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“ RIFFS STORE V
' ; ' ' i Phone 275 • i:; ’ ’, i --
THE POSSIBILITIES OF RADIO-
’ - PHONE
(By Gus Boger)
Radio telegraphy is over twenty
years old, ibut radio telephony is
a perfection of a very recent date.
Four years ago radio telephony was
impracticable from a standpoint of
successful and economic operation.
It was then necessary to use the
high power Poulsen arc, but now the
vacuum tube has taken its place. To
day, one who has had a little experi
ence, may fill a large room or audito
rium with music, addresses, of great
^ople, and sermons of the best ^min
isters who are thousands of miles"
away.
; The public in general has created
a demand' for radio-phone apparatus
which has not been able to .be met
in the last six months. Because of
this demand, the public buying any
kind^ of advertised apparatus, has
obtained many obsolete sets, as well
as those ■ with too many controls,
which it is unable to operate. These
people will underestimate the value
of the radio-phone. There are those,
too, who will over-estimate the possi
bilities of the radio-phone. Both es
timates are due to lack of technical
knowledge on the subject.
Will the radio-phone take the
place of the telegraph and telephone ?
It will not. Each has its advantage
over the other. The telegraph and
telephone will be used for local work,
radio for distant work. The radio
transmitter may ;be compared to a
railway system. The train carries
produce and passengers only from s
central station, not from every indi
vidual home. All goods to be ship
ped on the train are brought to the
station by various devices. Of course
it would Ibe possible for a train to
come to every one’s door, hut think,
if every family in America had its
own private railway, what a compli
cated transportation system we would
have. Would it not be more efficient
to have the train come to the central
station and have the material to be
shipped brpught here by, baggage wa
gons or; other devices? Just so with
the radio-phone transmitter. Let ev
ery locality have a powerful trans
mitter at the central station which is
connected to individual homes by
telephones. Radio will reach, how
ever, places which cannot be reached
by the. telephone or telegraph; for
mstance, the airship, moving trains,
ships, .and out of the way districts.
A most interesting account was re
cently told by a government post
keeper in the ice fields of Alaska, how
the radio-phone had made a new life
for him. Only a few years ago he
was alone in the vast wilderness of
ice with no companion but his dog.
He lived ,a lonely and desolate life
in the solemn stillness and cold of
the north. iNow by means of the
radio-phone he hears concerts, ser
mons, news dispatches and other in
teresting things; even the dog will
lie down beside the stove, blink his
eyes and wag his tail when the
concerts begin. When one crosses the
Dcean his friends will no longer have
the sad feeling that they will never
hear his voice again for months.
Soon, by radio-phone, one may talk
Jaily to his friend on the ship, or
in a foreign country. When every
family in America has a radio-phone
receiver, the president of the United
States may address the citizens of the
country from a powerful central
transmitter. The Governor may al
so speak to every citizen in the state
on the issues of the day. Every cit
izen in the United iStates may hear
the debates and discussions in Con
gress.
The value of the radio-phone to
the farmer cannot be estimated. To
day the farmer, if he has a radio
phone receiver, knows the price of
his produce before he carries it to
town, whether or not his hay, wheat,
rye, or oats will get wet if he cuts
them tomorrow. The government, as
■well as many radio corporations,
broadcast for the benefit of farmers;
weather forecasts two days in ad
vance; market reports respecting
stocks, fruits, 1/’egetables, grain, cot
ton, livestock, .dairy produce, and
poultry.. Even the price of a dozen
heads of lettuce a bunch of radishes,
or onions, is quoted.
Will radio-phone take the place of ‘
churches, theatres, and the phono
graph? It will ^ not. It will, how
ever, place the best before everyone;
the inferior will go—the superior will
remain. The phonograph has one
advantage that the radio-phone has
not, namely, the voice of a dead ar
tist, Caruso, for instance, can be
^reserved in a record, but not on
the radio-phone.
The radio news service will take
the place of many newspapers. To
day, news of any state national or
international interest may be receiv
ed ten hours before it appears in
our earliest issues of the , daily.
The business man while on his way
to and from his office may receive,
from scheduled stations, items of in-