Evening star., 1922-08-13

vi
>elopmen, OF that licn territory. 1t
is the one medium available Tor
birding the vast un:nhabited spaces
of that region for commun1catloh
purposes and making them suitap pie
for colonization ana development IL
has already performed inValua PIE
services to the people of Alaska
through the Army and NavyS raulo
services by providing. during tne
mast fifteen years. means OF rapiu
1Dmmunication between s,.s o,s.am,
points in the interior and between
the interior and the coast. IL sup-
rliement's the Army's cable as con-
Meeting link with the United states;
The Armys cable NAV be Visuailzeu
as a single thread of copper stre,ch-
ing from PORE Valdez. near CordoVa'
20 Sitka. Alaska, and thence 10 seal
tie Wash, a distance of l.0oo mileS;
This copper thread has deterlorateo
with age and consequently is ire
upeAtly broken as IL moves Win tne
tides on the rocky bottoms of the
Cs1Ilf of Alaska and the Pacific ocean.
sWhen break occurs, seVera!
tfays' time may be required Tor the
cable ship to locate The fault ana
make repairs.
Meanwhile the naval radio Sa,ioiis
at Cordoya Ketchikan and Sltka take
over the cable traffic in addition to
their normal traffic and pass II on
by radio to corresponding naval rauro
stations at Puget Sound, WASH, ana
Astoria, Greg.
The radio stations are not opfiSeu
-{pr rely on Il copper thread or -othef
physical connecting medium. but only
on the invisible and indestructible
ether.
The radio service is interfercd with to
a certain extent at tunes py i'., a.
mospheric or static disturbances. but
this form of interference is re!a-
tfyely infreuuent and mild in this
region and it never seriously inter
feres with the handling OF trafnc.
The Army's cable and the Navy
radio stations comprise the. only
facilities available for the exchange
of. rapid communications between
Alaska and the United States. With,
ont these this rich territory would
be completely isolated.
Until the recent construction OF the
government railroad the Armys land
telegraph line from Port valdez TO
Fairbanks in the heart of Alaska,
and the Army's sixteen radio stations
situated at strategic points WITHIN
the interior comprised the only avail
able means for the exchange OF mes
sases within the interior and with
the coast.
The Navy maintains nine radio sta
tions in Alaska, all situated along
the coast. to serve the Navy and ves-
sells of the merchant marine IN Aias-
contact with the Pacific coast OF the
United States.
These stations also exchange traffic
with the Armys stations at Port
Valdez and in the interior during
cable breaks.
They also serve as relay stations
for the outlet of traffic from approxl-
mately fifty low-power stations
maintained by various large mining
and packing concerns in Alaska
The Navy's radio stations are 10,
Gated on the islands of St. Paul and
St. George in the Be'ing sea and at
Dutch Harbor, Kodiak, Seward, Cor
dova. Juneau. ketchikan and Sltka on
the Gulf of Alaska.
They are strategically located to
cover the requirements OF naval yes
sells in all Alaskan waters and Tor
special government purposes.
The Alaskan Engineering Commits
sion maintains radio station at
Anchorage. The bureau of education
maintains three stations. one each at
Atka Akiak and Katzebue.
These stations with the Armys
communication facilities. the fifty
stations of the mining and packing
companies and the Navy's nine
coastal stations constitute the faciii-
ties available to the people of Alaska
for the exchange of communications
with the interior and with the out
side world.
Reliance is placed on radio almost
entirely for the exchange OF COM
munications throughout Alaska.
Vast areas in the interior are, how
ever. without radio facilities or any
means whatever for the exchange of
rapid communications. These areas
are generally rich in natural re-
sources and require only suitable
communication and transportation
facilities to attract settlers for their
development. With the provision of
suitable communication facilities 1t
seems reasonably certain that trans
portation facilities will follow re-
gardles3 of the difficulties encoun-
tered.
Radio is peculiarly adaptable to
Alaska as a medium for the exchange
of communications, whereas the land
line telegraph and telephone systems
tions together with the rugged to-
Biography of the country probably
will always preclude the establish
ment of the vast network of land
wires required for present-day COM
1nunications The establishment of
the land line systems probably would
not prove to be insurmountable. but
it is doubtful if they could be main
tanned in commjssion during the
winter months.
tion of ether waves in space has
proved to be most effective in
Alaska. Atmospheric or static dis
turbances are not nearly as trouble
some there as elsewhere.
The only drawback to the general
application of radio telephony for
the exchange of conversations
through space in Ala ska is tho prob
lem of interference between stations
themselves.
In the present stage Of develop
ment of the radio art, less than 900
separate wave lengths or "ether
used simultaneously in the same gen
eral region without seriously inter-
fering with one another.
This would limit the number of
two-way conversational circuits to a
maximum of 1900, whereas not less
thin several hundred thousand would
eyentually be required, similar to the
laid line telephone circuits in the
Uhtfed States.
r. further developments take place
which will enable the unrestricted
application Of radio telephony for
the exchange of conversations
through space, radio will indeed have
u very wide field of application In
Alsska
& does not seem probable at this
time that such developments will be
bfpught about. but 1t should be re-
telegraphy Is only in its infancy and
radio telephony has hardly been born.
improvements in the art Of radio
teEPheny and in operating methods
w63Dh will permit Of a more general
uslnf this medium of communica-
ti&MzAre bound to come, even II de-
vSf0pmeuts do not. take place which