French or Belgian army wireless car, 1914.

A hundred years ago today, the October 1, 1914, issue of the Burlington (Vt.) Weekly Free Press carried a feature explaining how the automobile and aeroplane were revolutionizing warfare in the European war. And the article explains how the wireless telegraph was being used in connection with both. It notes that the most advanced practice was found in the use of automobile wireless outfits, which are in wide use by both the Begian and French armies. Those powerful stations had a transmitting radius of 225-250 miles, and were of infinitely more value than pack sets and cart sets, since the conflicting armies were clashing along such far-flung battle lines.

The article notes that the electricity was generated by the motor of the car, and these portable stations “with all the paraphenalia of electrical communication without wires may be speedily whisked from place to place, and as soon as the telescopic mast which is part of the outfit can be extended and erected the operators can go to work sending and receiving messages.”

Seventy-five years ago, American radio listeners were frequently hearing the phrases, “we take you to London,” “we take you to Paris,” and “we take you to Berlin,” as Americans learned how close they were to Europe’s troubles. As this item from Radio Guide for the week ending September 29, 1939, points out, we were close enough to hear a man breathe in Paris or the rustle of a paper in Berlin.

The diagram shows the example of how NBC would connect to its correspondents in London, Fred Bate or John Gunther. From NBC’s New York studios, the cue would go via telephone to the RCA short wave transmitter at Rocky Point, Long Island. The signal would be picked up by an English receiving station and sent by telephone to Broadcasting House in London. The English broadcast would go by telephone to the English short wave transmitter and picked up by the RCA receiving station at Riverhead, Long Island. From there, the signal would go back to NBC’s Radio City studios for retransmission to the network.

The process concludes when the American listener picks up the broadcase and says to himself “fervently and with conviction,” and alas, in vain, “We must stay out. We must stay OUT.”