Sudden Awakening of Strange and Powerful Forces in the Atmosphere . Becomes Aldrming to Scientists Who Fear the Results of Own Experiments Policeman equipped to instantly receive orders from head- quarters without resort to a telephone. T a gathering recently of engineers and scientists attached to various experimental laboratories near New York cities one of them, who had just returned from a mission to Italy, aston- ished his hearers by declaring that the alr was becoming so crowded with mys- terious, intangible forces that the problem of experimental science had become the avoidance of chaos. "The amateur who plays with the radio- phone goes merrily on his way," this scl- entist exclaimed, "playing with dynamite. The experimenter in the great laboratories goes his way not so merrily. The former Is fascinated by the strange, unreal things he can accomplish--the weirdness of the results of Lis endeavors. The latter>is alarmed by the potences of mysterious forces he labors with. Both are crowding the air. So is the scientist in the other laboratories where they are endeavoring to harness the explosive powers of the "atom, or ob, the electron. Both of these expe ear the contact of the forces . they release with those of the great elec- ¥ 4 trical engineer who, it is generally believed, is near to announcing his discovery of a means of transmitting electric current through the air without wires--a method which will do away with cables and serve to every user of electric lights or electric Power his current in unlimited voltage from power house to his door without in- tervening wires. "Mysterious agencies are required for ' the working out of all these experiments. These agencies are active in the air. We release them and do not know what be- Comes of them when they have served our purpose. We do not know whether or not they will be friendly to each other when 'they meet in the alr or whether we will Bot at some infportant instant in some ex: perimenter's progress, release some new "= @ctivity In the air which will go on a ram- Page and turn science topsy turvy--if mot do something worse." Two recent events, "widely dissimilar in ebaracter, yet both having to do with over- erowded air and both startling, illustrate An striking manner the warnings of this speaker. . In Illinois a business man who had al- Ways enjoyed the best of health com- plained to his physician that for several nights he had been unable to sleep, being kept awake by what were, apparently, peychic voices and strange snatches of music that seemed to "come out of the alr" Tiese noises, he sald, began early in the might and continued for many hours. They . were faint, but distinct and apparently Were not mere ramblings, but weirdly un- 'derstandable conversations, and the music Be could recognize as popular tunes of the day. When he visited his physician he was haggard from want of sleep and com- plained that he could no longer attend to his business. He was treated for insomnia and this freatment having no effect the physician Was of the opinion his patient was suffer- ""ing from hallucinations. A psychologist was summoned in (<g sultation and the patient submitted to a thorough examina- tion. The specialist reported, after long observation, that the patient did not seem #0 be In such mental condition as would foster hallucinations. He discovered, how- ever, that during the few nights the patient spent at a sanitarium under observation the voices and music ceased. When he re- turned to his home they agaln interrupted his sleep. Both the physician and the specialist visited the man's home. They prepared to spend the night with him in an adjoin- ing room. Shortly after all had retired the patient excitedly flung open the door that connected his room with that occupied by his professional guests, Even in this other room voices, music and other strange sounds were plainly heard. When, suddenly, a volce began to recite such a very prosalc thing as a dally mar- ket report the physician suddenly laughed aloud. " He recognized the "broadcastings" from a wireless telephone station several miles away. But the patient had no receiving appa- Mystery of Lost Treasure 4 N winding up the sdffairs of the late Pope Benedict XV. the historians who will compile for the Vatican library a history of his reign have come across a curious reference to the intention of Benedict to initiate a treasure hunt, a plan interrupted by his death. It was not any of the lost galleons or the hoards of any anclent pirate Pope Benedict had in mind, but the "lost treas- ures" of the Church itself. Few know that, burfed somewhere in France, close to the quaint old city of Avignon, there .are buried countless bags of silver .and gold, crates of priceless crosses incrusted with jewels and a great Store of gold coins of France, England and anclent Austria, all righttuily belong ing to the Popes and lost since the four- teenth century. In the treasure, in addi- tion to its material wealth, there are a number of sacred relics which are of greater value to the Pontiff than all the gold and silver and gems, It is largely tradition that the Vatican ewes its knowledge of this "lost treasure," by clreamureacition so well authentionted by circumstances t Pope Benedict evi- ratus {n the house. There was none in the neighborhood. Investigation disclosed that the springs in the bed occupied by the patient had be- come an ideal aerial and 'picked up" the broadcasting of the sending station piles away, "We have grave reason to fear," said the speaker above mentioned, "that during the course of certain wireless experiments now being made by the great radio cor porations a situation may suddenly occur-- unheralded--taking shape in a single in- stant, which will cause every telephone conversation at that moment being trans. mitted over the ordinary telephone wires. to be shouted out of evéry radio receiving instrument for many miles around. Imagine the result of such a tremendous volume of conglomerate sound suddenly bursting upon the ears of the listener at a receiving instrument. 2 "Would not that be chaos in- deed?" The result would be, of course, that telephone wires would have to be grounded almost over night. "It is not that we predict any such occurrence," the speaker continued. "We do not know of any situation in our experiments which would cause it. We know, however, A "wireless telephone class" in the public schools; the radio now is a daily study. that even such a thing might happen. We must be very careful and not stumble upon what would be a great discovery in such a sudden, unpreparedtor way. The other incident referred to above dently thought himself justified in sending a mission from Rome to superintend a new search. It was fitting also that it should be Benedict, a Della Chiesa, who should revive the tradition afd lend support to a hunt for it. It was a Della Chiesa, an ancestor of Benedict, who was most con- cerned in burying the papel treasure at Avignon, it is believed. Benedict, however, had made plans to send a little company of representatives headed by one of his Secretaries, to open the search anew, and had communicated through his diplomatic channels with the French Government to that end. It is this communication to France that has been discovered in his private archives. France bad not yet had time to forward the Pope the necessary authority when he died. It is not known, of course, if the new Pope will follow Benedict's plan. In the Ter order of the Fremch was the tragic collision of the two passen- ger planes bound across the English Chan- nel, with the resultant loss of lite. So far as there is record this is the first time two passenger planes or even non-passenger carrying planer {n time of peace actually collided in the manner that trains run ints each other--meeting along the same aerial track. France under tribute, and some of 'them penetrated far south. One of these free companies {s known to many readers--the White Company, the same that runs throughout Copan Doyle's romance bear- ing that name. ¢ In 1367 the "White Company," accord- ing to the few local references preserved to this day, appeared in the rich valleys to the north of Avignon. The "free com- panions" went about their accustomary business with their accustomary thorough- ness. They stripped the countryside bare as a hand, meny of the Inhabitants fieeing for safety behind the walls of Avignon and elsewhere, Then, to the dismay of all, came hasty news of the advance of the "Companions" upon the town. War hardened and irre- ligious they recked as little of the Pope's 'fubminations and excommunications as they did of his military fofces. It was an age of insecurity, when they who had acted very wisely kept much of their riches in a portable condition. In the papal tremsury were much gold coin and convertible valuables, kept against an emergency. But the rapid advance of the bands of the "White Company" cut off any opportunity of getting the treasure safely dispatched. Crowded! Gen. Pershing sending into the air his 'commands to far away posts. £ J p- of early success. There then will be a combination = areoplane, automobile and hydroplane, capable of moving [at high speed either on water, land or in the alr, which will people the air, it may he, with &8 many travelers as there now are auto- mobilists and 'motor boat enthusiasts com- biped. " M. Rene Tampier is the Paris engineer who has perfected what he calls the "avion. automobile," or flying motor car. In the air this plane is hardly distinguishable ® from other aeroplanes, except that fits An auto- mobile aero plane recently made practical,, This machine, run- ning . along a Paris street, with wings folded, is ready to spread its wings and fly away. It to-day students of aerial transporta- tion are asking when there are compara- tively few aeroplanes in the alr, it is pos- sible for two pilots to select air lanes s0 close to each other that, in a fog, their places are in danger of running into each other--what will be the situation a few years hence when, perhaps, there will be a thousand or more planes in the air at any given moment for every one that is aloft to-day? Already there has been successfully dem- onstrated an aeroplane which weary of the air, may fold its wing much as does a bird and, coasting to the ground, find a landing in almost any ordinary street and pursue its way aground, weaving in and out of traffic with the celerity of a "fiivver" automobile. So successful is this develop- ment of the aeroplane that already there are experiments under way to adapt it to the water also with considerable prospect wings are somewhat longer and shallower in proportion. There are two engines, one of 300 horse power, used when the machine is In flight; the other is a 10 horse power monobloc, which is used when the machine travels on the ground. The pilot may slowly fold the planes when he wishes to descend, needing only a straight street ahead with little trafic in his immediate neighborhood, to make a successful landing. The larger engine is cut off when the descent begins. The smaller one is connected after the landing has been made. A speed of 100 miles an hour may be reached in the air and on the ground the machine is capable of even a greater speed. In beginning a flight M. Tampler first drives his plane along the ground, -then, using his smaller engine to start the larger one, gradually lifts into the &lr, his ascent boing easier and sharper than that of any of the usual aeroplanes. When the wings are folded and the aeroplane has become an automobile it can squeeze through pas- Sageways in the traffic too narrow for the ordinary motor bus. Almost dally M. Tam- pier can be seen in his machine threading the traffic in the Rue Lepic and climbing the hill-which leads up to Montmartre, It is predicted by some enthusiastic en- gineers that when this machine has been tested by time and improved it will vir. tually replace the pleasure automobile, at least for those who are not fearful of the air. Then, indeed, would the air be crowded with a most tangible trafic. nN Experimenters revently have meet with some unique situations in the releasing of ! wave currents which, they believe, have «Popes After viewing from the summit of a tower in the papal palace the night fires of the "free companions" in the Yar dis- tance Innocent VII. instructed two of his secretaries--an obscure reference gives rise to the tradition a Della Chiesa was the principal one of them--and the head of '®his guard to bury the treasures in a safe place beyond the city walls. This was achieved, and just in time, for at daybreak the forces of the "White Company" were inside Avignon and surrounding the great palace of the Popes. According to the papal records it was not until three years had passed that the land enjoyed such degree of peace and security as to encourage the recovery of the secreted wealth. Accordingly they who had cached it went with a body of men and dug--and dug again. But trees had been cut down and landmarks had disappeared. To the dismay of all the papal treasures could not be found. A number of efforts were made to re cover them, but in vain. When the Holy See went back to Rome the hidden hoard was left behing in its very safe anchorage. "The French Government last century in. stituted a close search and private individ. uals have prospected around unsuccess- fully, been effected by the alr disturbance caused by the aeroplane. A displaced current of alr, these scientists observe, creates an unusual condition in the atmosphere. "In our experiments we can deal only with the atmosphere in its usual state"--that 1,000 aeroplanes in a given circle of space would have a very appreciable effect upon a con- gestioh 'of wireless-activities In that cirele is very much feared. Whether or not the Gisturbed wave currents would likewise of- fect the mechanism of the aeroplanes-- that we wonder about, too. At Columbia and other universities and at the great Edison laboratories, strides are being made toward the harnessing of the energy concentrated in the electron. Strange forces are constantly being shot through the air in these experiments--tor the manner in' which chemistry is ap proaching this task requires the penetra tion of the atom by invisible forces which must be sent at random through atmos phere. What becomes of these forces these "wave strengths," not even the scien tists know. They know only that so far they have been lost--they have not reached their destination. " Rambling in the afr, they are crowding it more and more--wip' they meet, join potency and discover them. selves by some sudden, unexpected demon. stration wholly new to science?