Evening star., 1921-10-02

morrow. has been put completely out
of the running.
The fourth function Of the Airing
Of the worlds most important news
events to all ships Of the Navy and
to out-of -the-way stations. This
service is made through an arrange
ment with a press service. which fur
port which runs about 400 words in
events is augmented with the scores
made by the big league teams, and
when Babe Ruth knocks another home
run every base ball fan of a sailor
1t before he sings his hammock for
the night. The press service FUR
nishes the news to the Navy Depart
ment gratis, and so an arrangement
had to be made whereby the dispatches
would be restricted to the use OF the
Navy alone. Many small newspapers
thought it would be an excellent idea
to listen in" every afternoon before
going to press and take the services
digest for their own publications. Re
have been received. and all OF them
turned down. and many young busf-
ness men in short trousers also have
been disappointed in being denied a
very easy way to make pocket money
by selling the press dispatches to the
local paper.
The Navy Department. in fact. is
guarded by a law which forbids any
but naval vessels and stations to
make use Of the press dispatches.
During the Dempsey Carpenter
hght the Navy station at Arlington
sent the news to every vessel. round
by round. Special arrangements for
covering the world series and the
Army Navy game also are made
with a press service.
~ hA N,na
sells at sea they are taken down by
the operator on the typewriter and
the dispatches are sent around the
| vessel for posting on the different
bulletin boards. where the sailors will
be able to read them before turning
in for the night.
A T all times during the twenty-four
"A hours the Navy Department sends
messages for other departments. and
thereby aids in Uncle Sans economy
program. There may be message
for the near east from the Depart
ment of State or the Department of
Commerce. It is handled by wireless
and the big cable tolls are saved. With
this work for other government de-
partments. the help given the Ship
ton ranks high in value.
Messages are sent every day to ves-
sells Of the Shipping Board. notifying
them OF change in orders or rerout-
ing them. For instance. a ship is
coming back from London in ballast
,, and the Shipping Board. notifies the
Navy Department that a cargo is
waiting at Boston for the ship, which.
under previous orders. was to proceed
, to Norfolk or New Orleans. Arling-
ton gets the message and begins to
| broadcast 1t for the ship DESIGNATED.
The message is sent out and picked up
by other ships at sea, which relay it
until 1t finally reaches its destination.
This may not occur In the nrst TWEEN
lty-four hours. 80 the message Is
broadcast" again the next day at the
same hour. and SO on from day to day
until an acknowledgment. usually re-
layed several times, finally reaches
iArlington, when the broadcasting
ceases. In this way the expense of
| sending a ship to one port. then dis
patching it to another, is saved; Tne
Department of Commerce co-operates
with the Shipping Board in this work.
A ship may be coming from the Ar
gentine with a load of wheat (provid-
ing the emergency tariff didn't scare
| the South American shipper) and the
| is no market for the wheat In New
York. where the ship was ordered to
unload, but that a market has been
developed in New Orleans.
! So the Shipping Board is notified
and the Navy begins to broadcast"
its messages to the wheat-laden ship
until 1t receives an acknowledgment
to proceed to New Orleans instead of
! to New York. That is only one exam
| pie Of the many ways in which the
station at Arlington is used by the
government departments generally.
When there are tens OF thousands
Of beloved sons and husbands and
relatives in the Navy. 1t is natural
that there are tens of thousands Of
equally beloved relatives ashore. So
the Navy Department gets many re-
quests from the relatives ashore to
transmit messages to the sailors at
sea. It IL easily seen what would hap
Pen II all these requests were grant,
ed. When Charley Jones. gunners
mate. IL presented with young
Charley Jones, jr.. his wife, on shore.
Of course. wants Charley at sea to be-
come acquainted with that fact. Or
| II Mrs. Sam Smith, whose husband is
Able Seaman Samuel Smith at sea, re-
members it Is her husbands birthday.
she wants to send him birthday
greeting.
So the Navy Department has had to
put its foot down on sending every
Tom, Dick and Harry wireless mes