Omaha daily bee., 1914-07-05

Installation of a wireless telegraph apparatus. oh,
yes, he knew all the rules and regulations for in
stalling the plant. But he had some time and he
did not have all the equipment, SO he Just experi-
mented TO see whether all the details really
necessary.
To begin with he had no copper plate. The d-
reetions say to install such plant one must have
enormous copper plate of hundreds of square
feet. That this must be buried in the ground;
tlat IL must rest bed Of charcoal; that the
copper plate must be covered with another bed Of
cl,arcoal He had neither. He had no sppro-
rriation to draw from to buy these things. So ha
Just grounded his wire as he would ground a tele-
rhone WIRE He disregarded the whole proposition
Of grounding in great copper plate imbedded in,
charcoal. ..fr #.
"I' just see." he said. "If cant hear any
messages that way, there will be time enough to
change 1t when have money to buy all this
equipment"
Then, too. this regulations say the wires must
be parallel well, what will it do If they are
not" said Father Rigge to himself. "Pve just got
notion that IL they are not parallel. and that if
they run in various directions and in various
planes, they will catch messages from the various
directions the better."' So his wires are strung
ia awkward directions the roof of the build
ing. IF they don't work, we'll change 'em some:
time," he mused.
So with a cost OF some cents in all and
good deal OF climbing, tacking, mailing and shin
Gcrapng, for the little priest. the wireless station.
such as 1t was, complete
What happened?
Why the first thing he knew the instruments
tegan to TICK and he caught the official announce
Tent of the time of day sent out by Washing gton
daily. He set the clock accordingly. The tee-
Graphy company had been charging the university
something like 500 year for flashing the time
or twice a day. The Rigge wireless was much
cheaper. Father Rigge was Just grabbing 1t out OF
the ETHEREAL they passed over Nebraska
tearing the message to tha coast.
The little priest smiled.
Then the ticker began again, and the priest
heard steamship in the Gulf of Mexico calling for
pilot.
He smiled again. This time not because he
vas getting information for which the telegraph
company had been charging good money, but
merely because it assured him that his instruments
working perfectly TO catch stray mes.
sages even from the Gulf of Mexico that were sent
with the intention OF travelling perhaps less than
fifty miles.
Father Rigge likes good time. He is not the
silent, smiIeless scientist, who face soured
by mathematics When a caller looked for him at
the university few days ago. he found him in a
circle of twenty convent girls on the fourth floor
II was day off for the girls and they went to the
university to be entertained by Father Rigge. The
twenty laughing girls hand in hand formed a
circle. Two OF them held wires from electric
battery Father Rgge was turninl the crank
There were shrieks and shouts, much laughter,
and the scientist kept busy finding new ways of
manifesting the shock-power of electricity.
"oh, couldn't possibly see you today" said
the scientist-prest Come around at 10 o'clock in
the morning. These girls of the convent have this
afternoon off, 1t is the chance Of their life. and
am entertaining them"