June 22, 1907
WILL INSPECT WIRELESS SITES

C. Doutre Leaving For The West Coast Visit to Whaling Station at Kyuquot

in View of Station There

Saturday the steamer Quadra with Cecil Doutre, superintendent of wireless stations for the Dominion government and Captain Gaudin, who is in charge of the local office of the marine and fisheries department, on board left port on her way up the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Mr. Doutre is going to Pachena Point and Estevan Point to inspect the sites where the wireless stations of the Dominion government will be established.

The steamer Maude recently, with a cargo of lumber and workmen, left for the West Coast, and shortly after her arrival at Estevan and Pachena the construction work will commence. It is likely that on the present trip of the Quadra she will make a call at the new whaling station at Kyuquot Sound. Some time ago Captain Balcom, the manager of the pacific Whaling Company, made representations to Mr. Doutre, asking him would it be possible for the government to establish a station at Narrow Cut Inlet. As a result of these representations Mr. Doutre will pay a visit to Kyuquot and will make his report to the Dominion government on his return to Ottawa.

The Pacific Whaling Company is forwarding an application in Ottawa for the establishment of a station at Kyuquot. In putting forward its plea for a wireless station at Kyuquot the whaling company points out that the steam whaler St. Lawrence would immediately on receipt of a wireless message be able to go to the succour of any vessel which was in distress. It is pointed out that already the steam whaler Orion has salved two vessels when in distress off the West Coast. These were the barques St. James and the Inveramsay, which were drifting perilously near the shore when they were towed to sea by the Orion. It is contended that the establishment of wireless telegraphy at Kyuquot would greatly lessen the danger in life from shipwreck, and as these features have been pointed out to Mr. Doutre he is going to inspect the site and will report his findings to the Dominion government.

When Mr. Doutre was asked if the present visit of Mr. Marconi to Canada had anything to do with the wireless war which originated with the decision of the government to establish Shoemaker stations on the Pacific Coast, he said that he though there was no connection between the two events. “I see,” he stated, “that Mr. Marconi has said that he will be able to establish trans-Atlantic communication between the stations at Glace Bay and the station in the Old Country at Poldhu Bay, or the new station at Clifton. It is impossible for me to say if his efforts will be crowned with success. The Marconi company has never taken the public into its confidence with respect to its operations from Glace Bay. Although I do not know how far the Marconi company has arrived towards it goal, it is only a question of time before there is trans-Atlantic communication.”

Questioned as to the statement made recently by Marconi when he said that he anticipated establishing communication between Cape Breton and Vancouver, Mr. Doutre said, “that having regard to the present development of wireless telegraphy, there was nothing to indicate that such a feat was possible.”

Work has already commenced in connection with the Victoria wireless station, to be situated at Shotbolt’s Hill. The civic authorities are now engaged in laying water pipes from the terminus of the system to the road leading to the property.

The work of carrying the water from that road to the actual site where the wireless station will be situated will be performed by the government. The wireless equipment for all the stations on the Pacific Coast is now on its way from the East and is expected to arrive any day. This week the construction work will have commenced at Cape Lazo, Pachena Point, Estevan and Shotbolt’s Hill, and shortly afterwards at Point Gray. By the end of September the stations will be in operation.

June 28, 1907
WIRELESS TO BE INSTALLED AT ONCE

Victoria City Will Have One and Others Are to Be Located

as Aids to Navigation on Pacific Coast

The wireless telegraph system on this coast is to be installed at once. It will be as aids to navigation that these stations will be fitted up and the acting minister of marine and fisheries, Hon. W. Templeman, has given instructions to have the work carried out just as quickly as it can be done.

Cecil Doutre, commissioner of wireless telegraphy and superintendent of wireless stations for the Dominion government, is at present in Victoria in connection with this work. He will have workmen engaged on the work of installing the plants within a day or two, and as quickly as the work can be done stations along the southern part of the British Columbia coast will be established. Within six weeks the first of the new wireless stations will be in running order. These will be at Victoria and Pachena Point, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The others decided upon will be put into order with all expedition also.

There are five now decided upon all along the southern portion of the British Columbia coast.. In addition to Victoria and Pachena Point, above mentioned, there will be a station at Vancouver, located either at Point Grey or Stanley Park, another will be at Estevan Point, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and one at Cape Lazo, on the east coast of the Island, opposite Texada Island.

This will but be the beginning of this system of aids to navigation which the government has decided to extend to this coast. Later the system will be extended by the erection of additional wireless stations all along the coast as far as Prince Rupert. Within a year probably the continuous chain of stations may be build along the entire British Columbia coast.

The policy of the government, Mr. Doutre says, is to establish a number of smaller stations at frequent intervals rather than locate a few large ones. The reason of this is obvious when it is remembered that the stations are primarily for the benefit of the shipping interests, and by the location of a greater number, constant communication may be kept up with the coasting steamers, which equip themselves with wireless.

The introduction of the system on the coast will result in the rapid introduction of the apparatus on the different steamers on the coast to enable communication to be kept up. Already the C. P. R. has decided to equip the Princess May and the princess Royal with the necessary apparatus. The different stations will be fitted up in a substantial way. There will be a residence of two storeys for the chief operator and his family, and accommodation also for two additional operators. This will provide for a continuous service at the stations. Where lighthouses are located the wireless will be installed in the same building. This will be the case at Pachena Point. At Estevan Point, where no lighthouse yet is built, the lighthouse section being installed in the wireless building.

The system to be installed is the Shoemaker, which is regarded as the best by Mr. Doutre, who made a study of the various systems on behalf of the government before a decision was reached. The Shoemaker has the advantage that it is capable of interchanging with the De Forrest, the Stone, the Marconi and the Massie systems. A long wave is used in connection with it, so that the messages will carry about 200 to 250 miles to sea. It is hoped that Pachena may be able to communicate directly with Victoria by wireless.

The distance separating the two points is not sufficient to establish any difficulty, but Mr. Doutre says some obstacle may be found from the fact of the high elevations which separate them. This will be a matter for experimenting before it can be said definitely that the messages can be exchanged directly. In any event communication can be carried on, using Tatoosh on the American side as a connecting point.

There will be two engineers located on the coast in connection with the work, one will be at Victoria, and one at Vancouver.

The installing of these stations will make a new departure in connection with wireless. The station will be government owned and government operated. Of the stations in the East there are many of which are owned by the government, but are operated under contract with the Marconi company.

There are on the eastern coast the following stations; Father Point, Heath Point, Anticosti, Cape Bear, P. E. I., Pictou, N. S., Whittle Rocks and Armour Point, Labrador, Belle Isle, Point Rich, Point Ray and Point Race, Newfoundland; Sydney, C. B.; Cape Sable, N. S., St. John’s, N. B.; and the public works station at Quebec and Goose Island. At Halifax and Sable Island are Marconi stations.

Mr. Doutre may need to leave for the East before all are installed. If he does he will return about September. The stations will be equipped with three horse power gasoline engines and a 1 K. W. 60 cycle
alternator. There will be a 180 foot mast. The steel rigging has already been ordered and is on the way to the coast.

July 2, 1907
THE MARCONI ON THE CAMOSUN WIRELESS IS NOW BEING INSTALLED
Will Be First British Vessel on Coast With Device—CPR Awaits Developments.

This morning the work of installing the wireless system of telegraphy on the steamer Camosun of the Union Steamship company was commenced as the vessel rests on the ways of the Victoria Machinery Depot. The Camosun will be the first British vessel on the Pacific Coast to have the wireless installed. At present the only other commercial vessel along this coast line which has the wireless system is the steamer President of the pacific Steamship Company.

The Marconi system will be the on in use on the Camosun. The installation is practically coincident with the selection by the Dominion government of the various sites along the coast of the province for wireless stations. Work upon three sites will commence this week and in the course of about two or three months time a number of them will be in operation. The installation on board the Camosun will only take a few days and when she leaves the ways of the Victoria Machinery Depot she will be ready to play her part in the new system of communication along the seaboard.

A certain doubt exists at present as to whether the Marconi company will permit the Camosun with its apparatus on board to communicate with the Shoemaker stations. Up to the present time the Marconi company will not allow any of its stations in any part of the world to communicate with a system other than its own. This is the case at the Atlantic stations of the Dominion government which are all the Marconi system, and which will only communicate with vessels fitted with the Marconi wireless.

In this respect also the CPR company is awaiting developments. As before announced, this company has decided to place the system on its coasting vessels, the Princess May and Princess Royal. This decision was arrived at some months ago, but as yet no move has been made in the matter. The CPR had intended to install Marconi wireless but is now awaiting the decision of the Marconi company with respect to intercommunication before it proceeds with the work on its vessels. Should the Marconi follow
the course which at present adopts, the CPR will place another system, possibly the Shoemaker, on its vessels.

With respect to the vessels of the Empress type which carry the mails from Vancouver to the Orient, nothing has been definitely announced. It is certain, however, that in the very near future the white liners will have a system in use and it will be possible to ascertain their movements many hours before they sight land.

The system of wireless which will be installed along the coast by the Dominion government is the Shoemaker. This possesses the advantage of being able to communicate with any other system. The Marconi company is said to have applied for permission to erect a number of wireless land stations on the Pacific coast of Canada.

The work on the Camosun is in charge of B. S. Y. G. Clifton, an engineer who works for the Marconi Wireless Company. During the vessel's recent trip south the plant was taken on board at Vancouver and Mr. Clifton has arrived in the city and is now superintending the work.

On board the Camosun the power required for sending the messages will be stored in batteries charged from the vessel's electric plant. The message will be received and transmitted from wires strung from the masthead. Although it is stated tat the Camosun's plant will not be a very powerful one, as her run is for the most part inland, yet communication can be maintained at a distance of 600 miles. When the system is in working order the Marconi company will keep an operator on board the vessel.

The linking up of the entire seaboard by a system of wireless will have a far reaching effect in case of wrecks. News of disaster can be projected from point to point and salving vessels can hasten to the scene. The installation of the system along this coast will in all probability greatly reduce the loss of life as well as facilitating commercial negotiations and ameliorating shipping conditions to a large extent.

July 4, 1907
CONSTRUCTION OF WIRELESS STATIONS
Dominion Government Commissioner Will Rush Work as Quickly as Possible

Cecil Doutre, commissioner of wireless telegraphy and superintendent of wireless staions for the Dominion, who is now on the Pacific Coast establishing stations, says that the only delay which he is meeting with arises from the inability to get the work done owing to the difficulty in obtaining labour.

The Shoemaker system, manufactured by the International Wireless Company, is to be installed. That has been decided upon definitely some time ago after the fullest consideration. As far as the government is concerned it is denied that there is any breaking of contracts with the Marconi company. The government is not bound to use that system, and have adopted for the Pacific Coast the system which it is felt will serve the purposes intended better than any other.

The stations which the government are establishing are to be aids to navigation. It is essential that a system should be adopted which is able to communicate with vessels which carry different equipments. The Marconi company refuses to interchange messages with another systems, a serious drawback when used as aids to navigation. The Shoemaker system, in addition to other excellencies which it possess, permits the interchanging with all other systems provided other companies do not object.

The Marconi company is the only one which refuses to interchange messages. The fact that the government has seen fit to adopt the Shoemaker as the one to be installed by them would indicate that it has special features which make it superior to others for the purposes intended.

The stations on this coast will be erected just as quickly as the work can be done. In a few weeks some of them will be working. The site for the Victoria station will be finally decided upon, probably to-day. It is quite possible it may be located at Shotbolt's Hill.

Capt. Troup says he knows of no hitch in connection with the installation of the wireless system on the CPR steamers. He says the work of installation will not begin at once.

If the Marconi company will not interchange with the Dominion government Shoemaker system which is to be installed on this coast, the CPR will then have another system put on its steamers which will permit communications with the government stations.

July 5, 1907
LOCATING SITES FOR WIRELESS
DOMINION OFFICAL GOES TO CAPE LAZO
C.P.R. Vessels Will Equip With System Which Can Communicate With Government Stations

This morning Cecil Doutre, superintendent of wireless stations for the Dominion government, left Victoria on his way to Nanaimo. From there he will go to Comox and investigate the conditions in the neighborhood of Cape Lazo, where it will be remembered a wireless station will be erected.

Yesterday Mr. Doutre was engaged in making investigations about Victoria and among other places he visited was Shotbolt's Hill. Although he has not yet definitely announced that the Victoria station will be situated there, it is highly probable that this will be the site.

There are at present on the coast a number of Marconi agents who are in communication with the various steamship companies with a view of placing the Marconi wireless on the vessels. As before stated in the Times, the Marconi company does not allow intercommunication with other systems and with the exception of the Camosun, which is now being installed with Marconi, it is very unlikely that any other vessel will be equipped with the system on this seaboard.

The system is being installed more for the purpose of guarding against shipwrecks and ameliorating the conditions in case of disasters than from a commercial point of view. On this account, therefore, it is highly desirable that every vessel on the coast should be able to communicate with the government stations equipped with the Shoemaker system.

In this respect the CPR is awaiting developments. Although no contract had been entered into, the railway company had intended to install the Marconi system. The fact of the government deciding upon the Shoemaker system has however altered the plans of the CPR which is now awaiting such time as some definite pronouncement will be made by the Marconi company with respect to intercommunication. As Capt. Troup stated yesterday there is no hitch in the plans of the company, and he has not been informed of any change with respect to the installation of the wireless.

The present attitude of the Marconi company is by no means new, nor is it the first occasion upon which friction has been forthcoming. All over the world, wherever wireless is, the same difficulties prevail. Marconi will not allow his company to communicate with any other than its own system and this fact has given rise to no small inconvenience in the commercial world. The Marconi company has held out hope that these restrictions will be obliterated next year in the month of July, but in the meantime complaints continue to crop up. The Dominion government has decided that on this coast line the system which shall be established will be of an interchangeable character, and it will insure that no contretemps such as have been evidenced on the Atlantic coast can possibly arise. Pursuant on this decision the CPR has decided that whatever system is place on its vessel must be able to communicate with the government stations along the coast.

July 8, 1907
STATION TO BE ON CAPE LAZO
THE LOCATION IS AN EXCELLENT ONE
Will Command Unobstructed Way to Vancouver and Also Along Northern Course.

Cecil Doutre, commissioner of wireless telegraphy under the Dominion government, has returned to the city after making a selection of a site for the new station near Comox. It will be on Cape Lazo, where an acre and a half of land has been bought. The location is admirable for the purpose, Mr. Doutre says. The land is about 110 or 120 feet above sea level and commands an unobstructed sweep of the waters to the north and again to the south as far as Vancouver.

Mr. Doutre says that the station will have no difficulty in getting into communication with a vessel carrying wireless apparatus six or seven hours before the Cape is passed. Direct communication with Vancouver will be had when the station is established there and then with Victoria, so that the vessels may be reported many hours ahead of their arrival.

Mr. Doutre will not give his attention to the selection of a site in this city for the local station. He has not made a final choice yet, having different sites to choose from.

July 10, 1907
CANADIAN MARCONI COMPANY CLAIM MONOPOLY OF THE WIRELESS BUSINESS IN CANADA
Hon. W. Templeman Denies That Any Contract Rights Are Being Violated
(Special to the Times)

Ottawa July 10. Hon. W. Templeman, acting minister of marine, denies the charge by the Marconi Company that the contract rights of the company with the government are being violated or infringed. The company claim that their contract made with the government in 1902 gives them a monopoly of the wireless business in Canada to the exclusion of all other wireless systems. The government will not admit such a sweeping monopoly. The dispute has been brought to a head by the installation on the Pacific of wireless stations by the government. The avowed intention of the government is to operate these stations itself. The Marconi Company contend that they should have been given the right to erect and equip these stations and operate them for all time to come the same as the Atlantic stations.

The other action of the government of which the Marconi Company complain is the issuing of licenses without which no ship or station can do commercial wireless business in Canada. The license specifies that the ship or company which receives it shall exchange business with any other wireless company which offers it to them.

Recently the Marconi Company arranged to equip three CPR steamers on the Pacific coast with wireless apparatus and applied for licenses to operate them. These were the first licenses for wireless issued after the government had decided upon the licensing system. After receiving the license the company claimed that its rights were infringed and declined to pay the license fee. They object to the provision that there shall be an exchange of business with any other company.

The government believes that it is within its rights under contract and that its action is in the public interest.

July 11, 1907
VANCOUVER TO HAVE WIRELESS
GOVERNMENT EXPERT SELECTED STATION
Sixth Site Will Be Chosen at Cape Scott When Others Are Built

The site of the second wireless station to be established by the dominion government on the coast of British Columbia was selected yesterday and will be situated at Point Gray, near Vancouver. The wireless plant for the first station at Cape Lazo has arrived in the city and will be forwarded today and the construction work will commence immediately.

For the site of the Victoria station, the acreage has not yet been finally decided upon. The deal will in all probability be closed to-day and the erection of the Victoria station proceeded with at once.

This morning Cecil Doutre, the government wireless superintendent, returned from Vancouver after selecting the site for the Point Gray station. On Sunday night he will proceed up the west coast of the Island on the steamer Tees for the purpose of locating the exact site of the station at Estevan Point. The second station of the west coast of the Island will be at Pachena Point and will be attached to the lighthouse there.

The Pacific Whaling company has approached Mr. Doutre with a view to having a station placed at Kyuquot Sound, and in order to discuss this matter, Mr. Doutre will interview Captain Balcom within the next few days. The nearest station to the Kyuquot Sound whaling grounds will be Estevan Point. When the present five stations are established the government has in contemplation the selection of a site at Cape Scott and as the Kyuquot Sound whaling station lies nearly half way between Cape Scott and Estevan Point it is probable that a small station will be installed near the Pacific Whaling company's factory. To work in conjunction with this it is anticipated that the whaling company will install the system on its steamer St. Lawrence and also on the Orion so that the event of ship wreck either of the vessels can be signaled to proceed to any disaster that may eventuate.

Alluding to what has become known as the Marconi Company's claim to monopoly in the Dominion of Canada, Mr. Doutre says that the contract rights of the company with the government have been in no manner infringed.

“If they are of that opinion,” he says, “the courts are open to them. All over the world difficulties have been and are being experienced owing to the fact that the Marconi company will no allow its system to intercommunicate. The Shoemaker system will communicate with any other. The government intends to operate these stations itself as it is of the opinion that both from a commercial and a life saving standpoint, monopoly in a wireless system is both dangerous and inconvenient.

No pronouncement as to the intentions of the CPR in respect to its vessels on this coast has been made beyond the fact that three of the vessels will be equipped with the apparatus and with an apparatus which will communicate with the government stations.

July 12, 1907
TO ESTABLISH WIRELESS STATION
STEAMER CASCADE SAILS THIS AFTERNOON

WITH APPARATUS FOR SYSTEM AT CAPE LAZO

The steamer Cascade under charter to the marine and fisheries department, was engaged this morning in loading with a cargo of cement and wireless apparatus. She is leaving this afternoon for the East coast, her immediate objective being the Sisters lighthouse where she will land supplies. She will then proceed to Cape Lazo, when the apparatus for the construction of a wireless station will be discharged.

The men to be engaged in the construction work will take passage on the steamer and the labour of erection will commence at once. The receiving mast at the Cape Lazo station will be 180 feet in height and it is expected that this will be erected on a bluff over 120 feet above the sea level. It will be able to communicate at a distance of 250 miles.

July 19, 1907
THE LIGHTHOUSE FOR ESTEVAN
CONSTRUCTION IS TO BEGIN AT ONCE
Steamer Maude Taking Supplies Tomorrow

Cecil Doutre Will Leave by the Quadra

Yet another link in the chain of lighthouses which the dominion government is establishing on the West Coast of Vancouver Island will be commenced when the steamer Maude leaves port tomorrow and reaches Estevan Point. Today the vessel is loading with a cargo of lumber for construction work for the new government station to be erected at Estevan Point.

On the arrival of the vessel a trolley roadway will be built from the landing to the site of the lighthouse which was chosen some time ago. This will be four miles in length and by means of it the material for building purposes will be conveyed to the site. When the trolley roadway is constructed a dwelling house will be run up at Estevan point. The wireless apparatus will then be installed there, as it will be remembered it is also one of the wireless sites chosen by Cecil Doutre for a government station. Within the course of a short time a fog alarm will be installed, but it is not expect that the light tower will be build during the present year.

Tomorrow the steamer Quadra will make a special trip to Estevan Point with Mr. Doutre, superintendent of wireless stations of the Dominion government, and he will inspect the site on which the Shoemaker system of telegraphy will be installed. The Quadra will also call at Pachena Point where another wireless station is to be erected.

The site chosen for the new lighthouse at Estevan Point is an eminently suitable one. The surrounding coast line is of an extremely rocky character. Not eighteen miles form the site of the new lighthouse the sailing ship King David when to her destruction a little over two years ago. The King David was a vessel of 2070 tones register, bound from the Salina Cruz to port Townsend. Early in December 1905, she was driven towards the shores of Vancouver Island and to save herself from shipwreck she dropped her anchors in the vicinity of Bajo Point. A boat’s crew with and officer and six men on board was dispatched to Cape Beale, which it was presumed was the nearest point of communication, to ascertain the bearings of the vessel. The boat was never heard of again, and it presumed to have been lost with all on board.

After waiting in vain, the King David hauled up her anchors and endeavoured to make for the open sea. A wind was blowing on shore at the time, and she was driven on the reefs at Bajo Point and totally wrecked. The captain and crew managed to scramble ashore to safety.

It is interesting to note that the village of Nootka was only nine miles distant from the scene of the wreck, but the captain and those on board the King David were totally unaware of its existence.

The above forcibly illustrates the need of a lighthouse in that vicinity, and the action of the Dominion government, which is about to establish one, cannot be too highly commended. Before many years have passed the entire West Coast will have a chain of lighthouses and the danger of shipwreck will be ameliorated to no small degree.

October 17, 1907
WIRELESS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
NEW SERVICE IS INSTITUTED TO-DAY
“In the Matter of Dispatch We Fear No Competitor,” Says Marconi.

Sydney, Oct 17. The system of trans-Atlantic wireless telegraphy was, after numerous experiments, opened to the public today. The communication runs from Glace By to Clifden, in Ireland. The rate for messages is five pence per word and nearly forty words are being sent each minute.

With the opening of the Atlantic wireless service to-day the question which is agitating the different cable companies which run across the Atlantic is, “Will the trans-Atlantic service be cheaper and quicker than the cable?”

The time from New York to London by wireless, via Nova Scotia, is estimated at eleven minutes for a message of twenty words. This time might be further reduced according to the condition of the connecting land wires. The transmission through the air is said to be almost instantaneous. This can be gathered from the fact that a message can be flashed from New York to London in 15 seconds.

Mr. Marconi said in a recent interview at Sydney, “In the matter of dispatch we need fear no competition.”

The present trans-Atlantic cable rate is one shilling a word. Marconi in his system which is being inaugurated today is only charging five pence, or less than one half. Since the reports went out that Marconi had made a success of the trans-Atlantic system the different cable companies have been considering the reduction of their rates, and in a dispatch received here to-day it is stated that they will reduce them by one half.

The rate, therefore, if this dispatch which comes from London is correct, would mean that sixpence a word will be charged in the future, or one penny more than Marconi is charging.

There are at present 16 cable lines across the Atlantic, operated as follows: Anglo-American Company, 4 cables; Commercial Cable, 5; Western Union, 2; Direct United States, 1; French Company (Brest), 2; and the German Company (Enden, North German Company), 2.

If the Marconi system proves a success, as its inventor has every hope it will, it will thus make a seventeenth system. He will, therefore, probably get about one-seventeenth of the business. The speed of the Marconi system will in some measure be nullified, as marconigrams will have to be transferred on the English side to the post office lines, where the cable companies have independent wires.

At present all the cables together sent 24,000 words an hour. In two hours they can cable an ordinary novel. The best of the cables sends 100 words a minute. If wireless can beat this and at the same time be accurate, it will prove a marvelous trans-ocean system.

Marconi's view of the affair, however, is of the most optimistic character. He considers that his system is not limited like the cable. In the latter when it wants to double its capacity it must increase he diameter of its cable in proportion. In short, every cable now operating has a definite and limited capacity. In the wireless there is said to be no such restrictions. Marconi says that the first he will send 35 words a minute, but with the same apparatus he can increase the speed to three or four times that amount, and he considers that in a short time the service between Cape Breton and Clifden alone will be able to handle at least half as much business as all the cable companies combined. It is further pointed out by the wireless wizard that one limited cable system cost $5,000,000 whereas a wireless system, practically
unlimited, costs only $500,000.

The outcome of what is expected to prove a wireless cable war is awaited with interest not alone on this continent, but also in the Old Land.

November 15, 1907
WIRELESS IS IN WORKING ORDER
Superintendent Doutre Has Returned to Coast

Will Soon Have Circuit in Operation

The San Francisco steamer Governor was somewhere within speaking distance by wireless this forenoon. This was ascertained at the Dominion government station at Shotbolt's hill, where Cecil Doutre, the superintended of the Dominion wireless service, was testing the apparatus installed.

Mr. Doutre arrived from the east last night. He will leave either to-night or tomorrow for Vancouver to superintend the installation of the plant at that place. This will be completed in a few days and communication will then be possible between Victoria and Vancouver.

Mr. Doutre reports that at Pachena the station is built and a crew is at work installing the plant. At Lazo the building is finished and the plant is on hand. Workmen will be sent to install the plant in a short time. All will be in working order at the chain of stations before the new year.

Mr. Doutre was testing the plant at the local office this forenoon and was able to pick up the various stations at Port Townsend and elsewhere on the coast. The steamer Governor also was located, although no attempt was made to exchange messages.

November 29, 1907
MARE ISLAND STATION HEARD
LOCAL WIRELESS WAS IN TOUCH TODAY
Victoria Office Was in Communication With the U. S. Battleship Nebraska Last Night.

The two Dominion government wireless stations at Shotbolt's Hill, Victoria, and Point Grey, near Vancouver, are now in full working order and in constant communication. The local office, under the charge of E. J. Haughton, is constantly in touch with other stations along the coast on the United States side of the line, and with the different vessels carrying wireless apparatus on this coast. As an instance of what the station is capable of doing, it is interesting to know that the local operator this morning heard
from Mare Island station, off San Francisco.

Communication was in progress between that station and the United States battleship Nebraska, and while no interchange of signals was carried on with the local station, the Mare Island station was heard. Other points along the Californian coast have also been heard here.

Cecil Doutre, superintendent of the Dominion wireless service arrived in the city last evening from Vancouver, where he has been superintending the work on the Point Grey station. He is highly delighted with the success attending the two stations now equipped, and says that they even excel his expectations. Mr. Morse, an expert in the wireless system, will remain at Point Grey. Mr. Haughton, he says, has made splendid progress at the the local station, and is doing good work.

The topography of the country on this coast with the prevalence of high hills and mountains led Mr. Doutre to suspect that some little trouble might be encountered. This has not proved to be the case, however, and the system is working admirably. Pachena, with a clear way out to sea, should be able to communicate with vessels for hundred miles or more off the coast.

Last evening the United States battleship Nebraska, which is undergoing a test was in communication with the local wireless from time to time. The Nebraska was cruising in the straits of Juan de Fuca, and the crew asked for the latest news as to football matches, which Mr. Haughton was able to give them. Communication was kept up at intervals for several hours last night.

Communication by a land wire has to be established between Point Grey and Vancouver, and there will be a land wire between Shotbolt's Hill and the city of Victoria, which will facilitate matters.

Mr. Doutre expects to return to the East before long. He will leave Mr. Hughes in charge of the operators who will be trained for the remaining stations on the coast.

December 14, 1907
RUSHING WORK ON WIRELESS STATIONS
All on B. C. Coast Line Will be in Operation Early Next Month.

Good progress is being made on the three Dominion government wireless stations at Pachena, Estevan Point, and Cape Lazo, which are soon to be put into operation in conjunction with Gonzales Hill and Point Grey stations which are now working.

Cecil Doutre, superintendent of the Dominion government wireless system, left for the east last night, having been called away on government business. Mr. Doutre, just before leaving, stated that the trio of stations would be rushed to completion during his absence and would be in operation early next year when he would return to Victoria.

At Cape Lazo the apparatus is installed and the erection of the mast is all that is left to do. At Estevan Point electricians have been taken from Pachena to complete the work. Pachena Bay station is complete and is awaiting the arrival of the operator.

December 28, 1907
COMMUNICATION WITH PACHENA
WIRELESS STATIONS EXCHANGE MESSAGES
West Coast Point and Gonzales Hill are Now in Direct Touch

The first messages to be exchanged between the Dominion government wireless stations at Pachena Point and Gonzales Hill, Victoria, were those expressing the congratulations of the respective operators this morning when communication was established.

Contrary to reports no difficulty was experienced in transmitting messages between the two stations once the instruments were adjusted and the first message received by Supt. Haughton, of the local station today was:

The stations at Cape Lazo and Estevan Point will, it is anticipated, be in communication with three stations already in operation, within a couple of weeks at the outside.

December 14, 1907
BY WIRELESS FROM SEYMOUR NARROWS
Communication Was Established Last Night from Gonzales Hill with Steamer Portland.

Supt. Haughton, of the Dominion government wireless station at Gonzales Hill, last night received the first message from the Alaska Steamship Company's northern liner, Portland, at 7:30 last night, when that vessel reported that she was off Cape Mudge awaiting a favorable tide to get through Seymour's Narrows.

The Portland is the first vessel on the Skagway and Alaska route which has been equipped with wireless apparatus and the Alaska Steamship Company has received many congratulations for taking the pioneer part in this respect. The Portland will call at places like Katalla, Valdez and La Touche, out of the way points which have no communication, except by way of calling vessels, with other places. The Portland will, while at these places, maintain communication with all the stations along the coast which, in itself, will prove a boon and a blessing to the residents.

The establishment of communication with the Portland off Cape Mudge, affords another proof of what wireless is capable of. The space between the two points is almost altogether overland. As Cape Mudge is far beyond Cape Lazo, it is expected that no trouble will be found in establishing communication between Victoria and Cape Lazo direct.