San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-05
Only Link Between Japan
and World Works Day
and Night to Give Out
News Of Great Disaster.
RY l.. C. OWEN.

Downright, by the San Antonio Light
San Francisco, Cal, Sept. 5.-Out
of the appalling tragedy which has
swept the two greatest cities OF japan
has emerged another heroic wireless
operator who. like the courageous Jac'
Binns of steamship Republic fame
stuck steadfastly TO his key in the
face of almost certain death and dls'
aster. o
the heartfelt plaudits of an entire
world when. forgetting his own peril
he continued for hours 10 send out :
d s calls from the SINGING liner Re
mblic after she had been rammed by
the Florida and finally succeeded IN
guiding rescue craft to her side IN
time to save all on board.
Taxi YOnemura, operator in charge
of the japanese government wireless
station at TamiOka, Ia miles from
Yokohama. is the man who, emulating
Binns' feat of almost a generation
ago. probably will go down in history
as one of the outstanding heroes OF
the terrible japanese catastrophe.
hnOWS Iittie E-HSiiSH.
The only man at the Tomioka sta.
ton who understands English and
himself having only a limited knowl-
edge of the tongue, Yonemura for
three days and three nights, without
a single respite, flashed TO the outside
world the only authentic first hand
information concerning the world
greatest tragedy.
1t was from Yonemura that the
first word Of the Yokohama earth
uualse came last Saturday. When the
violent tremors were followed by a
succession Of tidal waves which mum
dated that great city, again it was the
little japanese radio operator who,
cropping his way uncertainty in for
eign tongue, flashed across the 4IO0
miles of the broad Pacific the dread
message that thousands of his country
men had persisted.
When Toxic was rended so that
hardly one stone stood upon another
and, there followed the conflagration
which wiped out what the earthquake
had failed to destroy, again it was
Yonemura with his smattering OK
English who first apprised the outside
world.
Day After Day on job.
Hour after hour, day after day and
through the long vigils of the nights
the Japanese Jack Binns" has been
on the job. His messages. picked up
here by the receiving station of the
Radio Corporation of America, in turn
have been flashed to press association
and newspapers Of America. This was
their only source IF information. The
cables were out. There was no mess
ages from their own correspondents in
Yokohama and Tokyo and it was
Yonemura who stood In the breach.
Never once has he failed to answer
his call. In the intervals between
sending he has laboriously translated
into English some 5000 words of Jap
anese, and just as laboriously ha;
spelled it out letter for letter in the
continental code. When il is stated
that that code is not ordinarily used
by Japanese wireless operators his
handicaps can be better understood.
Were it not for the grim tragedy
that stood behind them some of Yone-
mura's messages might well TAXI rank
with Will Twins mirth-provoking
"letters of Japanese school boy"
Always Polite In Messages.
Fis lenses have been badly twisted.
And frequently. unable to express him.
self in English. he has reverted to
Japanese for whole sentences at
stretch. In the terrific tenseness Of