The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 4, 1899, Page 2

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, w EDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1899, 2 ¢ 3 3 )t . ® 2 ? - /.)‘ ¢ s 3 1 = T ! . * + 3 1| 7 ® | o *+ P-Y 4? : g * @ ® . + ! 3 . { * k3 @ & 4 + 1 * T k3 . i @ ® 4 + 3 B 9 oo . ? * STEAMER PONCE, FROM WHICH MESSAGES WERE 4| 3 SENT BY WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. S B et e ettt eieisdededrdedeisdeiedsdete® ble n d of the green | it dit upon the authoriti reflects the greatest pos: who had ead to windw the task of keeping it clmnr.; t the entire contest the line | ked on either side of it as aken a pen and | > of paper. As to = was a flyer in a | s work proved that | ared to say than I thought no boat w bthing could be n CAUSES GREAT EXCITEMENT IN LONDON &) t E 0. some- 1,000 people w within the and the as im- n ople excit the contes ity that no Derby or ity boat ever cqualed, and which more nearly approached the scenes incident to an American Presidential campaign than anything England has heretofore known. S e ISELIN AND LIPTON BOTH YET CONFIDENT NEW YORK, Oct. 8.—C. Oliver Ise- managing owner of the cup de- fender Columbia, when asked for a statement on to-da race, said: “I do not consider to-day’s race a fair f the two boats at all, for it was ) HE eflcacy of wirelgss telegraphy as an ald to modern journalism has again been demonstrated by The Call to-the satisfaction of the { people of San Francisco. This paper was : first to see the journalistic possiblili- in the experiments of Marconi and s also the first to harness the newly developed electrical current to the car of progress, For weeks preceding the re- turn from Manila of the California Vol- unteers a corps of experts in its employ were setting up and perfecting apparatus | that would herald, ahead of all other agencies, the near approach of the trans- port. How well the work was done is matter of history. -It Is hardly necessary to recall that slow-going competitors got their only intimaticn of the arrival of the Californians from the booming of a Call Sir Thomas “1 want you g that there never ven in England, we bad to-day, from the bottom of |t = my heart | ¢ “Duly Feed 22 | Man and Steed.” Feed your nerwves, also, on pure blood if | you would have them strong. Men and | women who are nervous are so because their nerves are starved. When they | make their blood rich and pure ith Hood's | Sarsaparilla their nervousness disappears | because the nerves are properly fed. ” from a Call bulletin. The _first races betw rock, and the defender, Columbia, has afforded this paper a second similar op- ellow from age and to establish bevond il the ready adaptability of wircless telegraphy /) to the needs of the modern | QNSYIAMUAQ | newspaper. Extraordinary preparations 3 w(-wF!u:ule to 1x’ur)‘\ to -the peopie o 4 e . 9an Francisco the clearest picture and th INeverDisappsints best description of the race and the roo suits exceeded the expectations of even the most sanguine, In conjunction with the New York Herald The Call secured the services of Signor Marconi and his corps of assistants in order that the dis- coverer and foremost experimenter in the new system of electrical transmission might himself superintend the details and n : Hood's Sarsaparilla - Ielow Cut-Rate Drugsists 75C‘ Drog Co. 1128 Market Street, S. F. | | | pertunity to distance competitors grown | MARVELOUS WORK OF WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY 3R "83!3!28333&’3332335582338833SS!‘?385!2!25'-’3323838882833282!2388‘383828382!33339!889828883835382!8!’383’83 E & 5 NEW YORK, Oct. 3 —Marconi’s work more than met expectations. During g i+ the race 2500 words in bulletin service were sent to the Herald and received i without loss of time. @An average of less than a minute elapsed between the 33' writing of a bulletin and its receipt in the Herald office. Not one message had ;5 to be repeated. o | peting | oc | that fact was given to the readers of i N | | | J \ cannon and their news of the same event | of the bi | forty “feet long by eight feet of the international yacht | which had been painte en the cup challenger, Sham- | | = 2 | ever been recorded in journalism. nRBEROARBRRVURRANN EW YORK, Oct. 3.—Far and away the greatest achievement connected with the yacht race of to-day was the successful operation of the Marcon! sys- tem of wireless telegraphy, by means of which every movement of the com- craft was builetined to the Herald and The Call as soon as It urred. Did either break out a sail the Marconi bulletins before the fresh | canvas had been filled with wind. In short, the system worked to perfection. 00 words were ng mast of the flashed from the towe LR steamship Ponce, and in not a single | instance did it become necessary to re- peat a message. Not only did Signor Marcont make it possible for the pub- lic ashore to closely follow the maneu- vers of the Columbia and Shamrock, but he kept those who had the good fortune to be on the steamship Ponce well informed on the more important events of the day in the world at larga. For the benefit of several gentlemen having Wall street interests early stock quotations were received, and the money market was closely followed. As the yachts got a the follow- ing message, the first concerning the actual race, was written, and in less RN RERRIRRBERIRRRRR S than ninety seconds was published and public property in New York: “Racers away; both vyachts flying mainsail, club topsails, spinnakers, staysalils, Jib and jib topsails. Running before wind down the Jersey coast. Wind about eight knots and freshen- ing.” Following this were bulletins giving more accurate descriptions of the work being done, and there was joy on the Ponce when word came back that everything was working so perfectly that only a very few seconds separated | the chart room within which the send- ing was being done and the offices of the Herald and The Call. During those early moments of the race, when favor- LL’S SUCCESSFUL BULLETIN SERVICE A TRIUMPH STATION AT NAVESINK ing winds filled the sails of the chal- defender in was the lenger while the cup ! floundering a bit uncertain smooth sea, every breeze was @ The fifth bulletin read thus: S rock apparently leading slightly. balloon jibs epilling wind, but Shz rock’s sail is drawing the better. Cour: clear.” It required one minute and a quarter to send this dispatch, yet the first three words, “Shamrock apparently leading,” were received in New York and given out as a separate bulletin before the la word, ‘“clear,” was sent. Whenever the Marconi bulletins were | posted the public was less than seven- ty-five seconds behind the yachts, and By unofficlal time the Columbia rounded the first mark at 1:48 and the Shamrock followed at 1:40:15. The time of the Columbia had been flashed all over New York before the Shamrock had followed. Aboard the Ponce there was the keen- est apprehension of the work being done. Indeed, it is not too much to say that, except at the most critical mo- | ments during the ra and to Signor Marconi than m the to vachts. Aboard the other excursion steamers, too, the passengers were deeply interested in the wireless re- ports. Almost without exception the from every boat it met during the day. Signor Marconi was compelled to shut IN WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. ——— &\g%‘ SS \ ,-;',-fi’.& 2% 8% g > M W fl‘\ A Sl i & W T L L 0 e 5N i3 e \ Of ) < sq\e& Jaunch his discovery on the world accomplished news agency. The story of | the preparations made at the eastern | end of the continent have been told in full. It only remained for this paper to - at this end of the pre- her. How well that d by the crowds that s office to watch the and the finish of the ult of which two worlds | are hanging breathless. No similar suc ul attempt at pletur- ing and describing a passing event {_A;‘\s o apparatus was not particularly elaborate, | but it was so perfect that those who witnessed its workings needed nothing but the power to take out of their con- siderations the three thousand odd_miles that separated them from the Jersey coast to imagine they were witnessing the actual struggle. Across the main arch uilding was stretched a canvas high, on that part of the ocean over which had been lald out the cup course and the coasts bounding it. In_ front of this picture, hanging by endless cords, were suspended miniatures of the contending yachts, so arranged as to be carried over the course as the bul- letins to be received should Indicate the challenger and defender were moving. In | addition to this a large stretch of white muslin had been arranged.on rollers on the side of the bullding upon which the bulletins were to be painted as fast as received in order that those not up in the maneuvers might be fully informed of the progress of the race. Eleven o'clock, New York time, 8 o'clock in San Francisco, was the hour set for the start. As early as 7 o’clock, however, The Call's yachting expert and his as- | A an ) sis | jerks at the cord L Bl 7 AR = gy o o g el were on deck awalting the signal nipulate the miniatures, and the began to gather. . At 8 o'clock the Street was packed with a multitude that low manifest {ts disapproval of the BEastern racing officials in gi g the signal for the start. The Call skippers could be seen giving preliminary to the opening of the event. At 8:05 a. m. the first bulletin was dis- [flu)'bd on the muslin. It read: “The wind s h northwest and blowing eleven knots an our,” which was readily taken by the crowd to predicate that ‘“Lipton luck™ was on the decline and that the Colum- bla was a winner. Seven minutes later another bulletin announced the start and The Call skippers trimmed thelr salls ac- cordingly, the little boats starting out on the sea of canvas. The Shamrock was slightly in the lead, the next bulletin an-~ nouncing that she had crossed the line at 11:15:35, the Columbla following five sec- onds later. ““They’re off!" velled the crowd, The Call skippers pulied the cords and the challenger and defender were soon -run- ning before the wind, which had died down, the next bullefin announced, to eight knots. For the next five hours and a half the crowds stood and grew and watched The Call's miniature yachts struggle for the supremacy on the canvas sea. During that period” more than 150 bulletins were horne along Marconian waves to a through land wire and flashed through to The Call office. Bvery foot of the course, every movement of the racers, was noted and “wired” for the informa- tion of the hundreds and hundreds of peo- ple crowding in front of The Call bulle- tins. Every taking in or crowding on of eall was noted. every movement of the | scemed to be getting t | the excursion boats we | Columbia’s breeze, It was plain before all | second time through Its agency The | tors were un clude, letins of wireless telegraphy without a hitch. ‘Lhe waiting crowds were all eyes. Bul- letins ot a Presidential election could not lave aftracted more attention than tho. that recorded the spilling of wind or tr flapping of a sall. i'or all the time of tt race the street in front of The Call bus ness office was a solid jam of humanity with the exception of ‘one thick-h policeman, who seemed to be enurely ig norant of the meaning of thgt word. He was officious to the pomt of insult, push- Ing and haullng people about without ju tincation, for all of which there is the consolation that he will pi chance to answer to his uperiors. At one other newspaper ofiice u.feeble attempt was made to draw a crowd, but it was too weak. It lacked al the ele- ments of realism. Small boats w chased along a narrow cornice of blue can regardless of the positions of thy: racers and in imminent danger of tacking into a yellow porthole or jibing into the nearest office window. It was a clear test of the wired against the wi ess tele- graph, and the journalism that is in the sere and yellow ‘was plainly wired. Early in the race it gave up attempts at fur- nishing bulletins for the very good reason that it received none and the skippers in a fir pe to the sou’-sou’east got tired of chasging to The C: rd tor their facts. During the entire course of the race, from the firing of the signal gun until the posting the bulletin that announced *no race” the arrangements made by this paper worked to perfection. The elements all were favora speak of the ting down Market street t ils of the mim in fair imitation of the swelling ca the actual racers. The excitement at times was intense, part stages of the race, s all ularly in the first Shamrock of th lumbia. There were groans of proval when the bulleting Co- disap- announced that e shutting off the eves that both boats had sailing qualities far in excess of expectations, and when the Columbia showed her heels to the Shamrock shortly after 12 o'clock the Wwaiting erowd assumed a cheerful aspect, | which it maintained till the end, receiving with every manifestation of joy the celpt of bulletins from Marconi announ re. ing the Columb % No greater t raphy i1a’'s leadership. riumph for wireless teleg- could have been arranged. For the distanced all competitors. It was ena to announce the start so long before competitors that the vachts had sailed nire miles of the corse hefore their boat: were set in motio: it was enabl to post and to icture accurately the ress of the rac gt . while would-be co; able to do either: and, it put forth nouncing ‘“no race hd\‘{u‘um of others That is The Call's second record ¢ with_wireless telegraphv. Tha. pt‘o]’)’l‘;a l‘); San Francisco can testify to ft. prog- | mpetl- to con- the final bulletin an- just ten minutes in hts | himself off from the curious, whose | good-natured attentions hindered the work to be accomplished. In consequence, until after the race | had been called off the chart room of the Ponce was closed, except to Signor Marconi and his ers for the Herald and The Call, and the representatives of the Government, who were present in an unofficial ca pacity to watch the results accom- | plished by the new system. Thesa gen- tlemen were: Lieutenant Commander Qualtrough and Lieutenant Blish, rep- resenting the navy, and Captain L. W. Wildman and Colonel Kinsley of the signal service department. Mr. Kins a civilian, but has given much a tion to the wireless telegraph, and ngaged to study and report upon Signor Marconi’'s achievements. was more than pleas of the day, and at its close, when a. for an expression of his opinion, said: My first report must be made | te W, to ptain Squier, but there can be only 1e opinion when it is known that 2500 words in bulletins were sent ashore and | Ci | the total could have been greatly in- | creased, and all of this was done with- | out any vexatious delay or repetition.” Lieutenant Commander Qualtrough | was more outspoken. He became an enthusiast early in the day, and be- | | fore nightfall was declaring his be- | | lief that the United States Govern- ment would do well to persuade Sig- nor Marconi to install his system in the Philippines at the earliest date. “If we could only have had this last year,” said Lieutenant Com- | mander Qualtrough, “what a great thing it would have been. When we | landed marines at Guantanamo the ships were unable to lend assistance for the reason that the enemy could not be located, and by firing at ran- dom our own forces would have been | placed in danger. With the aid of the Marconi system the men ashore could have directed the fire and all would have been well. | “The English are prepared now to | do just what I have outlined. They | send a Marconi apparatus ashore with | a landing party and communication with the ship is never lost. In the | Philippines the system would right | now be of great service to us. It/ would do away with wires, which are | easily cut, and it would enable us to wind, every tack was recorded by the bul- o Receiving the Bulletins at The Call Cffice. 7 Loy Ll bt & Bt 25 £ i bt B8 & £ 7 il $- =T R “‘/l 551 ST ped <R ] LRI ; ! e # in many cases less than thirty seconds. | tion | Ponce was saluted by a round of cheers assistants, the report- | HIGHLANDS. How the | Messages Were Sent in TWO MiNUTES by Wireless | | Telegraphy From the Steamer Near the | Racing Yachts to the Station, Fifteen Miles l From the Shore, and Then Flashed | \ | Across the Continent by Special Wire to The Call Office, 13000 Miles | Away. HCOH have perfect communication between the islands. The system is certain to be made use of by the army and navy. Even if to-day’s record could not be improved upon it would be of great value. But I have secen enough td know that it is impossible to predict the limit of the wireless currents. Great things may be accomplished in the near future. Lieutenants Blish, Denfleld, Newton and I will meet Sig- nor Marconi to-morrow morning for a conference. After Signor Mar- coni completes the work whichl the enterprise of the Herald and The Call made possible he will proceed with a series of tests and demonstrations for the Government. Rear Admiral Bradford is greatly impressed with the possibilities of his discovery.” Before the end of the contest a few private messages were accepted by Signor Marconi for delivery ashore, but after the battle the final bulletin to the Herald and The Call announcing “No race” had been filed, there was a rush for the chart room and the good-na- tured operator was kept busy almost until the Ponce reached the pier send- ing the messages forced upon him. Among those who were on the Pance and who sent messages ashore were: Mr. and Mrs. George Crocker of San Francisco, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Whit- ney, Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Thorsen, Dr. and Mrs. E. M. Culver, Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Kerr, Mr. and Mrs. R. N. Liddell, Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Alexander, Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Knowlton, Mrs. George W. Westinghouse, Theodore H. Price, R. T. Wilson Jr., H. Coppell, J. S, Bryan, Richmond Vasi, Stanley McCormack, J. K. Cameron of Baltimore, E. T. Bell Jr., Captain B. J. McKins B. A Aymor, E. Sands, W. N. Knowles, thur Coppell and John S. Cravens. The working of the Marconi systen was, so far as possible, explained over and over again, and the listenem seemed never to grow tired of hearigg about it. The tape on which the meg sages from shore were received was tle was heard on the Ponce save taken bit by bit to be preserved as s @ announcement after each m: venirs of the trip. From Navesink ge th it had been properly recelved. B . Continued on Fourth Page.