The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-04-28
REFORM IN WIRELESS.

ouslv enough, has come under the
searching Investigation of the Senate
committee which is inquiring into the
facts OF the Titanic disaster. From the
investigation made, it appears that the
wireless men held back information as
to the rescue Of those found by the Car
pathia, and determined 10 make -four
figures - out of tho sale of their news.
This kept tho country on the keen edge
Of anxiety for four days, and probably
those who injected the mcrccnary prop
osition into the case got their money,
for the stress and anxiety of the public
money would bc paid for definite and
authentic news.
1t has developed also that the wire
| less service on the ships is not gen
orally twenty four-hour service; that
the wireless operator in the Californian
was asleep, or he would have caught the
call from the Titanic and the Califor
MAN. being then but q few miles from
the doomed ship, could have got there
| far ahead of any other rescner If
wireless operator had been awake and
on duty. The lesson OF this evidently is
! that there must be at least two wireless
| operators on every ship, and that the
attention of an operator shall he con
stant, both day and night. il is found,
further. that some OF the wireless equip
meuts in the ships are antiquatcd and
| feeble. But anv ship that has wireless
apparatus like that should he denied
clearance. The law should require that
up-to date wireless equipment be had
IN every passenger ship.
The great puzzle of the Titanic dis
astcr WAS tho reassuriug news received
during the day after the Titanic went
down, 1t will be remembered that for
hours rcassuring dispatches came TO
the effect that the passengers on the
Titanic were ali saved, and that the
Titanic was being towcd into harbor at
Halifax A good deal of pains and
ingenuity have been expended by way
of finding out how such dispatches
came TO be sent, 1t was stated that
the Olympic had sent out such wire
less notice. This was promptly denied
BY the captain Of That ship, and IN
every direction the blank wall Of de-
nial hemmcd IN the inquiry, But now
comes a plausible explanation to the
effect that the Olympic received
question. "Arc all the Titanic passeu-
gers saved?p The Olympic also re-
cciycd a long message from the Asian
telling of messages from the Titanic
during sunday evening followed by the
last distress call at midnight, and end
ing "Asian then 800 miles west Of Ii
tanic and towing oil tanks to Hall
fax" Captain Haddock of the Olym-
pic suggests that some amateur shore
operator picked up fragments of these
two messages and pierced them into
the message, "All Titanic passengers
saved towing TO Halifax. 1t is easy
TO sec from the quoted messages as
given that by leaving out some of the
words, an amateur wireless operator
might patch up such message as
came, aud as last quoted, Now 1T is
asked. suppose the Carpathia bad re-
ceived this last message telling of the
safety of the passengers, and that the
Titanic was being towed to Halifax?
She would then very naturally have re-
sumed her course TO the Mediterra
mean. and probably all of the Titanic
passengers would have been lost and
the destruction Of the vessel would
have been the greatest mystery of the
seas. Again, suppose the Carpathia had
pt ynI Ia, MI, CHI
did and which brought her to the re-
lief Of the Titanic passengers at the
time she did, but that the message had
been delayed until after midnight
when the Carpathia S wireless messen-
ger went OF duty for the night. Here
are two dreadful possibilities.
In discussing this matter few days
ago, The Tribune Endorsed the PROPOSE
tion that the wireless telegraphy
should be put under Governmental con-
troll, and eventually under interna-
tional control by common agreement
of the great powers. Such control
would provide necessarily for constant
service day and night. on passenger
ships at least, and would also prevent
all tamperlng with messages by ire
sponsible amateurs or bunglers. The
conjecture of Captain Haddock of the
| Olympic that the two messages which
| he suggests were Joined together, and
maDgled in the manner described, is
| probably the solution of the misleading
news received. But that it should be
| possible for irresponsible persons to
| pick up messages like this and send
them out, is one of the dangers that
must be eliminated from the system of
wireless telegraphy; for it would be
impossible either to know what was be-
ing sent by wireless tclcgraphy OF the
place from whence il come, if this sort
of meddling is to be allowed The
dreadful effect Of it can easily be i'm
agined in the case of the Titanic; for.