Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-27

Hamburg-American line, incoming from
Hamburg; the Furnessia of Anchor line,
from Glasgow; the French liner La Lor-
raine. from Havre; the Cunarder, Lucania,
from Liverpool, and the Atlantic Trans
port liner Minneapolis from London were
all within the wireless zone OF the shore
stations along the coast.
The Lorraine and the Lucania were
furthest in, and, with the Republic, were
holding communication with the station at
Siasconsett; the Baltic some ninety miles
In toward New York, was just passing into
the zone covered by the station at Saga
ponack.
Each ship has an individual call letter
X. c. for the Republic, b. C. for the Bal
tic, L. /. for the Lorraine. and J.. A. for
the Lucania. The land stations take mes
sages in order Of priority. To avoid a
babel of messages the land station in
communication with the vessels calls the
particular vessel 1t wishes to receive from
or send a message to and this call gives
that particular vessel the ''right-of-way."
The others all tuned alike, keep silent
and listen to the messages, or when needed.
pass them along to others farther out at
sea.
The Republic was in commercial COM
munication at the time of the accident.
1t had been talking to the station and
A. II. Gilman. the operator, was clicking
off a message to the vessel. He was we'll
under way, and everything was in working
order, in spite of the fog, when suddenly
the operator on the Republic broke in
sharply, and there began to come into
the station the letters &C. O." This is the
signal of the wireless code meaning that
something important has happened and
that all other shore stations and vessels
in the wireless zone must instantly stop
sending and give attention.
Instantly the operator on shore stopped
his message and waited with some anx-
iety for the next flash. On each ship the
operators we're watching, for something of
moment had plainly happened to cause the
operator on the Republic to violate eti-
quette of wireless and break In thus on
the sending man ashore.
There were just a few seconds of walt
ing and then the Republic began to send
in haste repeating over and over again
the letters &c. @. D."
The added ID" meant danger, and the
three letters together are a cry for help
a general ambulance call OF the deep sea.
&C Q DC Q D." called the wireless out
of the fog, and then the Republics iden-
tification letters and next the wireless in
strument ashore and on the other steamers
began to deliver this, the first message
telling of the accident:
$40 a. m.-Rammed by unknown ship
twenty-six miles south of Nantucket.
Latitude 40.17, longitude 10"
Immediately the shore operator sent out
another c. @. d. call, and then repeated
the message, letting all other vessels
within the zone, 200 to 800 miles from the
station, know what had happened and the
steamship Republics need for help. The
shore instrument Is capable of covering q
greater zone than the Republic and could
reach other vessels which might not have
heard the call OF distress from the Repub-
lie. 1t was an indirect appeal to every
steamer within reach to make for the
scene of the collision without delay.
At this moment the Baltic was in COM
munication with the 6~agaponack station
on Long Island, some hundred miles west
of Sionconsett. 1t was from the Baltic
that the first answering message came.
1t sent word that 1t had picked up the
call, and began to sound off a message
telling both shores and ships that 1t was
turning back on its course, and would
make all speed to find the Republic In the
fog.
Then from all the other vessels in range
the Lorraine. the Lucania. the st. Louis
came wireless notice to the shore that
they had heard the message and were also
turning toward Nantucket to help.
Then came other responses. The reve-
nue. cutter service has just made Woods
Hole a cutter station. AS soon as Gin
man received his warning of trouble he
forwarded 1t to the cutter Acushnet there.
1t at once got out and steamed away In
the fog.
The revenue cutter Mohawk was off
the coast on a derelict search. 1t, too,
caught the message and FASTENED away.
And so 1t went. From time to time came
to the wireless stations ashore messages
from the rescuing ships; from the revenue
cutter Acushnet, which got first to the dis
abled liner. and more family as the hours
went on and the batteries on the Republic
began to fall from the ship herself, telling
that the passengers were safe aboard the
Florida, itself partly disabled. and that
there was a resculng fleet around doing
all that could be done.
Late in the evening, when the wireless
messages from the Republic seemed TO have
failed. the White Star line received a wire
less from Captain Ransom OF the Baltic
telling that the Lueania and the Baltic
were within reach OF the Republic and It
was directing their movements by it's own
wireless, which was found to be of use
only within a limited aIea.
THE complete success of these efforts"
says the New York Tribune, will be hailed
as the sign of a great dellverance from
the terrors of the past by the thousands