“‘It is merely a matter of time, then, before these stations are built and experiments begun?’
“‘Yes, merely a matter of time. There is one point in regard to wireless telegraphy that the general public do not seem to grasp quite, and that point is the length of time that must be taken up by the incessant private experiments in order that the system may be perfected. One cannot go at matters of this sort too quickly; each step has to be thought out carefully, and often weeks are spent in perfecting some little detail; the progress of the work is, therefore, slow.’
“‘Can you tell me anything of the negotiations you are conducting with the British Admiralty?’
“‘All I can say is that a contract between myself and the British Admiralty has already been signed and sealed for the adoption of the Marconi system on all the ships of the navy. Sixty-three of the battleships are already fitted up with the apparatus and the whole of the navy is to be equipped.’
“‘The terms of the contract will allow me to use the different stations of the navy for the erection of my receiving station and my masts; negotiations have been going on for some time, and now everything is arranged and the British navy will be equipped with the Marconi wireless apparatus.’
“The distinguished inventor then gave a very lucid description of the effectiveness of the wireless agency over marine areas; the unbroken surface of the ocean enabled great distances to be obtained.
“In regard to the overland service, if the land was low lying, the same conditions prevailed as at sea. Over tracts, where the usual diversified topographical features were found, the potency of the vibrations might be reduced. The vibrations seemed to reach farther in fogs than in a clear atmosphere, but, as a rule, atmospheric conditions did not appear to affect the transmission of messages. In regard to the location of stations Signor Marconi said that proximity to the sea was desirable for a station, as some geological formations were perverse and others responsive.
“Before his return to England he would visit Cape Breton and his Receiving Station at Glace Bay.
“He expected to be in Canada for some weeks.
“Signor Marconi spoke of the voyage he made on the ‘Campania’ a few days ago. On that trip the ‘Campania’ was in constant touch with Poldhu until nearing the Coast of America, when she picked up the Narraganset Station.