"Life's lesson is here with its fascination,Recently, in going through some old personal papers, I ran across the above-will I say poem? No, I think we had better call it simply rhyme because I am neither a poet nor a writer-but in reading it over I got to wondering if the thousands of people who are to-day thinking and talking Radio, and who are nightly listening-in to the concerts being broadcasted by radio telephone, are thinking of the subject purely from a commercial standpoint, or from an amusement standpoint, or whether they really get the wonder of it all. The above rhyme was written a number of years ago after I had just finished the construction of a radio telegraph station in Alaska. I had sat in that station, surrounded by rocks and wilderness, listening to the pound of the waves on the shore, yet talking through space to the ships at sea.
In this wireless thing that since creation
Has been laid away in nature's store,
Awaiting for some one to open the door."And when we hear our big spark thunder
Sending our signals away off yonder,
With the speed of the wings of light,
Through rain or shine or darkest night,"Or when we hear our ear 'phones rapping
And answering signal comes clear and snapping,
We can't comprehend The wonder-the why,
Of this thing harnessed 'twixt earth and sky."And whys breed answers and whys again
Till we lose ourselves in the endless chain,
And where it leads or where the end,
Is beyond our powers to comprehend."The wizards-the men in the lab., you know,
First added plus X to y or O,
And nature revealed to him who sought,
And wireless telegraph to man was brought."And though this was added to that, until
Man conquered and harnessed it to his will,
There still remains the same old cry-
What is the thing, where from, and why?"This selfsame question fills the pages
Of all the books of all the ages.
Question breeds question and question again,
Creating more riddles for man's weak brain.
"And that's what keeps alive the flame
And makes us play life's little game.
Uncertainties are the zest of life,
Knowledge of the finish stops the strife."And we who delve in our little part
Of nature's laws in this new-found art,
Must realize there's a power and plan,
And a God-a ruler of nature and man."This 'Everything' didn't just happen to be;
It must have been planned, created, and He
Who planned and created must rule by right
King of all nature-all man and all might."
The apparatus that we were then using was of what is called the old "open spark type" that caused a noise like a gatling-gun. To-day the equipments have been perfected so that they are practically noiseless.
At the time this verse was written there was no such thing as a radio law. Wireless telephone had not been thought of. We who were engaged in the business had not much in the way of apparatus, but we had ideals and vision.
When we think of an ordinary telegraph message or a telephone message, we think of it as a man-made something. We know that the message has been transmitted over man-made wires and man-made telegraph or telephone lines. The message itself has been received on man-made instruments, and our thought is of the cleverness and ability of the engineers who made it possible. But in thinking of a radio telephone or telegraph message, I, for one, always think of it not as manmade, but as God-given.
It is true we have the man-made transmitting and the man-made receiving instruments, and we think of the wonderful cleverness of those who designed and built them, but the impulse transmitted and received travels through God's air- through that life sustaining, almost unexplainable thing that we breathe, and I think of radio as a something that is not meant for man-made commercialism, but a God-given gift put into the world to accomplish the things that man-made equipments cannot accomplish.
No other medium has yet been heard of that will communicate between ship and ship, or between ship and shore. Therefore the Almighty undoubtedly meant the radio telegraph for this particular purpose. It is for the saving of lives, for the furtherance of the commercial handling of ships, and for the many benefits and comforts that it gives to those who travel the seas.
Likewise, we now have the radio telephone. No other medium known will broadcast as it does, therefore is it not something that was given us primarily for that specific purpose? This must be seriously considered because there are only a limited number of wave bands in the air, and these bands must be conserved and allotted by proper Governmental regulations for specific purposes. If the radio telegraph were promiscuously used for point to point service ashore the air would become clogged with messages to the extent that it would react against efficient ship communication. Likewise, if the radio telephone is promiscuously used for point to point, or ship and ship telephone communication, the air will become so clogged that it will react against the usefulness of broadcasting.
For communication with ships we have the radio telegraph. For broadcasting we have the radio telephone. For point to point service on land we have the wire telegraph and telephone. Some day the radio art may be developed to a point where interference can be positively controlled, but until such time as this can be accomplished the Government will do well to guide the use of radio to the end of protecting the two specific purposes mentioned as much as possible against interference by other radio uses.
Radio broadcasting should be protected, extended by our Government and the commercial radio companies, and all engaged in the business should work harmoniously to the end of making radio broadcasting what God intended it to be.
The picture I see shows thousands and thousands of young men and boys studying, working, experimenting and enjoying their nightly occupation, of "listening-in," -boys and young men that would probably be on the streets or otherwise occupied away from their homes. Time after time I have had fathers and mothers speak to me of the fact that their boys were now spending their evenings at home where formerly their evenings were spent outside. This in itself, will imdoubtedly prove something that will be of untold benefit to the manhood of our country.
I can also picture the day when every farmhouse in the country will be equipped with radio receiving sets, and either the Government or commercial organizations will be transmitting concerts, educational matter, together with weather reports or other information. To my mind this should mean a wonderful thing for the family situated miles from the railroad station, miles from the town, way off from those things that we of the city can enjoy, but which through the medium of radio broadcasting can be taken to the entire country, farmer and city dweller alike.
Take the educational feature alone-is it not going to mean a broadening of the entire educational system of the country? And when I say education I not only mean school and college information, but I mean the discussion by prominent men of topics of the day, and as the rhyme says- "And where it leads or where the end is beyond our powers to comprehend."
Recently I sat in Washington and listened to the representative of a large corporation talk as though he thought the Government should turn the entire broadcasting control to his company, but I cannot imagine any Government doing anything that will permit a monopoly of this God-given something that can carry itself eventually into practically every home in the country. Our Government must at all times keep itself in full control,-should open the art to competition so that the best possible equipments will, by competition, be put at the disposal of the public, and Government regulations should go still farther and create control of the subject matter that is broadcasted, because the same medium that can be made so wonderfully useful can, at the same time, be put to equally harmful use.
Supposing unrestricted broadcasting had existed during or previous to the war. Suppose right now Bolshevists, Anarchists, or any individual or individuals were permitted to freely broadcast uncensored ideas, our whole country could have been or could now be turned into turmoil overnight.
The ideal that should be striven for in the handling of both radio telegraph and radio telephone by Government, commercial, and general public alike, should be that
"We who delve in our little part
Of nature's laws in this new-found art,
Must realize there's a power and plan
And a God-a ruler of nature and man."This 'Everything' didn't just happen to be;
It must have been planned, created, and he
Who planned and created must rule by right
Ring of all nature-all man and all might."
Then let us endeavor to so draft our laws and so handle our business that this thing called Radio can be used for its God-given purpose of creating harmony, knowledge and brotherly love throughout the nation and throughout the oceans.
From Radio by John R. Irwin-1922.