Ten days later, after Elkins had been preparing the ground among some of the officers in the Bureau of Engineering, they received an intimation from the Director of Naval Communications that the British procedure was deemed most suitable for adoption throughout the Allied fleet, and that it would be desirable to produce, if possible, apparatus suited to this procedure. These officers asked Elkins if any information was available bearing on the feasibility of providing something which would answer these requirements. He said he would find out, and soon returned with specifications following close to those of the British transmitter, and estimates furnished by the best available manufacturers. Armed with this information he took the case to Commander Rich. This officer expressed a warm appreciation of the valuable work performed in securing the information and estimates, and said he would take the matter up with the Admiral. After a conference with Admiral Bishop, Rich sent for Elkins and told him the Admiral had been firm in his refusal to abandon the gear then in use and to adopt in its stead the proposed apparatus.
“Admiral Bishop is conservative,” said Rich, “but we must remember that he is a man of great experience, and wiser than we.”
Evans was dismayed when Elkins told him the news.
“I don’t like it a bit,” he said. “It seems as if there were something more than mere conservatism in this.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” was the reply.
“Well,” said Elkins, “you know it is devilish hard for an older man to throw overboard the things he’s used to and take on something entirely new.”
“I know,” said Evans, “but this case is so perfectly clear—well, I don’t know.”
That evening Evans spent an hour with Mortimer in his private study. Their talk was concerned chiefly with the broader problems of naval policy. Evans did not tell him of the trouble over the transmitter, but merely remarked that the mission to England had been fruitful of most interesting developments, especially in connection with the radio problems that concerned both the Director of Naval Communications and the Bureau of Engineering.
“When do you expect to visit the Bureau of Engineering again? You’d be interested to hear something of this from the men at the top,” said Evans as he was rising to go.