The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-12-14
HILO DID ITS
BEST FOR HIM
ISbeII Given Every Chance. but
Wireless Fluid Baked on -
the Tests.

Hilo Will not have wireless station
sadly announces the Hawaii Herald.
Although Harry Gresham, Of the
Hilo Telephone company, did the mon
key up tree act in Court House square
climbing from 80 to 100 feet above
ground to the top of one of the tallest
pines, fastened wire there and brought
it down again next day without turn
ing a hair, while the people on terra
frma waited, open mOuthed and with
blanched faces, to hear the dull thdd
that was expected to announce Cress-
man S return to earth; although Isbell
went to the volcano and did not try
communication with Kahuku through
the granite rocks and lava blocks of
Mauna Kea; although he did listen by
the hour in Manager Richards office
for any kind of a noise from Oahu; al
though he did sit up all night on the
masthead of the Annie johnson, wire
in one hand, holding on with the other,
and wireless telephone cabled to his
auriculars; notwithstanding all this
there is nothing doing for Hilo as far
as a wireless station is concerned
There is one thing Isbell overlooked
He might have gone up in balloon,
far above the haunts of man and the
hills of Hawaii till he could throw
sparks at Sitka and whistle to Kahuku,
but it would have been difficult to es-
tablish a permanent office up there, so
he packed up his kit of burglarious-
looking tools, bought few curios and
magazines on Monday afternoon, and
slipped aboard the Claudine.
Isbell got negative results as far as
Hilo was concerned, which means Nit.
The fifty miles of high land between
Hilo and Kohala were too much for
him. While it may be possible to get
a good location along the Hamakua
coast or elsewhere away from HilO,
the object of the experiments was to
try and locate here. This can not be
done, so the wireless might just as
well be located at Puako, which is an
excellent site and well equipped with
good instruments. In other words. the
business done here is not sufficient to
warrant the maintenance of private
wire from a coast point to Hilo.
Back to Puako we go,
Back to Puako.
Isbell says he doesn It know
Where to give as good a show
As at Puako.
A. A. Isbell is New England boy,
born at North Adams, Mass, not less
than % years ago. At one time he
was a telegraph operator and used to
sign $3.50" at the end of the press
Next he became an cleo
triclan, and when the wireless indi-
Gated a commercial factor he spark
ed into it. and has been there ever
since. Before much had been heard
Of Marconi, Isbell was doing wireless
stunts from Scotland to the girl he
left behind him in Massachusetts. He
was then employed at Professor Fes-
sender Is station Before leaving here
he consoled Hilo with the information
that he liked our climate better than
that of Honolulu. Although away
from electric sparks here, he remem-
bered that the big town was hot as
Wells
when you are sparkling
through the air, 1sbell,
Send word or two to Hilo, give us
news that you can tell;
Don t keep your mouth shut tight, just |
turn on a little light,
And our angry thoughts Wen quell be-
fore you come again, Isbell.