Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1914-06-01
DEVELOPMENT OF
NAVAL WIRELESS
TELEGRAPH
IN THE SPANISll-AMERICAN WAR
1T MAS UNKNOWN. WHILE To
DAY EVERY l.. :. SHIP Is
EQUIPPED WITH WIRELESS.
EXTENSIONS PLANNED
SELECTION OF POINT ISABEL AND
IAN DIEGO. CAL. FOR LAND STA
TIONS ARE 4 RESULT OF MEN,.
CAN SITUATION.
(By Associated Prcss.l


Washington. -. g.. June a1.@Captain
who is in charge of the naval radio ser
vice and who has his headquarters under
the shadow of the three great steel masts
which form the center of the naval wire
less system al Arlington. Va. seven
miles from Washington. has just present
Cd 10 the Naval inNitute an interesting
review Of The development Of naval wire.
less biography.
The leaps and bounds of this develop
ment are brought to pointed notice when
il is recalled that during the Spanish
American war such a thing n wireless
tclceraphy was untricd ia the United
States navy-0r any oNlcr navy. Ii was
during lSDJ. the year after the Spanish
American conflict. that the British navy
became the first of all the naval powers
Ia try the new means of communication
upon three NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. Juno
and Europea. These ships succeeded in
communicating up 10 u distance Of "a
miles.
Today practically every vessel il the
Vnitcd States navy j. equipped with ap
paraius Tor this aerial communication
and il is 81 successfully operated that
there il SCARCELY "A point in the seven
seas At which the bigger battle>hips
would he out Of touch. through relay.
with the three great masts towering over
Captain Billiards headquarters al .Arl
ingtOn.
The first trial Of wireless on Amcri-
can warships was made late ia 1899. d.
rectly after the British ships had proved
its possibilities. The armorel erniscr
New York NOW Ut Saratoga. the battle
ship MASSACHUSETTS, and the torpedo
boat Porter were the first to be- equipped.
M about the same time the Highland
light station in New York harbor was
established a the first shore station Of
the naval radio system.
Within six years more than thirty
more ships were equipped and sunc fifty
shore stations established or projected.
Almost every vessel in the navy was then
placed on the list for wireless equipment
aud the work went forward just A. fast
~ possible. The scheme included both
the Atl;rltir and Pacific Seaboa r.ls.
Alaska, the Midway Islands and remote
points.
Meanwhile. in the spring of 1906. the
naval SYSTEM inaugurated what has
proved valuable daily features Of its
service flashing the noon time signal.
storm warnings and other meteorological
observations.
In 100. N the development of the wire
less seemed to warrant the erection IL
high powered stations at Washington.
on the Pacific coast. nj Hawaii. Guam.
Samoa. and the Philippines, so that
wherever il might be-. the United States
fleet would nj all times Ne in communi-
cation with Washington. The success
Of long distance communication was e..
tabli>he,l during 1905. when the Hn.
wailan Islands exchanged messages with
Farallon Islands. Cal. and later during
the cruise of the Atlantic fleet around
the world. when messages were received
across Central America by PENSACOLA
and Washington. BY a sv<em of RELAYS
the fleet was in touch with Washington
practically every minute during the trip
across the Pacific until after New Yea
land was reached.
Al that time also the high powered
naval station ear here. Ia be the central
point If the Navy department system
was projected. The station was to have