Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-25
WIRE SPEED SHOWN
IN DEMONSTRATION
Reply to Message of Capital
C. of C. Received From
Brazil in s Minutes.

4 practical demonstration of how
quickly messages could be sent to many
distant parts of the world and replies
received was given at a luncheon of
the Washington Chamber of Commerce
in the City Club yesterday. The dem
onstration, sponsored by the chamber,
preceded the formal opening of the
in the washington Building, when
Charles w. Darr, president of the
chamber, formally unlocked the Office
door and threw away the key.
Before the eyes of the chamber men,
bers and their guests. including diplo-
mats, District officials, officers of the
telegraph company and others mes
sages of greetings were sent to all parts
OF the world and replies received before
the diners finished eating.
The best record in elapsed time was
made in a message sent to the Ameri-
can Chamber of Commerce at Rdio de
Janeiro, Brazil, exactly eight minutes
having elapsed between the time the
message was sent, 1884 Eastern stand
ard time, and 1:02 on the same time
when reply was received.
Reply in Nine Minutes.
The next best was to Buenos Aires.
Argentina, nine minutes being required
to receive a reply from the chamber of
commerce there. the elapsed time being
recorded between 1852 o'clock and 1:01
o'clock
Likewise messages were sent and re-
ceived from cities across the Atlantic
and Pacific and to and from ships in
both oceans.
From f. j. Raven, chairman of the
American Chamber of Commerce at
Shanghai, came a reply in 30 minutes
after the message had been sent from
the instruments rugged up in the City
Club for the occasion. Manila. in the
Philippines, was heard from in 20
minutes.
Other places to which messages were
sent and the time it took to receive
replies were as follows:
Paris, France, ID minutes; Havana,
Cuba, IL minutes; S. S. Majestic. 1878
miles east of Ambrose Light, 41.07 lati-
tude and 48.07 longitude, Is minutes;
S. S. Kungsholm, abreast Frying Pan
Shoals, "a minutes; S. S. Emma Alex
ander, 65 miles south of San Francisco,
80 minutes; Valparaiso Chile, 10 min
utes; S. S. President Wilson, TIL miles
weSt-SouthweSt of San Francisco AZ
minutes; New York City, II minutes;
Los Angeles, Calf, % minutes; San
Francisco, Al minutes, and London,
England, IL minutes.
Message Received in Spanish.
The message from Chile was in Span
iShs and the Ambassador from Chile to
the United States, Senior Don Carlos @.
Davila, one of the guests, was called on
to read it, first in Spanish, after which
he gave the English translation Mr..
WI, Chinese Minister to the United
States, read the message coming from
his country.
The other replies were read by Gates
Ferguson, advertising director, Interna-
tional Telephone & Telegraph Co.
A huge world map was arranged in
rear of the head table, on which lights
indicated the various points to which
messages were sent. The only other
outside preliminary arrangement for
sending and receiving messages, it was
announced, was that the chamber of
commerce organizations at the various
points had been notified what time the
messages would be sent and asked to
reply.
Col. A. H. Griswold, executive vice
president of the Postal Telegraph Cable
Co., in an address declared that cleo
trical communications are undergoing
change, with the result that better
service is being rendered as time goes
on.
He developed the thought that radio