The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-04-08
WAR OF SILENCE
BY ELECTRICITY
WIRELESS NOW ONLY TEN YEARS
OLD, YET CAPABLE OF
DOING WONDERS.

Picture yourself standing on the
ton OF one OF the New York's tallest
buildings. The days Of wireless war
fare have come. An assault IL De-
ing made upon the city.
No sound Of firing Ia heard. Nowhere
Is there the smoke Of guns.
Yet before your very eyes you see
building after building crumpie ana
sixxle and disappear.
Hither and thither rush the city's
guards seeking to discover the source,
the direction from which IL coming the
silent. invisible. terrible beam Of con-
centrated electric power that Is wipine
out the metropolis beam that Is
travelling at the rate OF lsS.ooo Feet
a second.
II sounds like a dream. doesn't It?
And vet, with the study Of electricity
stiil in its infancy. hardly century
since the first crude experiments OF
Franklin, II Is now possible:
To receive and transmit wireless
messages over more than 900 miles.
To talk from moving trains over
wireless telephones.
To direct the movements OF torpedo
boats and aeroplanes by wireless.
To hurl powerful discharges Of arti'
fetal lightning across a space OF %
feet.
The electrician Of today 10 able to
direct invisible electric forces to any
point Of compass he may wish.
All he needs to do now II to
strengthen this invisible electric force
and there will be at his disposal the
greatest destructive power In the uni
verse.
At present efforts Of both aviators
and electrical experts are turned to-
ward the wireless transmission OF teie-
graph and telephone messages to aero
planes.
The step after this viii probably be
the transmission Of sumcient wireless
power to run the aero craft. Com
munication with people on land. while
in the air. - very important mat
ter. When lonw-distance flights be-
come common many messages and I'm
portant information can be given both
to the aviator and to the public.
In transatlantic afrship flights. five
OF which are to be attempted this sum-
mer. wireless II really moro needed
than Il, Ia ON ocean liners. II is,neces.
sary to receive directions" from YES
sells following the airEhips to obtain
weather reports. and also for reportins
the general conditions on board the
air-hips and giving other necessary
information.
In warfare. as air craft are adopted.
the ADVANTAGE Of getting immediate
and accurate reports OF the enemy's
movements from airehip scouts Will be
OF the utmost Importance.
A commander in the field. or even
at Washineton. can give orders via
wireless for quick movements Of
troops, or changes In position, or ma
neuvers In attack or defense. There
Is also a possibility Of constructing d
gun which will concentrate and di-
rect a strong electric force or beam
Ut electric energy suficient in inten-
sity Immediately to destroy an enc
my's warship. or even a battleship
at sea. s4q -,
This possibility IL now 20 strong
that the German government has al
ready put naval experts to work.
Imagine fleet Of these destroyars
flying over the city In action. One
points its electric guns at an enemy's
ahtrs. He presses the button, and ZIP.
pun! nothing but silence; the once
present ship Is no more!
It has been completely voltalixed
and turned into gases and vRpor--of
into It's original elemcnts--so quickly
that the imagination n stunned At the
rantditv OF the action.
Thtrk Of the terror Of such var