“His Majesty Edward VII, London, England. In taking advantage of the wonderful triumph of scientific research and ingenuity which has been achieved in perfecting a system of wireless telegraphy I extend on behalf of the American people most cordial greetings and good wishes to you and all the people of the British Empire. Theodore Roosevelt, Wellfleet, Mass.”
As the new station at Poldhu was not in shape to send back the reply of King Edward it had to be transmitted by cable and it read:
“The President, White House, Washington, America. I thank you most sincerely for the kind message which I have just received from you by transatlantic wireless telegraphy. I sincerely reciprocate in the name of the people of the British Empire the cordial greetings and friendly sentiments expressed by you on behalf of the American nation and I heartily wish you and your country every possible prosperity. Edward R. and I., Sandringham.”
That cableless telegraphy might be done on a commercial basis to the best advantage the Marconi Company decided to put up two new and more powerful stations, one at Clifden on the coast of Ireland and a new one at Glace Bay on this side of the Atlantic. When these stations were finished the regular transmission of both private and public messages across the Atlantic began in competition with the cable lines. The exchange of cableless messages was kept up for ten months when the station at Glace Bay burned down. Work on another station was started at once, however, and new apparatus was built for it.
Again communication was set up between Glace Bay and Clifden, the first messages being sent and received by the Postmasters General of England and Canada.
Now while it was very hard for any one to get a pass to go inside the cableless stations, even the directors of the Marconi Company having been denied that privilege, I went up to St. Johns the next summer for a week’s vacation and, incidentally, to see the station at Glace Bay. I felt pretty sure I should succeed for I knew one of the operators there.
The station is about three miles from the village of Glace Bay, on the island of Cape Breton; it belongs to Nova Scotia but is separated from it by the Strait of Canso. I didn’t have to ask where the station was for four enormously high towers stood out before me like great sentinels, imposing and mysterious and they can be seen for miles around. I could also make out a dozen very high masts.
The entire station is built on rising ground nearly a hundred feet above the level of the sea and below it lay the waters of big Glace Bay. Three low buildings—at least they looked very low to me as I gaged them with the height of the towers around them—are used for housing the apparatus.
After being halted several times by watchmen picketed on the grounds I finally got to the office and told the man in charge I wanted to see one of the operators, Howard Brice, who, you will remember, was one of my boon wireless chums of Montclair days.
We hadn’t seen each other since he and I became professional operators and we had a regular old sea-captain’s time of it recounting our experiences.