New-York tribune., 1910-01-14
TICKS FOR CARUSO
Manhattan Beach Butts In"
on WTeless Opera.

II was a question Of wave lengths last
night IN the demonstration of opera by
wireless. Those with ears TO the receivers
UP in the offices Of *. NJ. Turner, inventor
of the dictograph, at No. 1863 Broadway,
Overwhelmingly for the strains OF ''Caval-
Ieria Rustleana' and ''Pagliacci,' being
sung at the Metropolitan Opera House, and
were surprised TO hear the tick, tick-tick-
tick, tick, tick OF the wireless code, which
may be music to the shipwrecked, but is
not considered classic on the Great White
WAY.
One or two with auditory nerves more
carefully attuned perhaps, To receiving
wave lengths OF eight hundred and fifty
metres said they distinguished faint melo-
dies waited nysteriously by ether, but one
man who knew the code said the United
Wireless operator at Manhattan Beach was
saying: Il got drink and came back and
sat down.
The Manhattan Beach station was the
scapegoat- II has Il reputation for "butting
in" anyway, no matter wnat the other sta
uons are trying TO say or sing. and last
night tis said to have fouled the sweet
notes of Caruso. Just Why Manhattan
Beach should be blamed for that ticking
was explained technically by the assertion
that II had the same wave length-S50
metres-possessed by the Dc Forest ap-
paratus at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Oh, that art should be thus hampered by
this ETHEREAL ctt-up, was the sentiment, in
effect, expressed by those responsible for
the experiment
To understand the demonstration it is
necessary TO know that two distinct inter
ests were involved-that behind the cIcto-
graph and the promoters of the radio tele-
phone. The dictograph is sensitive re-
corder Of sound waves, resembling 10 the
lay eye two little round hard rubber disks
in a frame, which is set up behind the foot
lights in the opera house Wires are at
tached TO these disks which reach up into
a dressing-rooTn near the roof and there
discharge the melodies of the singers into
tranSmittetr Of the radio telephone
The radio telephone is a wireless tela-
phone developed by DR.. Lee De Forest
the inventor Of one system of wireless
uelegraphy. which transmits by ether waves
the human voice instead Of the wireless
code. It is subject, however, to the i'm
perfeetions OF all wireless systems in that
rank outsiders may break in with their in
strun1ents and garble the messages. This
was the case last night, according to those
who profess to know, ard they said also
ll-6L LIl0 O4CLOSIdpn was IN no Y2y TO
blame
70 demonstrate the truth Of this Francis
P McQuade, Mr.. Turner'S representative,
produced in the Offices of his chief q stout
young man whom he stood up in front Of
dictograph- Then he spoke several SEN
tences in low tone. which were received
by q stenographsr in another room who
held to her ear what looked to be an Or
binary telephone receiver. Later she faith
fully repeated what had been said through
the widest part OF the young mans anat-
ony.
Many stations were 70 receive last night
the operas by wireless, and among them
was that Of the Radio Telephone Com
pany. on the roof Of the Metropolitan Life
Building. But owing 10 a confusion of
orders by the watehnaan, no one was al
lowed within
At the Hotel Breslin, which hopes, when
the combination is perfected, to treat its
guests 10 grand opera without their NOV
ing from the premises. the leader Of the
orchestra said ne had distinguished the
prologue 10 fPaglIacei' very plainly by
wireless But he complained, too, of the
Quitting in of Manhattan Beach