The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-08
Progress Of Wireless 7elegraphy
By Frederic J. Haskin.

kind of wireless telegraphy used: also for the adoption of a uniform wave
 length in signalling for that purpose This convention has been ratified by
 many governments. The United States,
 England and some other powers have
 treaty in question practically deprives
 certain inventors of the fruits of their
 genius. The signal for vessels in dis tress, however. is universal.
 This government was early in the
 wireless field. The army. the navy,
 the weather bureau and the commerce
 and labor department began operations
 along this ltne several years ago. In
 order to avoid conflict of interests, an
 inter-departmental board was created
 with Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans
 at its head. The report of that board.
 which was adopted. practically placed
 the control of government wireless tel
 egraphy in the military departments of
 the government on account of the
 national defense.
 Now every government vessel of con-
 sequence Is equipped with wireless ap- paratus. the navy has @ chain of wire less stations extending along the Att lantic and Gulf coasts, to Cuba, Porto
 Rico. the Canal Zone and up the Pa ellie coast to Alaska. with outposts at Hawaii Guam and the Philippines. By this means. Washington was able to Keep in communication with the bat tleship fleet most of the way to New Zealand. The navy department is planning the construction of high power wireless station in Washington guaranteed to send messages 5000 miles at any time, and to deliver them only to the ships or stations for which they are intended. It was first pro- posed to use the Washington Monu- ment in this connection, as the Eiffel Tower Is used in Paris, but this will not be done. Similar stations will eventually be built on the west coast and in the insular possessions. so that naval vessel will have to go to the Antarctic Ocean to escape orders from Washington.
 The navy handles about a million private messages year. The war de- pertinent has wireless on its trans- ports and in Its field equipment. The revenue cutters and other government ships are also able to communicate with the shore. There are hundreds of American and foreign vessels equip- ped with wireless apparatus, inclu- ding 125 foreign ocean passenger steamers making 2oo-mile trips be- tween American or other ports, and l27 American steamers of the same class. On some of these a daily paper is published from wireless bulletins while crossing the ocean. There are i50 foreign vessels and 1855 American vessels of the same sort not equipped with wireless. According to the last report, the total number of shore wire less telegraph stations throughout the world is 451. Including ships equipped, there are now several thousand wire less stations.
 There are about a score of known wireless systems. The Marconi system Is employed on most transatlantic pas senger vessels. The DeForest or Uni- business in this country and on Amer lean vessels. Reginald A. Fessenden has perfected a system of his own with the aid of many patents. but that system Is not very active in the com mercial field. The Clark system op- crates on the Great Lakes There are several other competing American sys- tems and a number of foreign ones.
 One legitimate development of the telegraph Is the wireless tel- ephone. This has been experimented with on the battleship fleet while saii- ing around the world, and elsewhere with more or less success. In course of time wireless telegraphy is expec- ted to be extended all over the United States and the continents of the world, as we'll as along their sea-coasts. The mysterious electro magnetic waves can pierce mountains as readily as they cross the sea. Other developments, which have already been perfected, are a wireless typewriter, which prints messages sent through space, and marvellous schAfne of transmitting pho- tographs by wireless.
 The wireless is used daily to flash the exact time at noon from Washing ton to ships in the Atlantic and the Pa- cific oceans. It is very useful in de- termining longitude and thus lessening the nayigator's dangers. It can ba used to send submarine signals, and may be able to connect with submarine can be used to control a torpedo speed ing silently toward a hostile fleet or to fire a submarine mine at & distance. there being no connecting cables for the enemy to cut. Machinery may be run by electricity transmitted by wire- less.
 The ultimate possibilities of wireless are beyond comprehension. Having heard. talked and written by wireless, who knows but that mankind may yet see by wireles. or that the dream of the Arabian Nights of instantane- ous transportation may be realized? With electricity travelling 1S6.000 miles per second on etheric waves vii brating at the rate of 100000 per se- cond, communication may be estab- lished with Mars and other worlds of the solar system.
 Copyright. 1909. by Frederic J. Has