Evening star., 1921-04-23
BY JOSEPHUS DANIELS,
Former Secretary Of the Navy.


Article 10
The miracle of wireless made it
possible for the United States to fight
Il war on the other side of the world
without losing contact with her SOL
ders and ships for longer than three
hours. out of any twenty-four
Measuring distance in terms of
space. Washington was separated by
5000 miles of water from the fight
ing forces of the Uni0d States in
France.
But measuring distance in terms of
with it's Army of the Meuse- Argonne
in 1917-1S. than it was with the Army
of the Potomac in 1S61-6
From one room in the Navy De-
partment-the transocean room. we
called tive could communicate with
almost any country in western Eu-
rope.
This room had direct connection
with the high-power sending stations
- Annapolis. Sayville. l.. l.: New
Brunswick and Tuckerton. n. j. Mes
sages flung from these stations were
picked up in France and Speeded on
over a network of land wires and
telephones to any point where it was
possible to place a receiving instru-
ment-from the rear areas to the
trenches.
what Might Have Hnppenedf
The tremendous advantage afford
ed by this means of communication
may be the better appreciated by pos
tulatlng two ifs
If the submarine telegraph had been
the only method of immediate COM
munication and
If the Germans had cut the ca
bles-
What might have happened?
Nobody can say what might have
happened. 1t would have been po-
tentially dangerous situation. and
one of sore trial for Washington and
the American people.
Things moved SO quickly and COM
plete transformations occurred with
such amazing suddenness. that tele-
graphic isolation from Europe for
twentyfour hours might have been
fraught with most serious conse-
QuenceS. There were occasions when
critical questions came up, ana
prompt decisions We're required. IL
was of supreme Importance then that
there should be direct. instantaneous
and uninterrupted communication be
tween Washington and London or
Paris or Chaumont, or any other OF
the vital centers of control and dl-
rection.
AS matter of fact the Germans
d id cut some of the cables, but that
was the least of our worries once We
had developed a complete system OF
wireless communication.
Marvellous System Perfected.
Had the war run into the year 1919
We would have had in operation the
most marvellous instrumentallty 1or
gathering and disseminating intelll-
gence that human genius mas yet
conceived
Planned in 1917, this greatest OF
wireless plants was approaching com
pletion when hostilities ended. Work
was then discontinued. but later was
resumed and completed last year.
The United States Navy undertook
the erection of the wireless station
and structure at Croix dHins, near
Bordeaux, and named the completed
plant the La Fayette.
1t is today. and is likely to be for
years to come. the most powerful
radio system in existence. When II
was put into operation the following
radiogram addressed to me, came Vi
brating into the transocean room OF
the Navy Departments:
This is the first wireless message
to be heard around the world, and
marks a milestone on the road Oh
scientific achievement.
LA FAYETTE RADIO STATION
Only One in the World.
The message is no empty boast. 1t
states a simple fact, but fact OF
" Mich every American may be PROUD.
The La Fayette radio station is the
only radio station in the world that
can belt the globe with it's electrified
ether waves.
An inscription has been placed upon
the main building of the plant. the
exact words of which l will give you
presently. but | sometimes think
= -tn irc init mi
better. For example:
Il have annihilated distance. ] have
made the renotest corner OF the Worlh
my next door neighbor."
There is no spot anywhere on the
eartfl's surface where, il high pow
from the La Fayette would not be in
France gave America the immortal
work of Bartholdi-"Liberty Enlight-
ening the World" America has given
France, through the genius and enter
prise Of her navy, fin de steele va
ration on the same theme.
When the tidings of human prog
ress, of commerce and industry and
science and politics flash from La
Fayette to the high power stations of
two hemispheres, in a very real and
sense it is Liberty En-
Tightening the World"
Towers S32 Feet High.
La Fayette station consists of eight
lofty towers on immense concrete
foundations. arranged in two rows.
l 800 feet apart.
Each tower rises to height OF S32
feet. nearly 300 feet higher than the
Washington Monument.
The system affords an antenna area
of 5,227.200 square feet. far larger
than that of any other radio station.
The longitudinal antenna wires are
bronze cables. supported by what the
wireless people call triatics. The lat
ter stretch across the aisle formed by
the two rows of towers. The antenna
wires are $50 feet above the ground
Signals received from La Fayette
at Cavite. San Francisco, the Panama
Canal Zone and Washington during
the tests proved to- be three to eight
times strong as those of other
high power stations at like distances.
When the plant was finished, and
the tests had demonstrated the sue
cess of what we had set out to do,
we prepared tablet and placed it on
the main building, with the following
inscriptions:
Conceived for the purpose of in
suring adequate and uninterrupted
transatlantic communication facilities
between the American expeditionary
forces engaged in the world war and
the government of the United States
of America.
. Erected by the United States Navy
in cOnjunctiOn with and for tho gov