South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-04-24

An inscription has placed upon the main build
ing Of the plant the exact words Of which will give
you presently, but sometimes think briefer inscrip
uon might have been better For example:
II have annihilated distance. have made the
hottest corner Of the world my next door neighbor'
Ihefe Is no spot anywhere on the earth's surface
where II high power station existed message sent
from the lafayette would not be instantly received
France gave America the immortal work Of Bar
Itholdi-"Liberty Enlightenng the World" America
has given France through the genius enterprise Of
her navy a fin de steele variation on the same theme
When the udings Of human progress. Of commerce
and industry and science and politics flash from Lafay
cite TO the high power stations Of hemispheres in
ing the World"
TOWERS $50 FEET HIGH
Lafayette station consists Of eight lofty towers.
immense concrete foundations arranged in two rows,
1920 feet apart.
Each tower rises a height Of $50 feet nearly 800
feet higher than the Washington monument
{ The system affords antenna of 5.227.20O
square feet far larger than that any radio
station. The longitudinal wires are
cables supported by what the wireless people call tri
fatcs The latter stretch the aisle formed by the
two rows of towers The antenna wires $50 feet
above the ground
Signals received from Lafayette at Cavte San Fran
cisco. the Panama canal and Washington during
the tests proved TO be three TO eight times strong
those of other high power stations at like distances
When the plant finished and the tests had dem
oastrated the success of what had to do
prepared tablet and placed it the main building,
with the following inscription:
Conceived for the purpose insuring adequate
uninterrupted transatlantic communication facilities
between the American expediuonary forces engaged
the world and the government of the United States
Of America.
Erected by States navy in conjunction
with and for the government of France"
ROBS SEA OF LONELINESS.
one Of the great achievements OF wireless has been to
ROB the sea OF It's loneliness and Of much of Its od-tme
peril. Before MarcOni worked his miracle ship that
had been driven from travelled lanes by storm
propeller shaft had broken or whose engine had
gone business might for days and
able to communicate with any of help Help
less to steer courEe and at the mercy of wave and
pbf hn cd aD1c rUL and of To
tell its Such things have been infrequent in
the annals of the
loneliness Of desoIation. remoeness from
source OF help which feels when, standing deck
or bridge and looking around the full circle OF
broken horizon one sees nothing absolutely nothlng
but water-a vast monotony of undulatng water.
And the remoteness as hopeless and as helpless
! as y felt until wireless came
Now a ship gets difficulty help it
sputters its s. o. s. from its wireless, confident that
| it Will be heard and answered.
TALKED WITH ALL SHIPS
During the talked all ships, anywhere,
whenever had anything say; and they talked to
one another We sent them submarine warnings and
routngs and all kinds of information and orders Often
! we would send. simultaneously, many so or 60
messages 20 all kinds of vessels and they would be
picked up by them without difficulty.
At the same time were sending our stations along
the coast interceptng every word signal sent
out by ships at Sometimes the air full of
them" the operators said.
The wireless operator in his little room had ears
for the world and all the world spoke to him. There
came to him its CRIES its warnings its appeals some
times its sometimes its laughter Many
a secret he heard-and kept.
/ But the message which failed send thrill
through his soul "Allo Allo. S o. s." That call
vibrating through the ether meant that somewhere an
American allied vessel being attacked by
U-boat Every naval vessel which heard it went hur-
rying at to the scene of its origin.
FULL OF DISTRESS CRIES.
Sometimes in the zone the air would be full Of
"Aos." Nearing European a ship could catch
the wireless for hundreds of miles. One moment il
might hear distress signal from some vessel off Ire
liam andfF he craft heir n
the Bay Of Biscay.
Morale was stimulated and helped tremendously by
wireless. wireless service greatly APP
Ipreciated by the 1t Kept them almost as
wen informed to what was happening at home and
as vital happenings in other parts of the world,
as If they had been able to get the last edition of the
home paper.
10 o'clock each night ships cleared" for the Navy
Press and gave out complete summary of the
news of America.
Perhaps one of the most interesting and things
I'VE did with wireless to establish radio compass
stations which by listening the direction from which
la length with greatest force could determ
GREAT HELP TO SHIPS
These stations of originally erected
means of locating submarines and in this work they
their wireless of coast. Since they finished their
Uboa job however they have proved Of the greatest
1.-THE Atlantic Pacific and gulf coasts and any ship that
becomes otherwise confused as to its
reckoning can obtain by wireless from the radio com
pass its exact position If 1t Is in dangerous waters II
Twin be given sailing directions which will enable it to
steer safely into port
! Think Of what this would have meant to Columbus,
Tor Magellan or Capt Cook!
! a few inventions which were designed specific
ally war proving of applicable value to
the ways OF peace but doubt If of them
wiz for the saving OF life and the facilitating
OF human intercourse and traffic than the radio COM
fpass.
Sometimes think the achievements OF wireless and
its undeveloped possibilities mark the "farthest
north OF human adventure the realm of expert
lment and research.
long WAY FROM FIRE SIGNALS.
/ Assuredly IL is long road the race has Travelled
since days when the tribesmen of Great Britain
Isgnalled each other by hilltop fires and the aborig-
al 100 per cent American communicated with those
who acknowledged the totem by means OF code
written in wavering columns of smoke.
The news victory Marathon was carried back to
Athens by Phedippdes who, running with sustained
speed miles from battlefield 10 capital fell dead
from exhaustion with the cry his lips, Rejoice,
we conquer"
When wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo il
was nearly So hours before London heard the glad