Evening star., 1909-09-05
By William Atherton Du Puy

the world to-day can draw
an imaginary circle about himself at distance
of one thousand miles and within that circle
can send messages, and another instrument
attuned to his own can pick them up. But
along comes Y Gankee youth who says bruskly:
Build me a station that will enlarge this
dinky circle by pushing it back two thousand
miles farther Make it so big and strong that
messages may be pounded out three thousand
miles under the most unfavorable conditions;
yet make it tell my secrets only to my own
men, wherever they may be. Build me station
of such power that the world has never seen is
like. Give me guarantee that you can 90
these things, and a well filled purse IS opened
to you; for l need such station in my busi-
ness"
The Government actually said these things
in the form of an advertisement for bids tor the
establishment of such station. Strange to
say, there were dozens OF responses from hrmS
financially responsible, and these bids were
backed by heavy bonds to be forfeited in case
the station failed to make good as to every re-
quIrement. The contract has been recently
awarded to company of Pittsburgh IN con-
sideration of hundred and eighty thousand
dollars for the machinery alone, while the tower
is to be built under separate contract. II the
requirements are not met in every detail, one
hundred thousand dollars will be forfeited.
Governments Great Need
THE Government was long since informed
to Gibraltar to Newfoundland. to San Fran
cisco, with Washington as central base. The
big wireless companies also said that 1T could be
done; but so great has been the estimated ex-
pense and so uncertain the financial return
that none of them dared to undertake it. To
no individual would such an undertaking ap-
peal SO strongly as to great and wealthy
nation with many fighting ships afoat. There
was the alluring prospect of a commander IN
chief of the navy sitting in the nations capital
;r,f Of
there over the entire Atlantic as player might
move his chessmen 1t was thing the Govern
ment wanted, and the money was forthcoming
If successful it will give this country great adj
vantage until others have followed its lead and
installed similar stations.
In the past it has been no unusual thing for
a message to be picked UP three thousand miles
from its origin. Newfoundland has heard direct
from Panama, and an errant message from
Australia has been found lurking around our
Atlantic seaboard. But these cases have been
rare exceptions. The stations that sent them
can ordinarily reach only thousand miles or
less; but some peculiarly favorable conditions
of the air have caused them to go on and on
The sending power of station varies greatly.
1t is generally possible to send farther in the
daytime than at night and farther in clear
weather than in cloudy. In awarding the pres
ent contract it is specially stipulated that the
three thousand-1nile limit is to be reached in
any and all circumstances. If a storm roaring
dred thousand dollars is forfeited. With con-
ditons favorable it IS expected that the mes
sages will carry much farther, and it is entirely
probable that some occasions the waves
that have started east will meet those that
have started west on the other side of the globe
with yet unknown result.
When the plant is completed receiving APP
paratus will of course be installed on every ship
of the navy and tuned to the home instrument.
The contract stipulates that the messages sent
out must be such to call forth a response
from only those instruments built for that par
ticular purpose. This in the interest of secrecy;
for, while all such messages would be sent in
the code Of the navy, this might sometime be
deciphered.
The present is the first step part of the
Government into the field of experimental
wireless Heretofore it has bought from the
wireless companies what they had to offer and
has made the most of what was to be had in the
open market. But the Government has real
lied that wireless was of more value to it than
to any individual company and that it could
better afford to pay for the great extension of
it than could these companies.
Power of Wireless Stations
THE distance that a wireless message will
l. dc f1ne Il