Evening star., 1922-05-28

point Of view of the national defense,
our humanitarian endeavors through
out the world and our worldwide
commercial interests, on which ma
tional prosperity depends. may be OF
vastly more Importance in thecfuture
than, supremacy on the seas. in the
air or as regards forces on, land.
The substance which we call the ether
-sthat agency by the utilization of
which the electrical impulses com
prising the ''dots" and clashes" Of
Of the human voice and other sounds,
are literally hurled through space at
such an incredible rate of speed as
to encompass the globe seven times
in one second-obviously possesses.
In connection with future develop
mendous possibilities for good or 1or
evil.
Areas OF Operation.
The effective areas of operation OF
the sea, air and land forces or agen-
cies are restricted to their respective
elements, whereas the ether Is not re-
stricted, but surrounds and permeates
all three. Submarines. submerged al
sea, nosv receive messages by radio
considerable distance, Aircraft in
flight readily communicate with land.
and signals may be picked up from
receiving antennas buried several
feet in the earth. Light and heat
from the sun, which spreads over
forms of ether motion, but Of ex-
tremely short wave lengths as com
pared to those produced artificially by
man, so to speak. for use in radio
According tosthe accepted theory,
the earth is s,nsr IN mnva an a%,s apaa,
in a sea of 1t, just as fishes do in
water.
who is the individual possessing
sufficient knowledge and foresight to
assure us that this agency will al
ways be used merely as a means oI
providing delightful entertainment
for young and old? For industrial
purposes, such as. for example, the
possible utilization Of the ether as
carrier and distributor. Of industrial
electrical power. it has scarcely been
considered.
It is at present a harmless agency.
beneflcially used to exchange COM
mur1ications with ships at sea and
between ships. at sea, with aircraft
in flight, with foreign countries in
healthy competition with the trans
ocean cables where cables exist; and
with countries which+have Few, or no
outlets to the sea, and with remote,
isolated areas. such as. FOR example.
within the interior of our own Alaska
( It, Is Indeed a mysterious agency,
and no man can say that development
in the radio art viii not. take place.
such that it may, be converted from
a harmless medium. for, exchanging
communica tions and affording enter
tainment to a harmful agency Of force.
Experiments All Over World.
Radio research and experimental
work are constantly being carried on
In all Of the civilized countries Of the
stantly being made which improve
and augment the general radio
service.
obviously; it is the duty Of those
entrusted with governmental respon-
sibility in radio to see to 1t that we
vance, of the developments in the ra-
dio art.
Obviously, also. this responsibility
has rested principally with the Navy,
because, by the very nature of things.
radio has been and is now principally
interests.
1t has already profoundly affected
naval tactics, and. merely as q me-
dunn Of communication. 1t is potent
weapon of offense and defense In con-
nection with maneuvering, with the
and il lis applicable for use for other
offensive and defensive purposes ~
"A powerful fleet at sea today.
equipped with all modern implements
of naval warfare, but lacking in ra-
dio, even for purposes Of communica-
a disadvantage with a similar oppos-
ing feet equipped with radio and
Emanned with efficient radio personnel
as would band Of well armed blind
men on land opposed to a similar
band of armed men possessed of their
sight.
u. 9. Now Far In Advance,
Strange as 1t may seem, therefore,
the "eyesr as well as the "ears" Of
our Atlantic, Pacific and Asiatic
fleets when at sea, and OF their de-
tached auxiliaries, and even, of the
Navy Department in tisuali3ing and
directing its forces at sea.
Today the United States is far In
advance Of any other country in the
development and application. Of the
radio art, and merits the distinction
as a natural consequence OF having
acquired Supremacy In the ether =
Our present tpreseminent position in
radio, however, can only be held by
keeping abreast or in advance Of fu-
ture developments and applying these
Developments In service or holding
them in readiness for service when
and as required.
Our supremacy Is based primarily
on the fact that we have advanced
more rapidly than any other nation
in this respect, and. secondarily, on
the fact that ALL Of our radio inter-
ests are now controlled and admihis-
trated by American citizens, and our
radio services are likewise operated
by American citizens.
The United States has gained at
least one important. advantage from
the war, and OF which little or moth.
ing has been said, namely, the TAX
ing of important radio services
within the United States out OF the
hands Of foreign subjects and placing
them In the hands Of American
citi1ens.
A Natisnal ,Cehsequenee.
As a natural consequence of. our
supremacy in radio, we have capable
civilian and government radio engi-
neers, adequate and efficient COM
mercial radio Manufacturing. estah.