The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-07-22
Army Experts Begin to Realize
Value of Wireless.
New Instruments, Invented by
Soldier, Increase Usefulness.
MAKE WARS SHORTER
Civil War Would Have Lasted
Four Months, King Says.
In One and Half Minutes Towers
Can Be Raised.

Fort Jeayenworth Kan, July e.
One of the most interesting organize
lions in the United States army is now
stationed here. It is Company D, sig
nal corps.
Company D was sent to the maneuver
camp from Fort Omaha, Neb., last
spring and during the four months that
it was stationed in Texas convinced a
large number of the older officers IN
the army Of the efficiency of the field
wireless telegraph outfit, which up to
that time had been regarded as more or
less experimental
Perhaps no other man in, the corps
has had more to do with the advance
ment of the utility of the wireless tete-
, graph in the army than has Thomas l.
King, master signal electrician, VINO IS
now on duty with Company D. Ser
geant King has seen the wireless de-
velop from an experimental stage 70
practical usage.
THE work has developed itself from
the first said Sergeant King. we
learned that many changes would have
to be made before the wireless could be
of any practical use to the army At
first the equipment vas unwieldy and
difficult to transport from one place TO
another But after experimenting for
some time we discovered that It was
possible to reduce the equipment ana
still retain the efficiency of the wireless
on three pack mules.
sSTower'' Carried in Sections.
"At first our experiments were car
ried out by means of kites and bal
looms, but it was necessary to find
some means to put up our aerIals with
out the aid of wind, for in the tropics it
would be hard to send UP a kite on ac-
count of the scarcity of breeze, and so
we now have the 90-foot sectional pole.
This pole can be put up and the entire
outfit made ready for work in a minute
and d half
Sergeant King did not say that it
was he who was responsible for the in
vention of the extension pole.
when we first attempted to use the
wireless for field work, it took ten men
25 minutes to put up the outfit. This
was entirely too slow for practical
work but it is vastly different now.
The outfit can be put up and messag
sent in less time than it takes to tell
about it.
I'VE have a new instrument now
continued Sergeant King, that should
prove invaluable to the work. It is
what is known as a circuit breaker,
and used in an experimental way,
means of this circuit breaker MESA ges
may be sent so miles instead of 20
miles, the capacity of the old sending
instrument.
1T is easy now to maintain direct
communication between different bodies
of troops at all hours of the day or
night. Two parallel marching columns
can communicate with each other with
comparative ease and on the line of
battle the wireless will from now on
render important service. In fact, If
the civil war had been fought with
present modern equipment and with
the wireless, it would have lasted four
months instead Of four years"
Sergeant King also has invented a
cart reel for the field military tele-
graph, by means of which wire can be
reeled out at a gallop. He also has
added a number Of useful parts to the
wireless outfit besides the extension
pole already mentioned. He is congtd-
cred one of the ablest signal cleo
tricians in the array.