Evening star., 1918-11-24
Army and Navy News

psysns, Mass, the division in the ad--
jutant generals office charged with
receiving the data from abroad. de-
codfng It and sending word OF al
casualties to the relatives Of the
numbered shout one hundred. for the
casualty lists were small then. But
as they expanded day by day Gen.
Harris. who was giving personal su-
pervision to this work. kept increas-
ing the number Of clerks until he hes
employed nearly nine hundred, and he
says he will make the number thou
sand II he can secure competent peo-
PIE to tabulate the names, send the
notices to relatives and Issue the lists
for publication. - aAe
first requirement in handling this
branch of the work, and Gen. Harris
insists upon this in preference to
hasty dispatch. The idea is to make
sure that persons are not tortured
with false reports that their relatives
death or capture. On the other hand.
there are pressing reasons why the
reports should be published at the
earliest moment possible, and for
these reasons Gen. Harris Is putting
on as many expert tabulators as he
that every effort be made to have the
lists and the Information sent the
relatives as reliable as care can make
them. This Is far from the simple
undertaking that It seems, for until
recently every casualty reported by
against an Army list Of 100000 men,
AZ each name is received 1t is COM
pared with all others Of the same
family name, which, in some instances,
means an examination Of 5000 names.
With the end of the fighting the lists
the division may continue Tor several
weeks. The Canadians have adopted
another method which does not call
Tor the same detail, but gives results
much more promptly, for It Is reported
that their lists are already closed.
letter from the parents OF an only
son who was killed in action, may be
given. They wrote that they had
promptly received from the War De-
partment telegram announcing the
oeath. a letter from his commanding
omcer telling how the boy had met his
death; one from his fellow officers
telling the events Of his last days;
Tor he had died from wounds: a com
plete account of his burial and from
the graves registration division a map
showing the location Of the grave;
from the department a package, ac-
companted by an inventory, containing
all his personal effects, and from the
bureau OF war risk insurance a state
ment and final adjustment on his in
surance policy.
\
THE wireless telephone for use in
1 airplanes has been SO perfected
that it is practical and is one Of the
scientific marvels OF the war. The
wireless telephone is not a new in
vention. Three years ago Secretary
Of the Navy Daniels, from his office
IN Washington, talked to the U.SS
New Hampshire and received the
found it impossible for the noise Of
the motors to make the pilot beside
him in an airp1ane hear a spoken
word could not bring himself to be-
l1eve that the time would come when
the same roar, could carry on a CON.
versation with him at a distance
measured in miles. But that was the
task which radio experts undertook
to perform and which they now have
Eight years Of work by Army and
civilian experts eliminated in
demonstration at Dayton. Ohio, in De-
cember. 1917, before the aircraft board
and the joint Army and Navy tech
two airpianes flying overhead eI- z
changed conversations with each
other and with the ground station as
easily as il they were using an ordinary
telephone line, and the airplanes were
flying with no more noise than a bird
makes.
Maj. Gen. Squier, chief signal Of.
hcer Of the Army, himself a pioneer
expert In radio work, under whose di-
Fection the development Of the test
had been carried out, at once placed
which were completed and sent during
the past summer to training camps
here and to the forces in the field.
Lieut.. Col. augent H. Slaughter Of the
SfEnal Corps was in charge Of radio
develorment and research in the Sig
came through. and Col Clarence G.
Culver, who was in charge Of the di-
vision and who alone had given much
personal attention to the development
Of the apparatus. was in France at
the time OF the Dayton demonstration.
On Friday, Novembar Is, nineteen
De Haviland battle planes at Roose-
yelt Field. Long Island, N. Y, gave a
demonstration Of the use Of this in
vention in voice commanded" drill
The commander. who no longer is
Obliged to take position at the head
OF the flight, where he can be seen by
all his pilots, orally directed the drill,
which was performed in obedience to
the spoken word.
The history of the development of
the radio telephone is as follows: In
August. 1916, Col Culver was detailed
to work on the problem, and at the
same time Lieut. Col. Slaughter was
conducting the research work in de-
signing the apparatus. Soon after
that date communication was estab-
lished between airplanes; the words
being received by means Of the notes
ne hn Tv,
planes in flight exchanged messages.
In February. 1917, telephone commu-
nicatfon was established between an
May, 1917. conferences were had with
the allied officiaIs, and from that time
on the work of development was con-
tinued until November, 1917, when the
public demonstration was given at
Long Island.
The fact of the radio telephone is