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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 12, 1908)
n United States Army Wireless Telegraphy School at Fort Omaha i .Zf 1 ! i , r :v - IMF " CAPTAIN MACK K. Ct'NNINdHAM, 1N6TRITTOH, 8IP.XAI, COKTS. A NT) SKll GKAN'T Yl liOKNPON. MASTER RIGNAI R L K H" R1CI A N, READY TO KE OKUK WIRELESS MESSAGE WITH FIELD KIT. N TH K north weBlorn corrcr of the Fort Onjaha m!i;rry re crvallon anil occupying a BlKhtly position (ft the cret of the ridge will be found a web like tteel tower of 176 fort In height, with a mnll brick building adja cent and Just north of It. This Is the new wireless station of Fort Omaha, which has been but recently Installed and equipped for the practical application of wireless telegraphy between Fort Omaha. Nebraska; Forts Leavenworth and Riley, Kansas and Fort Bill, Oklahoma. The wireless telegraph house under the shadow of the big tower Is fully equipped with small engine, generators, dynamos and batteries for the generation of a suf ficient electrical current for wireless pur poses and embodies every modern appliance for effective, long-distance wireless teleg raphy. The wireless tower and its ap pcrlunances are not yet complete, but will be In a lew weeks, when a regular system cf communication will be Instituted be tween the military posts named, which by the relay system of rowers may bo ex tended to the uttermost southern borders cf the United Statoa and from thence west ward to New Mexico, Arizona and Cali fornia, as well as to eastern military posts, along the Atlantic and gulf seaboard. The efficiency of wireless telegraphy has been fully demonstrated by the signal serv ice of the United States army and is now successfully practiced in all parts of the country and its territorial and Insular pos sesslons. , Taft Like the- Work. On the occasion of the visit of Secretary of War W. II. Taft to Fort Omaha Tues day Isst a couple of the field wireless towers had been erected at two points on the post grounds and a detail of the signal corps was practicing. The attention of Secretary Taft was at once drawn to the operation, the war secretary being an ar dent advocate of the wireless system for army and navy purposes. "That's fine. Wireless telegraphy is & great thing and Is peculiar to our army," said Secretary Taft to Colonel Olassford and the other officers and distinguished civilians accompanying the party. "Yes, we use it a great deal about here," responded Colonel . Olassford, "and have been very successful with it. The men have become very proficient In erecting the field towers and can cover miles of territory in very short time." "It should be pushed. It is a fine thing," continued Secretary Taft, who manifested deep Interest in the experiments. An interesting fact connected with the wireless telegraph Installations at Omaha . is its recent development. In which the course of Instruction at the Fort Omaha Ignal station has figured largely. One of the moet efficient officers of the army. Captain Leonard D. Wlldman, formerly tatloned at Port Omaha and chief signal IIS Quaint Features of Life Carried Wildcat Nlao Mllea. HILE trapping on the Black Log rl mountains of Pennsylvania yW I Moses Harshbarger of Matta- caught by the hind log. To get the bounty on the aoalp. in however, his catship bad to be transported alive to Mlffln county. Taking an ordinary phosphate sack Harshbarger fitted a hoop constructed from a aapling in the mouth and faatened It in the forks of a small tree. Than with a pole ha picked up cat, Urap and all and tossed It Into the sack. Throw ing the sack over hla shoulder, ha carried the cat nine miles, stopping twice en route to obtain new sacks, as the animal had bitten and scratched ita way through the others. The cat died during th night, and Harshbarger will apply for the bounty on the pelt. teveath Bom Osh Frederick Laplanta of Fall River, Mass., who claims to be the seventh son of a seventh son, and possessed of the healing power, failed to overcome Judge McDon ough's skepticism when arraigned on a charge of obtaining SZ.04 In fees from two patients. He assured bis dupes that he would pray for them and have them cured In seven days. In passing sentence for a year's Imprison ment the Judge expressed his strong belief In the efficacy of prayer, and promised to secure the release of the prisoner at the ex piration of seven days if the persons treated had recovered from their maladies. Comta of tho Uloriooa Foorth. Included in tha cargo of a British steamer that arrived at Boston from Hong Kong, saya tha Provtdeneo Journal, were 4uO,00O.0uO Chinee fir crackers Intended for the Fourth f July trade. By this coming of email partial supply for tho approaching demand by patriotic Americana we may bo reminded that tho Fourth of July la, tn , lis small way, all that General Sherman ft s.JJ I I' i 7 Ar . f j V 1 t v U: officer of the Department of the Missouri but now at Fort Ixnvenworth, Is entitled to much credit for the successful Irsue o wireless telegraphy In the army. H's w.-rk In Alaska In the Installation of the wire less system In that remote region is 'a matter of scientific history and has been the subject of many theses on this subject in scientific and electrical Journals. Growth of the School. The growth of the wireless telegraphy system has been coincident with the devel opment of Fort Omaha, where it is prac ticed to a more general extent In its Initial stages of Instruction than any other part of the country; the Fort Omaha school being- the primary school In wireless for tho recruits of the signal service of tho United States erniy, and their subsequent equip ment for active service. The former barrack room of Fort Omaha, which was in the old days of the fort th administration building, has been meta morrhosed Into one of the most thoroughly equipped telegraph schools of the country. Even the old mess house, a recently built ediflco, has been transposed Into an ad Junct for the telegraph school. Here th recruits nre tauKht the rudiments of tele graphy and their Instruction Is progressive, e-nbraclng, as it does, everything that per tains to telegraphy, from the assembling and dissembling of Instruments, batteries, Irmlatlon and their effective achievement, and everything connected with or pertain Ing to a thorough knowledge of telegraphy and wire and wireless communication. A regular course of lectures Is Instituted for the Instruction of the recruits, these being delivered by the officers of the sig nal corps, who are experts In their re spective fields of instruction. These lec tures are given weekly and are upon all phases of electrology, the lecture room being a spacious hall in the school build ing. These lectures are Illustrated by diagram on blackboards, and by practical demonstration. In the work rooms tele graph Instruments are taken apart and every Item of tholr construction and for what they are needed In the perfected In strument, the part they are to take to) perfect the telegraphlo communications are explained. The same practice Is applied with telephone instruments and batteries, that the signal corps man may know what to do In an Instant should the tale, graphic or telephonlo apparatus become damaged or wrecked In the field or else where when Important matters are de pendant upon a perfect communication be tween the bead of the army and his subor dinates in tha field. The recruit is also taught how to avail himself of the sim plest resources for telegraphy, and how to utilise every object possible for the continuation of electrical communication In any emergency. Practlco Gees Ob Alware. While the big 17-foot wireless lower la declared war to be, and that the holiday thla year Is likely to be as uproarious as the most ardent patriotism might desire. Of course, thia is only a slight proportion of tha total that will be required for the neoassary amount of noise on the festive occasion, but by June 1 the other 900.000,000 flra crackers and tho tt.000,000 tin horns will be In stock, and everything will be In readiness for the glorious celebration. Three cheer for independence! Ceraeek LlktHsiass Haaa. A corncob having the shape and lines of the human hand was brought to Marys vllle. O., by a N. White, a contractor, of Dover township. White, while out feed ing his chickens, came across the curios ity. In shelling an ear of corn he found the cob an effigy of a human hand. Be. ginning with th atock end as the elbow, the cob gradually enlarged as th human muscles do and then tapered Into a grace ful wrist. The wrist Joints are plainly discernible, and the hand., with its well ahaped thumb and four fingers. Its hol lowed, flattened palm, all physically per fect. White had shelled almost all of the corn from th cob when he made his dis covery, but he had left the kernels in the palm of the hand, making the freak all the more natural In Ita representation of a handful of a golden grain. Bestoa lasjApreUtloa. Dr. David Starr Jordan told a story on hla last Brooklyn visit of John Mulr lesd lug a cultured Bostonlan up the mountains that overlook th Yosemlte Valley. Muir said that he led the Bostonlan along de vious ways, so that the great, splendid valley would burst all on a sudden upon his astonished eye. Anally, at a turn of the road, th vast, multicolored panorama was spread out be fore thorn. Th Bostonlan' ejaculation wa as Middan a Muir could desire; but it waa this: "Well, now, how ran w got scrasa that damn gap r '-New York Times. V . f xsaiiKQ ; hrtfl v"-.v.vra w ? J.,J.l'J - - - ! . In process of construction at Fort Omaha, It doea not follow that there is any lapse In the practice of wireless telegraphy about the fort. On the contrary, the work la going on constantly by means of the field and portable systems of wireless. Suc cessful experiments have been made by the field force between Fort Omaha and Flor ence and across the Missouri river in Iowa, repeatedly, for graduated distances anywhere from five to twenty miles, in both sending and receiving wireless mes sages. Detachments are constantly going out at Increasing distances tn teat the ef ficiency of the field wireless apparatus. These are also tested at the fort by tem porary field towers, so constructed that they can be placed in position for active Gleanings "Tall Goes with th Hide." NEW YORK commercial trav- a I eler says that Derore old X!V I Georgia "went dry" he was one I riav In a saloon in that stato when a man entered, nodded to the owner of the place, who waa also th bartender, seated himself and meditated. Presently be addressed the owner of th saloon. "Reckon yo' wanter sell out. Bill?" For some ten minutes Bill continued his occupation of filling pint flasks from a Ju, Then he looked up. "Mout," he admitted. "How much cash?" the other Inquired. Bill filled another dosen flasks. . "How much you give for the whole she bang bulldln'. stock, good will, an' all?" he Inquired, cautiously. "What about th fixtures?" Bill waa asked. "Oh, they go along with th rest of th outfit," Bill assured him; "fo'teen colonels, ten Judges, nine major, an' a right smart sprlnklln' of hoss doctors." Harper's Weekly. How tho Tlrbrake Works. "The lata Angelo HeUprln," said a Phila delphia scientist, "had a moet learned and a most lucid mind. H oould not merely master a question ha could lay it so clearly befor you that you. In a short while, became master of it. too. Prof. Hellprin claimed that they who could not explain a subject perfectly did not know that subject perfectly. And be used to tell a story en thla bead. "He said two commercial travelers, on th way from Reading to Philadelphia, got Into an argument over th action of th vacuum brake. " 'It' th inflatloa of tho tub that stop 4i)l;V:J V- ' ' TIIE 0MAI1A SUNDAY BEE: APRIL i i r t 1 O S:7 wiasusa cexehators ax fort omaua. TT A. - lv I ; f i i . j: c y---'-K -st If - ' - ,l.,l.lill,f,i.m a,.,, ,..,., ,.,r.r ff HOW THE) WIRFJLES3 APPARATUS IS PREPARED FOR TUB work In the minimum of time. The method of operation of field and general wireless telegraphy Is somewhat different from the regular telegraph sys tem, but resembles It In the main. A knowledge of general telegraphy Is essen tial In the successful manipulation of wire less telegraphy. The knowledge of the Morse dot and dash telegram alphabet Is requisite for the operator. The receiving by wireless Is somewhat akin to telephony. The apparatus la equipped with receiving 'phones, as well as with transmission keys and sounding keys; the key for the sender of the message and the wireless 'phone for the receiver. The two Intercommunicating stations, by the wireless system must be attuued, so to from the Story Teller's Pack th train,' said the first commercial trav eler. " 'Wrong, wrong!' shouted the second. 'It's the output of the exhaustion.' "So they wrangled for an hour, and then, on the train's arrival in Philadelphia, they agreed to submit the matter for vettlemtnt to the engineer. "The engineer, leaning condescendingly from the window of his cab, listened with an attentive frown to the two travelers' statements of their argument. Then he smiled, shook his head, and suld: " 'Well, gents, you ro both wrong about th workln' of the vacuum brake. Yet it's very simple and easy to understand. It works like this. When we want to stop the train we Just turn this here tap and then we fill the pipe with vacuum." Philadelphia Press. Homo of Ills Meat. T. B. Curran, formerly a member of Par liament, said that a South sea Islander whom a traveler had brought home with him as a servant. In a local tavern waa praising up the British constitution when one of hla hearers said to him: "What do you know about it? You're not an English man. You haven't a drop of English blood in your veins." "Don't you be so sure about that," replied the black; "my grand father helped to eat Captain Cook." Rey nolds' Newspaper. ' Maa'a Place m th World. ' "Tour place, air, will never be filled," a reporter said to Helnrlcb Conreld, tha re tiring director of th Metropolitan opera houa of New York. Mr. Conreld shook his head and smiled. "Ther waa a ghost." he said, "a ghost in Blellta, my native Biellta. I will tell yon of hint "Th ghost haunted th Ion. Nobody 12, 1903. v i C N V t nls.. ,. FIELD SERVICE. speak, Indentically, though messages can be received from other stations not in di rect tune with a particular station. The expert operator can readily detect the mes scage received from other stations nol in tune with his own, and by a knowledge of the telegraphic code of the foreign sender is thus enabled to get hold of some Informa tion not Intended for his particular station. Character of tho Waves. The wireless message is transmitted through the top arms of the tower, and these signals are thus disseminated from the top of the Individual tower not In an Individual or Isolated line tangent, but In every direction from the tower, so that but 6ne of the many hundreds and thou minded him, for in Silesia he was well known; but an Englishman stopped at th Inn one night In the season, and to him the ghost hud not been explained. "So the next morning the Englishman came down to his breukfast pale, bloodshot and Irritable. " 'Landlord.' he said, 'tell me, is not my room, haunted?" ' "'Why, es.' iaid the landlord. 'Didn't you know?' " Of course. 1 did not know! What do you mean, sir. by putting me In a haunted room?' the Ensllshman stormed. " 'But the old fellow Is quite hsrmless,' said the landlord reassuringly. " The old fellow?' "Yes.' said the landlord. The ghost. The old fel'ow who built up the business. He built It up, you know, and died, and now he can t rest easy because it goes on as well as ever It did without him!" "New York Eun. i Yaaiialshlaa; a Bally. A better method of meeting a dueling challenge was no doubt tine which was em ployed on a certain occasion by a French statesman against Mr. Victor Nolr, an illiterate bully of the press In the time of the second empire. Th statesman received from Nolr, for no rear reason whatever, a challenge to fight a duel. Nolr was densely Ignorant man. and nearly every word In the challenge wa misspelled. Th statesman responded with th following: "Dear Sir: You have called me out with out any good reason; I have, therefore, th cholo of weapons. I choose th spelling book, and you are a dead man." Th duel waa never fought- Log doa T1U Btu. xU-iH -" 1 ' lsi( ' ' 'I-r-r C ' LONG DISTANCE WIRELESS TELEGRAPH STATION AT FORT OMAHA. sands of electric wlorless waves or rays that are left loose reach the receiving sta tion. These electric waves or rays are dis seminated In every direction. Frequently atmospherelc and electric conditions are so combined that the message may be suc cessfully dispatched hundreds of miles, or it may not reuch the station Intended at all. All efforts to conserve these message waves and start them In one. general dl ' rectlon have failed, thus far, and the prob lem of the conservation of the electric waves is as remote as ever. The action of the wireless electric ray or wave, as it Is discharged from the tower, Is precisely the same as if a load of the finest of bird shot was fired from a gun at a small, dis tant target. One or two of the shot might reach the target, but all of them would not. It Is on this principle that a wireless mes sage may be received by a dosen stations, each of them In a different direction from the sending station. Thus the conservation of the wireless telegraph energy Is the problem of the future. In the ordinary telegraph wire, the wire affords the means of transportation for the message. With the wireless message, the air Is the only medium of carriage. Fort Oaaaha ta Headquarter. ' With all these handicaps, so effective has the wireless system become that every military expedition Is now equipped with a Wireless outfit. Hundreds of these outfits are regularly sent out from Fort Omaha, and Improved outfits are being received at Port Omaha constantly for assembling and testing, to be stored and made ready for Immediate practical use when needed. These outfits consist of extension steel poles, guy ropes, colls of copper and In sulated wire, receiving desks, telegraph keys, phones and receivers, batteries, wet and dry, and chemicals, for filling broken or exhausted batteries. The outfits are built for both, mounted and foot service, and are so constructed that they can be put In operation quickly, and as quickly taken down. A recent In vention, by an army officer, represents the perfection of the mounted wireless outfit, similar to the mounted telegraph outfit. Messages can be received and transmitted by these outfits tor five and ten-mile dis tances very effectively, while the column is In motion, the effect being precisely the same as with the wireless signals received and transmitted by moving vessels at sea. It Is believed by many of the more ardent advocates of wireless telegraph, that the system is merely in its Infancy, and that Its development within the next few years Gossip About Uok, Editor Extraordinary. T ALWAYS makes me smile," hiT'r 1 said Edward W. Bok, editor-ln-ITI I I extraordinary ta tha American people, to Ada Patterson, as she reports It In the New Broadway for April, "when some woman as reader of our magazine, writes me and asks: 'What do you know about the needs, the life or the struggles of poor people you, who were born with a silver spoon In your mouth?" Bless her heart, she little knows that I have been through It aft. I know what It la to live on practically nothing; to stealthily leave the house at night, go to the lots and pick up odd pieces of wood because we had not the 4 tents to buy a bundle of kindling; to pick up odd bits of coal; to sift the ashes until my fingers bled; to get up before dawn and make the- fire; to go around afraid to stoop because of the patches In my clothes. Know It? Oh, yes, I know what It is to be poor. "And It was fine, I tell you," said this man unexpectedly. "Fine? you mean poverty?" I asked. "I do," he said emphatically. The finest thing that ever happened to me, the finest thing that ever happened to any young fellow la to be poor. There Is no greater stimulant than poverty not as a condition In which to stsy, but as a condition to work out of." Edward Bok is 44 years of age, and looks younger despite the sliver tufts of hair above his ears. The dominant note In his facial harmony Is power. His nose, well Shaped and large, la the sort whose owners always cleave their way through difficul ties. His lips are firm but kindly. His chin is strong enough for balance and not large enough for unwarrantable pugnacity. Hla broad forehead, high and full, hangs domelike over a pair of clear, far-seeing eyta. Fighting Boh'o Mat. Read Admiral William H. Emory, In command of the second division of the battle fleet on It cruise to th Paclflo, is equally as picturesque aa "Bob" Evans. On on oocaslon when h waa a lieutenant h will result In the complete displacement of telegraphy. O ntcrra In'' Command. Lieutenant CoKmel William A. Olassford, signal corps, U. 8. A., Is at present In command at Fort Omaha and occupies the equally Important position of chief signal officer of the Department of the Missouri. He Is an ardent believer In the future of wireless telegraphy and takes a deep, per sonal Interest in the work at Fort Omaha, which Is, of course, under his Immediate direction. He ia one of the best Informed men In the country on all phases of army signalling and has watched Its evolution from the old wig-wagging days of flags and torches to Its present high develop ment, In which he has been one of the most Important factors. Colonel Glassford is awaiting with much Interest the comple tion of the big Fort Omaha tower, and It is his Intention to give the wireless system its severest test between Fort Omaha and Fort Leavenworth, Colonel Glassford has associated with him at Fort Omaha a corps of very effi cient officers of the signal service. These are Captains Mack C. Cunningham, Wil liam H. Oury, Charles B. Hepburn and Otto A. Nesmlth, First Lieutenants Otto D. Grimm, William N. Haskell and Bheldy C. Leasure, all of whom have been chosen for their special qualifications as instruct ors In the various departments of the Fort Omaha Signal school. Some of the best telegraphers tn the United States army are connected with the Fort Omaha station. The time Is not far distant, In Colonel Glassford's opinion, when the Fort Omaha station will be the chief wireless station in the United States. The central location of Omaha makes it es pecially valuable for wireless experiments to all parts of the country and It Is be lieved that In a short time Fort Omaha will be In direct wireless communication with every military post within a radius of 800 to 500 miles from the city of Omaha. The Fort Omaha school is constantly sending out efficient operators to all parts of the country for service in the military establishment. These enlisted men are as signed to duty not merely with the army, but with the navy, with the cable ships and everywhere that expert telegraphers are needed by the government. Some of the graduates of the Fort Omaha school who have completed their terms of enlistment are now receiving salaries from the great corporations that exceed the salaries of the army officers under whom they re ceived their telegraphlo training. ' Noted People had to reprimand an enlisted man of great physical strength and reputation, as .a bully. Afterward thl man went among his mates declaring that tha lieutenant would not have dared to be so sover If he had not had on hla uniform for protec tion. Chancing to hear this remark, Emory applied for shore leave, donned civilian clothes, followed th bully off th ship into a side street and licked him good and, plenty. The admiral la known through tlw service as "Prince Bill," a nlcknam ha got In the days when he waa much of a society man and took delight in fine rai ment. Even now he dresses In extrema fashion when on shore. On deck be la tit spick-and-span man of the fleet General Lee's Ilamor. 8everal years ago, relates the Washing ton Herald, when the elevator wa first put In the capltol at Richmond, an incident occurred showing tho sens of humor of the then General Fits Lee. The goneral was of stout build and ho wanted to so how the machine would work. He was a close friend of Judge B. Witt of th Hun tings court. Judge Witt wa holding court th day th elevator was completed and h was called to the telephone by Governor Lee. "8am," said the governor. "I want to see you for a moment and want you to come to the office at once." "Certainly, governor," said the judge, al ways one of the most accommodating and obliging of public men. "Hy the way, Sam, th elevator is fin ished and you can come up to my offlc without having to walk up th steps." Judge Witt got back on the bench and ordered a short recess of the court. Then he hurried over to see the governor. 11 ma le known his presence .and he wa Ukhered Into the governor's office. "Hello, Sam," said the governor. "ClladJ to see you. Come up on the elevator?" "I did," replied the Judge. "That'a all right, then," remarked tha governor. "I am Just going to dinner and I did not car to try that elevator till I waa certain It would hold you. That 1 ail. Bam; thank you.'1