New-York tribune., 1909-01-26
AT KEY FOR 81 HOURS
VIVID TALE OF WIRELESS,
Hou Bdltic's Operator Caught Ne1cs
of Republics Plight.

Jack Tattersall. wireless man OF the Baltic,
threw vivid side light on the vast drama which
eliminated in the sinking of the Republic when
he told yesterday the story OF the wireless
He sat at his KEY for fifty-two hours while the
work of rescue was proceeding, and yesterday
afternoon he strode up and down the dock with
quick, nervous step, beyond sleep" he ex-
pressed IL He is little slim, red whskered
Englishman.
Was | excited? ?' he said. pacing up and down,
watching the passengers disembark. Yes but
only once when the first message came from the
Republic via Siasconset and I realized It was
the C. Q. d didn't wait for any steward. but
bolted for the bridge with it as fast as could.
After that things just happened; 1 don't even
remember their order It was just hard work,
| being always the alert I was pretty groggy
last night, admit. l about all in. fancy.
But l got over 1t and am feeling fit now.
Five minutes after the Republic was struck
her lights went out and the dynamos were out
of business. After that Binns her operator had
to rely on his accumulators. They won't send
| a spark much more than sixty miles. not more
than eighty miles at the outside; and at
sixty miles they very faint The worst OF it
was having TO send and get those Republic
ssages-matters of life and death. every Of
tkem-while all the time the shore stations were
jerking out flashes of desperate power.
1T all l could do to decipher the faint
messages from the Republic. They we're just
buzzes In my receiver for the first few hours
jammed out say. by the powerful mes
sages from the shore stations dinning and crack
ling in my ears It's awful nervous strain
striving, always striving, to get the message
right when half dozen gigantic batteries are
jerking flashes to you at the same time drown
ing each other out, pounding in your ears, maxi
ing the night swarm with sparks before your
eyes. God! that's what gets on mans nerves;
that's what makes you next 10 insane
Il hardly knew what to do with the Republic
signalling me. family, so family that 7 could
not make out whether they were sayin. We are
sinking All safe Sometimes cUrssd Sias-
conset and Woods Hole. 1t made nae furious
that they couldn't realize they were spelling my
receiving. How could take those hutters from
the Republics wires when they were crushing
out their sparks powerful enough to travel two
hundred miles?
But all the time kept calling Republic,
Republic and telling them that we We're com
ing to their aid. At last, when we were within
forty miles of their position, I began to be able
to make out words from the buzzes in the re-
ceiver-sca altered. senseess syables 10 begin
with, then whole phrases and sentences They
gave me the position and I answered that we
coming as fast could steam through
the fog
Listen fer our horn and bombs I flashed
And set off bombs and rockets while our
horn doomed monotonousIy all the time
Their flashes grew stronger and stronger and
when / started to send one or two private mos
sages to shore Binns able to break in on me
Do not send private messages he tapped.
May have important message any minute
so refused TO take private messages any
longer We crept on through the fog feeling
our way. Whenever We were about to send off
bomb or rocket l signslled the Republic
told them, too, to listen for our submarine bell
Just after had flashed them that we were set
ting off our last bomb Binns replied that it had
been heard. So we found them
After the transfer of the Republics passen-
gers from the Florida to the Baltic while Tat
tersal was sitting in his office. man walked
in TO him and said: .sHelio You're Tattersall
aren't you? L Jack Binns the wireless
| operator the Republic We've had good
deal 10 say. and we've had some trouble saying