Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1918-12-24
WILLIAM A. WILLIS
In the New York Herald.


Americas biggest war secret. the de-
velopment and perfection of the wire
less telephone, is no longer a secret.
Eight years of work by wizards of sci
ence in the United States army, aided
by civilian workers in radio problems,
came to successful consummation 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 X for
many months. Outside of members of
the air service few have known 1t.
Those few have maintained absolute
silence. The war department has re-
garded the solution of the problem of
what now is called "voice command
flying" as 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 ad-
vanced method of communication but
did not know exactly what it was.
The French and British flying forces
have dabbled with the wireless tele-
phone in connection with airplanes for
some time, the British meeting with
some success. 1t remained, however
for men of the American air service
to perfect the radiophone. This they
have done.
The writer is the first civilian out
side of Newton ID. Baker, secretary of
war; Mr.. John d. Ryan, director of
aircraft production, and one or two
other 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
that Mr.. Ryan in Washington made
public the first news ever given out
of the new discovery.
These tests were made at Hazel
hurst and Roosevelt fields, near Min
cola, under the personal direction of
Maj. Gen. William l.. Kenly, chief of
the division of military aeronautics,
who came over from Washington for
the specific purpose of finding out IF
there was any feat In aviation that
could break down the "volce COM
mand" system of communication.
When he quit after an afternoon of
hair-raising stunts with every kind of
aircraft from the slow training planes
to those swift eagles of the air the
as completely satisfied that the wire
less telephone as part of airplane
equipment has come to stay and Is In
shape to meet almost any situation
short of an actual smashup.
No Need for Further Secrecy.
The ending Of the war has made
further secrecy in connection with this
amazing invention unnecessary, in
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
G. 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 airplanes 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 as one ma
chine, maintaining the precision al
most of West Point cadets on dress
parade. The answer is that each man
has a telephone receiver fastened In
his helmet through which he has re-
ceived the order of the squadron com
mander as clearly and audibly as II
he was IN infantryman on the ground
being addressed by his company cap