Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1916-06-16
WONDERS OF WIRELESS.
Scraps for the History of One of Elec
tricity's Boons to Mankind.

newer and more invincible ways Of
killing.
The principal Powers of the world
are in death-grip; every corner OF
Europe resounds to the clash of arms
or, to be more up-to-date, the bursting
of shells. What science can do to heir
in the terrible work is being done by
every scientist-save one.
There is one man whose name stands
out amid the conflict for what he has
done to save life. While others dc.
stroy, he preserves.
And this man is Chcvalier Marconi
who invented and perfected the won.
derful wireless telegrophy. To him
belongs the credit of saving life all
over the world, since to his great in
vention thousands of people owe their
rescue from maritime disaster.
The history of wireless telegraphy
is still short. AS recently as 1899
messages were first sent from England
to France, while in 1902 the "wavcs' -
he had mastered carried greetings be-
tween Canada and England.
But the side of wireless tclegraphy
with which this article deals is .its
power of saving life from the sea.
The first case on record of "Wire-
less being employed by a ship in
distress occurred on March 3, 1899.
On this date the r. F. Matthews ran
into the East Goodwin lightship dur
ing heavy fog. The weather cond-
tons would, in the old days, have
rendered the work of rescue very diff
ficult, if not impossible. But the r.
f. Matthews was equipped with what
un No So
of wireless telegraphy. Messages
were sent ashore, and speedily brought
lifeboats to the rescue.
During the next ten years instances
are recorded of wireless aiding ships
i'll difficulties, but not uatil 1909 was
public interest really reused in this
matter.
On Jan. 80, 1909, just ten years af-
ter the case of the r. F. Matthews,
the Florida rammed and sank the
great White Star liner, the Republic,
off the Nantucket lightship, some thir-
ty miles from the American coast.
The story of the loss of the Rcpub-
lie is the story of the pluck of Jack
Binns, the wireless operator. Binns
at once began to send out the urgent
call for help, &C @ D." Throughout
the boundless air the magic letters
sped, being recorded by every wireless
receiver for hundreds of miles. And
in answer ships changed their courses
and hurried to the scene Of the disas-
ter.
Sixty miles away was the Baltic,
separated from the sinking liner, with
its two thousand human souls by a
dense fog. And from half-past sevel
in the morning until half-past six at
night the Baltic secured the surface
of the ocean on its errand of mer-
cy. All through the long, weary
hours Binns sat at his instrument
sending out messages and directions
to the ship coming to the aid of the
Republic
And then, in the evening, after
day of zig-zagging two hundred miles
on the ocean, the Baltic sent the well
come word to the Republic that they
were close together The look-outs on
the ships could see nothing, but the
wireless operators knew. And so the
passengers of the Republic were saw
ed by means of wireless telegraphy.
Only a few years ago such disas
ter as that of the Republic could not
have had so satisfactory an ending.
Doubtless some of the passengers
would have been rescued by the ship s
boats, but exposure to the January
weather must have levied a heavy toll
even ON those. Instead, every MAJ,
woman and child was safely brought
to land.
This splendid rescue brought the use
Of wireless for saving life well before
the world. Shipowners at once began
to see the necessity OF having their
vessels fitted with it. Marconi had
fully proved his right to the honor of
saving life.
The following year after the saving
of the Republic. wireless telegraphy
was put to still another use. In the
autumn of that year an American in
ventor named Wellman set out in his
dirgible balloon, periodically called
the America, to cross the Atlantic. In
theory the idea was good; in practice
it went wrong. Presently Wellman
and his band of devoted helpers found
themselves drifting aimlessly about
over the wide Atlantic, with apparent
ly little hope of rescue. But the wire
less operator with the balloon succeed
ed in calling aid to the stricken air
ship.