The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-10-22


Human Voice Will Be Made to Car
ry Entirely Around the World by
Wireless.
ARLINGTON, Oct. darlington,
Va, talked by telephone with Paris,
France, yesterday. Honolulu, $500
miles from Paris, also heard the oper-
ator talking from Arlington An
nouncement that the human voice had
been successfully projected across the
Atlantic was made at New York last
night on hehalf Of John j Carly, chief
engineer of the American telephone and
telegraph company, at the company s
office Later Mr.. Carly, talking over
the telephone from Chicago, confirmed
| the announcement and told in detail
| of the test.
| TO B. B. Webb, a telephone engineer,
| fell the honor of being the first man
to span with his voice the space be-
tween the old world and the new. Sit
ting in the powerful navy wireless
plant at Arlington, Vt, at an hour
| previously designated and selected be-
cause the atmosphere would then be
| clearest of static and electric disturb
anee, Mr.. Webb, shortly after midnight
| yesterday morning, asked the wireless
| telegraph operator to signal the Eiffel
tower in Paris.
| The wireless snapped out the signal
and soon there came back a response.
i The way was clear. The French gov
eminent had turned over the Eiffel
| tower plant to the engineers for few
precious moments and the Arlington
plant was already at their service.
Awaiting word from Mr.. Webb at the
Paris end of the wireless radiation
were II. E. Shreeve and \. NJ Curtis
engineers, and a group of French of
iicers listening with specially designed
apparatus for what might come.
In Honolulu, 4,S00 miles from Airing
ton, with receiver attuned to the wire
less antennae of the Pearl barber ma
Wy yard there. Mr.. Espenchied ,anoth-
er telephone engineer, was waiting,
too.
Webb at Arlington began the test.
The only transmitting instrument at
the three stations was in his hands.
Only the receiving instruments adjust
ed to the heads of those awaiting his
voice in the Eiffel tower were at hand
in Paris. To Honolulu he gave little
thought, as previous demonstrations had
already proved that wire and wireless
could carry the voice from Arlington
to Hawaii. He knew, however, that
while Paris might hear him, he could
: not hear Paris, but would have to wait
for the cable to confirm the success of
of the experiment or tell of its fail
ure.
'sHello, Shreeve!'' he shouted into
the mouthpiece. Hello, Shreeve!' He
paused few seconds, then began to
count: .. One, two, three, four; one,
two, three, FOUR The meaningless
: figures were repeated several times and
next came the enunciation of several
test sentences. These were repeated
. too. More counting, and finally the
Shreeve!" A pause: "Good-bv
Shreeve! - 'Good-ble Shreeve!'
= Quickly the telephone was unhitch
l ed from the second apparatus and
! Webb, after looking over his apparatus
went home to bed Some time in the
+. day, he thought, cable message might
come through from Paris telling wheth
: er the whole thing was a foozle or the
' opening of a new era in transatlantic
!, communication.
Late yesterday the expected message
came 1t was addressed to the com
: pany at. New York and said tina
Webb s '"Hellos' and "Goodbys' hao
been distinctly heard by the engineer
and French army officers in Paris ant
! that portions of his test sentences al
5 so had been picked up. At about thu
/ same time there came a message from
Honolulu saying that Webb s talk hat
been understood i'll full by the receiv
ing engineer there.
In telling of the tests which result
: ed in the human voice spanning b.
b land wires and wireless one-third tn
circumference of the world, Mr.. Car
e ty said over the telephone last nigh
~ that he thought the day was not man.
. years distant when New York coul,
a speak by telephone with Toxic and tina
If it was his belief that the human voic
could be made to carry entirely arount
the world by wireless. Much expert
j mental work Will have to be done yet
= however, he said, before telephone com
munication across the Atlantic become
an everyday affair of commercial life