Evening star., 1922-08-12
RADIO HAS SAVED
MANY j. S. SHIPS
Disasters at Sea Lessened
by Development of Wire
less Telegraph System.
TRAVELLERS PROTECTED
No Vessel Lost Without Trace Dur.
ing the Last Three
Years.

Due almost entirely to the use of
radio on the Shipping Boards fleet. not
a single ship has been lost without
trace during the past three years. ac-
cording to F. z. Guthrie. head of the
radio section. Whatever hard knocks
the board may receive. little can be said
against its radio equipment and its
operation. Practically all Shipping
Board vessels are now equipped with
audion-tube dctectorS, which have also
been made available for general marine
use through the inSistence OF the board,
making for greater safety IN sea travel.
Ships, lives and money have been saved.
and in general radio has fine record
in all the government services.
These days We seldom hear of mystic
rious losses Al sea-ships which DIS
appear or return crewicSS, as did the
Marie Csleste-due chiefly to radio. the
safeguard enabling ships to converse
together freely and. communicate with
Cne port or another every day. The
naval collier Cyclops is practically the
only .'nIissing'' vessel recorded since
the advent of the radio law at sea IN
1912, except during the war.
The coast guard, Navy and bureau of
navigation OF the Department of Com
merce all indorse radio highly. yet no
bureau keeps recori OF what fauio
actually does toward life and property
saving at sea-. Lost ships are recorded
to the number of $50 from all causes
for the year 1921. but the number
saved. thanks TO the sos, is undeter-
mined. A year ago the shipping BOARD
reported that approximately ooo veSselS
In distress OF tenlporari riiy diSa Dled were
reported by radio. and that about lsO
were towed TO port through arrange
ments made by radio. This assistance
rendered by the radio Of Shipping Board
vessels augmented by other radio warn.
!ngs in all parts Of the world, protected
hundreds of thousands of lives ana
billions of dollars worth Of property
hut no adequate estimate can be
reached.
Radio Found Useful.
The aid radio brings is interesting
Within the past three weeks the = )
! Wassaic, whose call is kRO0. expert
enced boiler trouble about $50 miles
southeast of New York. Her S. .. ,
was answered by kEF>T. the city
of Eureka. another Shipplng boaru
vessel, which towed her into New
York safely When WDOO. the 5. 5
Federal stripped her turbines and
sent out distress call 200 miles
northeast of the Bahamas, the CITY
q Weatherford soon hove ALONGSIDE
and arranged to tow the disabled
Federal to Mobile. Another Shipping
Board vessel was towed from off St
Nazaire France. over 1000 miles to
an American port in response TO
radio message to sister shlpS pouno
west, thus saving tremendous salvage
pavment Without radio she mlght
have awaited assistance for months
Lack of radio facilities shows It's
value best perhaps: When the west
ern Hero's radio got out or oroer on
one cruise she was literally lost FOL
two weeks. but found" when it was
| officer died, sailed without waiting
| his replacement, and, in endeavorlne
| to pursue the northern transatlantic
| route without radio, ran into Ice
bergs and DANA ged herself to the ex.
| tent of about s1O,000-she could not
nick up the naval photographic office
| warnings nor the messages OF the
revenue cutter on ice patrol
Today the activities of the Shipping
Board are less than year or tWe
/ ago, there being only about 400 YES
sells in commission. Radio malnten.
ance on the many laid-up ships has
been reduced materially and saving
of approximately $4,000 achieved, by
| the assumption of the upkeep by the
! board and the elimination or repair
| shops maintained by OUTSIDE rad1t
| contractors in seven ports. For radio
n,assares transmitted the board col.
iected about $4,000 during the pas
| year.
Business Transacted.
i Business of the board is expedited
greatly by the operation of specia
radio station established at London
which. in cooperation with the nava
communications service, handles al
transatlantic radio messages for Lon
Ldon officials direct from Annapolis
Frequently, Mr.. Guthrie states, mes
sages filed in Washington at the clos
of business on one day are answered
NV tbe time the washington offic
| onens on the next. The London radi,
4 si1peryisor estimates that saving o
over $1,000 a year is eHected b!
usinr radio for transatlantic dis
patches. Radio messages to Panama
Manila and the orient are also HANDLED
through naval cooperation, saving
almost $1,000 per annum over cabl
fcharges.
| In technical development the Ship
ming Board has experimental with
2k w arc set manufactured b,
the Liberty Electric Company, in
stalled on the, S. S. President Adams
which succeeded in communicating
with American stations while the yes
sell was in the English channel. TIL
operation of this set is said to be al
most entirely automatic. being a nev
departure in the construction Of sets
The s. S. Eastern Admiral and Presi
dent Polk were also equipped wit
Elk. w. Federal arc sets with goo