Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-04-30
GUARDS MARINERS.
Wireless Signals Planned to
Prevent St1ipwrecks Along
the Coast.
HIGHLY PRAISED BY sAvAHTs
Frenchman Proposes to Communicate
With Ships in all Seas from Top
of EiffeI Tower.

If the proposal presented to the
French Academy of Sciences at Paris
few days ago by Bouquet de La
Grye lie adopted, the Eiffel tower win
play such an important role in the
worlds shipping that wrecks through
.miscalcuiation of longitude will here
after be rendered impossible.
The venerable sayant, according to
wireless telegraph dispatch from Paris
To- rhe New York Times, purposes to
equip the tower so that ii can send the
exact time according to the meridian
OF either Paris or Greenwich To every
ship in the world equipped with wire
less telegraphy.
He says that wireless plant of suf-
iicient force can he established To send
HertZian waves completely around the
weird. BY a preaIranged signal either
noon or midnight would he indicated.
and ships would thus be able to regu
late their own thermometers and learn
the exact longitude, without>taking OBJ
Servations by the sunA
The proposal has already been ac-
cepted in principle, and experiments
will first he undertaken with the con
currence Of French ships in both the
Atlantic and the Mediterranean 1t is
purposed to send The hour of midnight
according to Paris time. this being
preferable 10 noon owing to the alb
sence of local disturbances. .
Among those who applauded the pro-
posal were Simon Newcomb. the emf.
nent astronomer of Washington. and
Alexander Agassiz of Cambridge. Mass.
Both were enthusiastic in praise of the
plan and said that undoubtedly il
wonld receive the support of officials
and scientists in the United States
Experiments are also now In progress
with Il wireless telephony apparatus
ON the Eiffel tower. The results of
these experiments are thus far indie
cisive. but important results are hoped
form the near future
The tower continues to furnish the
means of rapid and sure wireless COM
munication between the government
and the army in Morocco. Should La
Grye's proposal be put into execution.
however. ii is probable that new
wireless post will he installed by the
French government on some lofty
mountain peak. possibly in the Canary
islands
sheds Filled with Apparatus.
From the top of the tower, $50 feet
above the pavement. there fall into
the Avenue de Suffren four cables end
ing in rude Enclosure. within which
are number of rough sheds composed
of boards. The few visitors who are
allowed to enter the Enclosure find
within the sheds apparatus similar To
that which is Installed on Long Island
sound steamers for the. purpose OF
maintaining wireless communication
with the shore. But of course every
thing Is on much larger scale--the
condenser is Il huge thing and the coil
OF wire for resistance is gigantic al
though the receiver is far more deli
cate Instrument than that used on the
sound steamers, and the man who
manipulates il must he ever alert to
catch the faintest vibrations produced
by the HertZian waves flowing from
the masthead Of the cruiser Kleber.
hundreds Of miles away to the south,
off Casablanca.. These waves leave the
frigate with a force of 10000 volts, but
ii requires n most delicate instrument
In perceive them when they reach the
Eiffcl tower
The telephone with which. at GER
tain times in the day. the tower staff
experimentation the night is best fitted
for the transmission of the govern
ment messages between the Quai dor
say and Casablanca-is the invention
of NJ. Brandy. who has lately succeeded
In directing torpedoes by 'HertZian
waves so that their maneuvers cannot
be interfered with by the enemy. 1t
isSmuch more simple than the wireless
telegraphic installation. and MESA ges
by 1t have already been sent as far as
Lyons. although uninterrupted commu-
nicatiOn has not been maintained.