The San Francisco call., 1908-11-25
Dots and Dashes Travel Nearly
5000 Miles, BreakingzAl
Previous Records
Local Operators Hear Signals
for Four Months and Then
Translate Them
Feat Opens Prospect OF Use of
System in Oriental Com
mnnicatiOn
nY wireless, from Japan to the
* United States, SOL miles,

wireless, from Japan to the
x United States, SOL miles,
~ The feat has been accom-
plished. From far off Nippon
a message, sped in the code of the
little brown men, has been licked off
on the. receivers of the United wire
less company ON Russian hill.
Nearly 6,OOO milcsl The wireless
telegraphy record has been broken,
and to J. o. Watkins, operator on the
heights that overlook the bay, has
come the honor of being the one to
hear the unintelligiblc characters that
have flashed thousands of miles
across the Pacific.
Little did the Japanese think that
their messages were being heard in
the United States. distance of nearly
5000 miles. Even Watkins, who
knows the tick of every wireless in
strument on the Pacific coast and as
far across the waters as Honolulu,
was puzzled for nearly four months
before he discovered that he had been
hearing messages from the land Of
the chrysanthemum.
Heard Four Months Ago
The signals were first heard four
months ago. They we're so ipdistinct
that the operator could not recognize
them. He paid but little attention to
them, thinking that they were from
some amateur wireless operator who
was trying to send messages. Later
on, when the signals had begun to be
heard regularly on good wireless
nights. Watkins began to think that
they were being sent from some point
along the Atlantic coast.
On October IL wireless communica-
tion was established between San
Francisco and Honolulu. When the In
struments in the Hawaiian islands
were finally and properly installed
Watkins, L. A Malasin and A A IsbelI.
the operator at the Hawaiian station.
were in communication daily. Watkins
told OF the strange messages he had
been listening to. messages which he
could not translate on account of them
not being in the international code.
Heard in Honolulu
IsbelI answered that he had heard
the same messages and flashed a mes
sage to Watkins. giving as his opinion
that the messages were from Japan
Three weeks ago a new receiving
apparatus was installed in the station
on Russian hill and thereafter the
messages became much more distinct.
Attempts to answer the signals were
made but as Watkins received no an
swer. he became more convinced that
the signals were from Japan. The let
ters A-B-C would be flashed according
to the Morse code. then series OF un-
familiar dots and dashes would be
heard
Watkins attempted to put several OF
the messages together. The letters and
A would come together, then the let
ter x would fash twice, then an un-
Ineligible mass Of dots and dashes.
The more he tried to make sense out
OF the mysterious flashes that were
pounding at his ear. the more con-
vineed he became that communication
with the land OF the Mikado had been
established.
Receives No Answer
The absence OF words and letters OF
the International code gave watkins his
first inkling that the messages had
originated in Japan Only two coun-
tries, Japan and China. use codes OF
their own in transmitting wireless
messages. China has a code entirely
its own and Japan uses a code made
from the Morse code and from Japan
ese letters He sent messages OF con-
gratulations to Japan. but received no
answer. He sent messages to Homo
lulu and asked that station to try ana
get into communication with Japan.
The Honolulu station could not catch
Japan. or at any rate. received no an
swer.
All efforts to Identity the messages
appeared to be futile until a copy OF a
Japanese code was found and several
Of the code words translated. The book