Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-12
UNDERGROUND WIRELESS
DEVELOPED DURING WAR
Inuention by James Harris Rogers of Hyatts-
uille Proues Epochal Scientific Achieve
ment-Signals Received From France.

Another epochal scientific achieve
ment, made under pressure of war ne
cessity. which will have far reaching
peacetime uses, has just come to light
with the lifting Of the censorship ban
on Navy Department Inventions.
The Navy Department today is en-
ploying an invention made by James
Harris Rogers Of Hyattsville. Md. to
send wireless messages under ground
and under water. without the use Of
aerials-a feat which not long agp
was declares 20 be fnpossibie BY
Marconi hamself.
H1i1s statlofl, III Heimar. N. y. nov Il
receiving messages thus transmitted
from points In France. Great Britain.
and from Honolulu. and submarines
are able to catch messages while sub
merged. sent from American stations.
Military Advantages.
Great military advantages derived
. from the invention are obvious. es-
pecially those arising from the elm
nation of the conspicuous aerials in
trench communication, and those con-
nected with receiving messages on
submarines without coming to the
surface. But there is declared to be
an additional scientific advantage,
which is the elimination of the
static" in transmission by the new
method
The scientific term means little to
the 1ayman. To use non-technical Ian
guase messages transmitted under
ground and under water are not inter-
rupted or interfered with by the con-
slant. electrical disturbances to be
found in the air. The so-calied
static" phenomena are small scale
disturbances going on all the time in
the air comparable to the causes of
lightning. When one cloud becomes
charged with one kind of electricity
nearby cloud tends to become
charged with the opposite kind until
certain point is reached when one
kind flashes over to the other, and
both become similarly charged That
phenomenon, which causes lightning.
is what Ia. constantly happening on u
smaller scale in the air and the dis
turbanceS nave been a source Of an
noyance to wireless messages pro-
jected in air. By sending them under
ground this difficulty is obviated to q
great degree, it is stated.
For a decade Mr.. Rogers has been
studytng radio subjects. and long be-
war he had experimental with the
problem Of ridding aerial communities
tion of this static atmospheric cleo
tricity. He disagreed with all
authorities who believed that the air.
and not the earth and water, was
best suited for, wireless communica-
ton.
Helped in Winning War.
Mr.. Rogers had virtually completed
his system Of underground radio
when the United States declared war
on Germany. Promptly he offered the
result Of his investigations to his
country. without cost. through the
Navy Department After extensive
experiments 1t was adopted, and it
played a great part in winning a war
tion. - ''-'>''
AT. first, Mr.. Rogers. used the earth
alone for sending messages to anna
teurs. stationed near. by. Using an
audion bulb, he then buried a wire
from his laboratory and heard Phila-
delphia and other stations. Further
experiments were conducted at a
point near Bladensburg. which he
calls Mount Hooper in honor Of
Capt; Hooper of the Navy. who rem
the invention to the needs of the
Navy Department.
Possibility of using the system on
submarines when submerged next
was shown successfully by expert
ments carried on from q boat In q
lake in Prince Georges county. Mr..
Rogers authorised Spencer Prentis. a
patent attorney, to prepare appitca- :
tions for patents, and he permitted
Harry X Lyon. who had suggested
the use Of the system by running the
wires in terra Gotta pipe, to appear as
one Of the applicants.
Secretary Daniels Interested.
Through DR.. George q. Lamar and
Senator Blair Lee the discovery and
the status of the patents werebrought
to the attention of Secretary Daniels
Of the Navy. Secretary Daniels or
dered inquiry into Mr.. Rogers claims,
which showed that his invention
worked, and requested Secretary Lane
to give special consideration to pend
ing patent applications.
Secretary Daniels submitted the
Rogers system to Rear Admiral (then
Captainl Strother Smith. who called
into consultation Capt. Hooper. These
ofIicers made thorough study Of the
system and f6und Il practicable. Capt.
Hooper ordered It installed at New
Orleans frBt and since then It has
been employed ut Belmar and other