New-York tribune., 1912-04-17
TRIUMPH FOR WIRELESS
Marconi Talks About Part It
PLAYED in Titanic Disaster.

As Gugiemo Marconi remarked yester-
day. had the Titanic met with the fatai
accident In pre-wireless days those WHO
were rescued from the lifenoats might
still be adrift on the Atlantic. scanning
the horizon for the smoke OF some liners
tunnels, or the nasts of some sailing ship.
Had IL not been FOR the wireless. said
its inventor the lifeboats might still he
on the ocean with their precious cargoss OF
souls. Vessels might have passed within
two miles of them, or even less in fog.
and not have sighted them. but az II was.
all who could be crowded into the lifehoats
were rescued In as short time as it took
the first of the vessels which answered the
wireless call for help TO reach the scene
OF the disaster.
But the inventor was vislbIy grieved that
the first messages telling Of the coihsion
had proved to be untrue. Where these nes-
sages, which said all the passengers were
safe. originated no one yesterday could
tell one theory is that in being relayed
from one vessel to another until they nm
ally reached land station they were MIS-
interpreted Another is that some anna
teur played a cruel hoax.
In an interview with q reporter Of The
Tribune on Monday night before the truth
was known. Mr. Marconi was elated 10
think that the * s" cry of distress
made possible by his invention had been
responsible for the saving OF nearly three
thousand lives.
At the time he spoke OF what terrfole
calamity the loss Of so many lives would
be- with so many distinguished men among
them, men who ranked high in most OF ths
worlds endeavors.
He spoke OF two other apparatuses hs
was developing which would still lessen
the dangers Of those who travel at sea-
One was an apparatus which would give
tSe bearing OF a vessel approaching snoth-
ar thus preventing collisions between
ships The other was the further perfect"
ing of the wireless so as 70 enable several
stations to speak with the one operator al
the same time.
Twelve and a half years sgo such an acct
dent as befelI the Titanic might nave result
ed I'm total loss OF life. II was not unt'i
November l5 1893. that the first wireless
message was sent This consisted of the
following call being sent OUT from the fos'
vrapped land station on the Isle OF Wighti
st Paul. ST. Paul!''
] And out OF the fog came back the answer
| from the American liner:
Yes Sxty-siN miles out az sea
| II was about ten years after that "JacE'
Binns sent the famous &C d" from ths
White Star liner Republic after the colh.
sion with the Florida. This was the arss
! big test that Marconi's invention was pus
| 10. and IL was not found wanting.
| Soon after tho saving of the crew ana
passengers of the Republic 10 passengers
were saved from the liner Ohio through
the same distress signal off the coast or
Alaska. Since then hardly two months has
passed without some similar incident at sea.
Yesterday the offices of the Marconi corn.
pany were besieged by friends and rela-
tives of the passengers on the Titanic. C1s
of the first TO visit the thirteenth fioo- cf
No. 27 William street was Vincent Astc-.
the son of Colonel John Jacob Astor. III,
ewes were red as though he had spent the
might I'M tears. and. almost hystericsl with
grief. he begged for some word of his
father.
All Yesterday messages from friends ana
relatives of the passengers were filed with
the company for transmission TO the Car
pathla. the Virginia and the Partisan. These
were relayed to the land stations and there
held ND until the ships came within speak
ling distance.