Evening star., 1923-07-22

the right place for months and elm
mates the necessity of seeking the
elusive sensitive spot every time the
set is to be used.
Handles :}22 Messages Daily.
All War Department kilograms.
cablegrams and radio messages are
handled directly through the Army
message center. located In the NUM-
tions building. and under the direc-
chief signal officer of the Army. An
average of 322 messages a day is
now handled, the bulk of the dis
patches being sent and received by
radio.
AS a financial saving to the govern
ment, the message center is a unique
factor. Through the operation of its
radio net il has reduced the telegraph
tolls from $500 in July. 1922, to
$3.50 in March. 1928. 1t is a paper
The peak of traffic was valued at
$500 on May /. but in July the esti-
mated value of the total tranc at
Commercial rates will be about $4,000.
Through the use OF its ranio net.
now including 112 stations in every
corner of the country. the message
center handled 62.222 official radio
grams, totaling 2.235.411 words. dur
ing the last calendar year. II this
traffic had been handled over COM
the government would have been $3S.-
a02. but the Army cost was only
s1S.O39. exclusive Of enlisted operat-
ing personnel. The saving to the
country amounted to S20.163.
The message center presents a busy
scene at any hour of the full twenty
four during which it is operating.
The central office. where Capt. X. b.
Woolverton presides. handles all mes
sages from the many bureaus of the
arfyn
Both in and out messages are cleared
through his office. Near at hand is
the telegraph room. moved three
months ago from the War Depart
sent and received. In another room
are four loop radio receiving sets or
the latest Signal Corps design. Re-
ception Of the many outlying radio
stations is handled by four notable
loops on the roof of the building. The
loops are revolved to the proper an
gle for receiving a station by long
brass rods extending to the radio
room below. Two operators are on
watch constantly. but by means OF
schedules traffic is handled at specinc
hours.
Arlington is the sending station for
all outgoing government radiograms.
the Army sharing the station with
the Naval Communication Service.
Three sets at Arlington are controlled
periods of each day by the operators
at the Army Message Center. Special
lines for signalling the Arlington
electricians parallel the remote con-
troll lines. One set is used primarily
for communication to Air Service Fly
ing Fields on 1900 meters. Another
set operating on 1900 meters is used
for sending dispatches to Fort Hayes
in Ohio. and Fort Bragg, n. c. The
third is a tube set transmissing on
1850 meters. used for communicating
with Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind,
and eventually Fort Leavenworth,
Kan, and Fort Douglass Utah. when
the new ten XIV tube sets there are
completed. Fort Leavenworth Is ex-
pected to be ready for operation by
August 1st.
High speed transmission and recep-
zion has been tried out with good
results. With the Kleinschmidt
automatic apparatus which sends
from a perforated tape and receives
by recording in Morse dashes and
dots on tape, a speed of at least
100 words per minute Is planned be-
tween Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind.
and Washington. The type of high
speed apparatus is capable of $50
words per minute, and it is expected
that 1t will prove efficient in handling
traffic during peak loads.
To PFOlong Tube Life.
r,,Lo. live 1o~1acf xphar E;lo