he
has talked little for publication and
doesn't like to be quoted, but it can be
said on the authority of one Of his as
sistants that the new modification of his
system practically is completed and has
met every test except that of actual prac
tice over a long distance. Theoretically
it works all right, and as SCR. Marconis
theories seem to have a habit of accord
ing with the facts as afterWard proved,
it is not unreasonable to suppose that
some time this winter wireless messages
will be sent a distance of several hundred
miles.
"And if it proves that messages can be
sent without wire for a distance Of say,
800 miles, what is to prevent their being
sent 5000 miles?" I asked.
The answer was rather surprising, for
1t had generally been supposed that the
talk Of wireless biography back and
forth across the Atlantic was more in the
nature of a dream than a. definite reality
the sort of dream H. G.. Wells coins
into money. The answer was: IF we
find that we can send messages great
distance-for example, from. Lands End
to the coast Of Spain-there will be theo-
retieally-no reason why the system should
not apply to the whole breadth of the At
lantic ocean, -
"And If the experiment with few hun