The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1918-12-20
WILLIAM A. WILLIS
In the New York Herald.

In the New York Herald.
Americas biggest war secret. the de-
velopment and perfection Of the wire
less telephone. is no longer secret.
Eight years Of work by wizards of sci
ence In the United States army. aided
by civilian workers In rndiO problems.
came to successful consuinmntion last
February. Since that time American
airplanes here and In Europe have
been equipped with apparatus which
has made vocal communication be-
tween them while flying, as well as
communication with the earth. sim
pie matter.
The secret has been well kept for
many months. Outside Of members or
the air service few have known IL.
Those few have maintained absolute
silence. The war department has re-
garded the solution of the problem Of
what now Is chilled 'voice command
flying" MS one of the greatest and most
important achievements of the age.
Its value In war was so tremendous
that extraordinary precautions were
taken to prevent the slightest inkling
of the development reached from leak
Ing out.
Germans Had Only . Hint.
German aviators knew that the
American flying men had some adj
vanced method of communication but
did not know exactly what 1t was.
The French and British flying forces
have dabbled with the wireless tele-
phone In connection with airplnnes for
some time. the British meeting with
some success. 1t remained. however.
for men Of the American air service
10 perfect the radiophone. This they
have done.
The writer is the first civilian out
side Of Newton d. Baker. secretary OF
war; Mr.. John d. Ryan, director of
aircraft production, and one or two
Sther highly placed government off,
Gals to observe this latest Of great
American inventions tried out. 1t was
on receipt Of word from Mineola that
the hardest tests the new wireless
telephone had ever been put to- had
failed to impair Its complete efficiency
public the first news ever given out
of the new discovery.
These tests were made at Hazel
hurst ana Roosevelt fields, near Min
cola, under the personal direction of
Mai. Gen. William l.. Kenly. chief Of
the division Of military aeronautlcs,
who came over from Washington for
the specific purpose Of finding out If
there was any feat In aviation that
conld break down the voice com.
mand" system Of communication.
When he quit after nm afternoon Of
hnir-rnising stunts with every kind Of
aircraft from the slow training planes
to those swift eagles OF the air the
De IIavllands, he expressed himself
rs completely satisfied that the wire
less telephone as part of airplune
equipment has come to stay and IL in
shape to meet almost any situation
short of an actual smnshup.
No Need for Further Secrecy.
The ending Of the war has made
further secrecy in connection with this
amazing invention unnecessary. Eiuj
the opinion OF Mr.. Ryan and General
Kenly. There are certain secrets In
connection with the apparatus used
that naturally will not be revealed.
But the principles involved were made
clear without reserve by Col. Clarence
&. Culver Of the aviation corps. the
man who has led the work Of perfect
ing the wireless telephone and who Is
credited by scientists with the major
part Of the credit for It's success.
Those who have seen alrplanes In
battle formation many thousands of
feet In the air have perhaps wondered
how at given moment they have all
turned or looped or dived rs one ma.
chine, maintaining the precision al
most Of West Point cadets on dress
parade. The answer is that each man
hns telephone receiver fastened In
his helmet through which he has re-
ceived the order Of the squadron com.
mander as clearly and audlbiy as II
he was nm infantryman on the ground
being addressed by his company cap
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