River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1909-05-20

spring At their feet is a small building which
housed two great engines and mighty dynamos
full powerful batteries and lot of instruments which
people could understand
This is the high power station of the Marconi wire
less-the station from which messages be sent
1900 miles to 1t matters not-press dispatches
commercial messages, love words from woman to her
sweetheart husband far out the bosom of the
stock quotations to the business man; this is
the place from which they the last limit
where the wireless from the shore be picked up at
1t is the jumping off place for the United States
In bungalow, in the shadow of the mighty towers,
dwell five men-the nwho make it possible to reach
ships at the men who life by imparting
the information they have about disaster and calling
other ships to the
Two of them Observation-Disclosures operators-and
two of them electric engineers-Ginman and Simpson;
Campbell Nickerson. The fifth is the steward
who cooks the meals for these lonely far from
home, and makes their beds. There is sixth man,
H. c. Welby, who prior to this time, in charge of
the station but he is going to Seattle to erect another
station there just he went to Joo in the Philippines
several years to put which the United States
needed to get in touch with Manila.
But the chief of them there is Ginman-A H Gin
man, the who got the famous &C O. D." from Jack
Binns of the Republic and got to work to get help from
ships far out at
ship the last, calling for aid But had it been
for Gilman, who kept his wits the would
have reached the land would the ships that started
at once to the rescue have heard the danger CALL &C.
c. d."
Mr. Gilman is just back from we'll merted vacation
IA England whence halls 1t was who received the
famous &C. Q. D." at Siasconset, the end of Nam
ucket island which resulted in the saving of soul
aboard the Republic.
To him it nohing-it is his business To him
the sending of a message out 10 is nothing
less than pumping at big telegraph key for
a few moments To the ayman it is marvellous mys-
terry.
A representative the press saw Gilman work
spent the night in the office with him-the first person
permitted within the bounds of this station the big
gest in the United States.
What doing?" laughed Gilman. "Why we are
manufacturing lightning that's all! That's what long
distance wireless really means
he led the way this little station the
Sleak confines of Cape Cod, to show how it is done
The big plant is surrounded by barbed wire fence.
Nobody may enter except the employees Summer Wis
iors to the edge of the fence because nobody
buy up the front, but they can't in.
Nobody stop them from gazing at the four big tow
which be for miles around the desolate,
fiat country, but there can they go and no further
How Marconi men send their short distance messages
$50 miles less-is secret That much of the pro-
cess Gilman could explain But what is done when
words flashed to ships half way the
the Marconi men are the only ones who do it's
real secret.
There are four rooms this little building which has
much to do with the ways of the world. One is filled
with engines and dynamos. Another is crowded with
batteries third holds the long distance apparatus
and fourth is where the operator sends his
and receives them.
ct strictly against the rules" said Ginman with
smile ito allow any one to see how work the long
distance But let show you the short distance work
Wen let you hear us work the long dsstance-thats ALL
Here are!"
lie led the way into a tiny room with a desk and
On the table telegraph key, times mag
nfed, and a switch, just large. Attached to two
wires two telephone receivers exactly the
things that any Office boy might put his in
office which had private branch exchange
To the left induction coil capable of a ten
inch spark and a mahogany box in which fixed
small clockwork motor surmounted by two small vul-
cante disks connected by a band of iron wire
"Now," explained Gilman, this is short distance
apparatus. With this send and receive for $50
miles in any direction. AS matter of fact this is
long distance station, and called upon
very few messages for short distance Our business
to reach ships far out at
tNow let me show you. / will call up SIasconset
Nantucket island, 60 miles away, and get him send
YOU the famous letter S. the first letter which
conf managed clear the Atlantic from the
coast of Ireland to the coast of Nova Scotia"
Gilman pulled down the switch, turned lever which
got him with Nantucket anG began to send.
The great induction coil shot out its spark in blue