The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-04-17
HARVARD TURNS OUT
MANY WIRELESS MEN
Scores of Operators Turned Out Every
Week from Plant in
Cambridge.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass, April IT,
Uncle Sam is sending out every week
from 80 TO 100 wireless operators from
the big Harvard plant here which was
transferred to the government year
ago as a radio finishing school. 1t is
the only institution of the kind in the
country, and its classes have in the
aggregate 5000 ambitious youths.
From the Harvard grounds and Har-
ward square the undergraduates seem
to have disappeared most of them are
in service somewhere. The many
young men in uniform give Cambridge
much the appearance of q great naval
center; certainly, it is not like the uni
versity city of old Most of the Har-
ward halls and dormitories that could
be spared were turned over to the
radio students, whose area of habita-
ton extends close to the famous ''Gold
Coast, filed now largely with Har-
ward boys working their way through
college.
Memorial hall, perhaps the most IA
nous of all the Harvard buildings. and
wherein generations of undergraduates
have dined, is the main eating estab-
| lishment for the radio army. Three
times q day 1900 of them march into
/ Memorial hall like well drilled regi-
ment of bluejackets and set up clat-
ter as they eat, that would do honor
to any battalion of academic students
But this old hall has its quiet period
for on pay day, which comes twice a
month, only a handful 90 there to dine
] 4 IL
and go him one better by taking an
| eight-minute subway jump to Boston
where they come up for air and a
change of scenery.
The radio students notably are or.
| derby. They are scattered over a wide
area, many of them lodging in private
homes without official restraint, yet po
| lice and military records reveal blank
blotters so far as they relate to radio
students
This being a finishing school only
those who are able to copy 10 word'
a minute in the Continental code, which
is much slower than the Morse, or reg
ular telegraph code, are admitted FOL
the 10 weeks course. To be sentAou'
! for service at sea they must be able
TO receive % words minute, the min
imum grading. There are many expert,
among the teaching force whose speed
runs up to 80 words a minute, but be
yond that a radio message would b,
hard to get. From three to six opera
tors are assigned to each ship. Witt
the large number of vessels buildin,
for the merchant marine and the navy
the radio school is doing its best t.
turn out experienced operators as fas
as possible.
The radio men have come here fror
every state in the Union, many of ther
under draft age, and generally cage
for active service. They represent ey
cry element of society. OF two VIII
: were sitting on the steps OF the Ge1
manic museum, the other day, one ha
come from Louisiana and telling of hi
work at home he mentioned, quite il
, cidentally, that on Sundays he had sun
in Methodist church choir
"And | come from the East side c
New York city his friend broke il
'and | had a regular job singing in
4 cabaret at 10th street. But we III
| buddies now," and he picked up a fe
| bars of n song which has won niue
war time popularity. eve hope to /
: assigned to the same ship he adde
$50 that when we sink a Hun sui
marine we can send out the new
}, through the air in different language
l. And, believe me, mine will be the so
= for folks to remember