Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-22
HOW WIRELESS WORKS

On the steamert which took me over 10
southampton early in August, there was
some high gambling on a horse race, said
Westinghouse who recently returned
from trip abroad. That may sound Pc
culiar. especially when add that 1t wasn't
future betting f3t was betting on the out
come of racetthAt had already occurred
There were larger wagers made on this
peculiar proposition thatiI ever saw made
on steamer 4atlH run or on the number
OF revolutions PC Ne propeller in twenty
four hours. ana + should hate to stretch
credulity by ;sAyinF how much money
run horse race before the steamer reached
England.
about:
"A famous millionaire owner of thor
oughbreds OF New York, a young man VINO
kings for years. as his father was before
him. had one of hissgreatest colts entered
for celebrated stake race on New York
track. On paper his colt completely out
classed his field, and had the race at ms
mercy. 1t looked, according to the handi-
Gaping figures, as IL the colt was scheduled
for walk-in. A good many other races
that could mention have looked the same
specializing point of this incident was
reached. the chaps who took the improbable
END or 1t had plenty of reason on their SIDE.
The young owner of the colt that was to
be certain favorite for the noted stake
race had imperative business in England,
and he had been compelled. much to his
chagrin, to take passage on a steamer that
left New York on the morning of the day
when his colt was due to run the race OF
his life. That was the steamer upon which
l took passage.
1.-The steamer pulled away from her dock
at 10 o'clock in the morning. Before board
ing the steamer, however, the young mil
Honatre turfman had made arrangements
with his trainer to send him the result, as
soon as the race was over, by wireless
teiegraphy. And SO, when the steamer
started Down toward the Hook all of us on
board were glad to find out that we would
get the result of the big race along toward
5 o'clock that afternoon, well out at sea,
for the race was due to be run at O'Clock.
Don't jump to the conclusion that bet
ting began then and there on the result
Not a dollar was wagered among the pas
sengers on the proposition before the wire
less apparatus began to announce the re-
suit. The betting came afterward.
1.-The wireless telegraph on board the ship
was working nearly all, the time from the
hour we passed the Hook up to the hour
when the result of the big race was due,
and the operator had told some OF US tnat
the wireless paraphernalia worked splen-
didly that day. So We did not anticipate
any hitch in that direction.
''All of the male passengers VINO couid
crowd into the wireless room and into the
passageway outside that room were there
an hour before the result of the race was
due from the track. The young millionaire
turfman confident-looking but bit nerV-
Gus, at that, sat alongside the operator,
waiting for the word from his trainer
"a bit after O'Clock the operator looked
up with smile.
Here it comes he said and the whole
gang in the room and outside in the pas
sageway became as still as mice.
1.-The sounder clicked away merrlly Tor
half minute or So while the operator wrote,
and then the cadckingy suddenly broke OIL
1.-The operator looked puzzled. He drop
ped his pen and did lot OF fumbllng
around and adjusting. But something was
wrong The wireless apparatus had broken
down somewhere. The operator couldn I
get any response from the land, try as hard
as he would, and he finally looked up with
a most chagrined expression.
81 call that deyilish, be said TO the
young millionaire turfman. Just look at
the point where the, current was hashed.
1.-THE millionaire turfman picked up the
sheet on which the operator had written.
He tossed it down with an imprecati0n
Well call his colt Crabmeat, because that
is far from being the animals name. Here
is what the operator had got down when
the wireless apparatus failed to work:
''Crabmeat fipished-
at was Disgusting If the wireless con-
traption had Just kept sober and straight
for about three seconds longer we'd nave
had the result of the race to certainty.
AS it was, we were doomed to wait for 1t
until we reached England.
"But the significance of that 'Crabmeat
finished as a new kind of steamship
betting proposition was instantly perceived
by the seasoned voyagers among the male
passengers.
"'What are you laying me that Crab
meat won? half dozen of them broke out
at once, addressing their friends on board.
and that was the beginning
From the very outset it was to 1 that
Crabmeat had lost the race.
And that presumption was reasonable
enough to make it a legitimate to l shot.
'Those who were willing to lay to
Crabmeat had won the victory, the trainer,
in sending the news to his employer on
board our ship, would simply have written
it: 'Crabmeat won.' 1t didn't seem sensible
to suppose that a trainer would multiply
words for wireless transmission by writing,
'Crabmeat finished first He would, so it
was argued go the shortest way about it,
by sending the simple word that the colt
had won.
THE fact. however, that he had written
Crabmeat finished was taken to mean
that the colt had finished second or third
or fourth, or even away back in the ruck,
and the fellows who took this view of the
matter were perfectly willing to give the
2 to 1 odds on it that they were right in
their calculation.
But thousands of dollars of that to 1
plenty of men on board who thought that
the fact that the trainer had started off
with 'Crabmeat finished didn't neces-
sarily mean that the colt had been trounced
in his race. and the odds were enticing to
them, too, for the additional reason that
according to all common sense and horse
knowledge. Crabmeat SO far everclassed his
field that he really had no business racing
with them at all Moreover they all knew.
before leaving New York that morning, that
Crabmeat was due to go to the post an
overwhelming faverite at l to 2
Il suppose that no crowd of men on
steamer ever wasted SO much good breath
discussing the pros and cons of that unfn-
iShed wireless message as we did during
the run over to Southampton. The purser's
safe was literally stuffed with the currency
wagered on the result that we could only
hear when we got into port.
When we reached Southampton, I was
glad that had taken a little piece of that
to 1 on tap against Crabmeat's having
won.
''Crabmeat, we found had won in a COM
mon canter. And heard later on that the
trainers wireless message had read: Crab
meat finished first nv fen Iapa+b.,,