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Wednesday 29 July 1903
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'SCIENTIFIC HOOLIGANISM."
Professor J. A. Fleming delivered a lec- ture at the Royal Institution, London, on June 4, in which wireless telegraphic mes- sages from Mr. Marconi at 'Poldhu, Corn- wall, were received at the lecture table via Chelmsford j together with others from Uni- versity College. Professor Fleming three weeks later, according to our London corre- spondent, stated that a deliberate attempt was made by someone outside to wreck the exhibition of this feat. ^The demonstrations iwero arranged with "Mr, Marconi's special co-operation, at some expense to 'the insti- tution, and afc great trouble, to show that Hertzian wave telegraphy on the Marconi system can now be conducted over great distances on land, and can penetrate as well into the heart of a great city. Marconi claims (1) that the messages by his system cannot be tapped; and (2) 'that working can- not be .-interfered with. Certain experts were challenged to interfere with it if they could. Towards the end of the lecture i't was seen that the instruments were being influenced , by some outside agency, and amongs't other things recorded on the tape were quotations from Shakespeare, a poem (of doubtful origin), and, finally, that most undignified observation, "Rats'." The irate professor promptly wrote to the papers de- nouncing the mischief-makers as ''scientific hooligans," asking the world in general to find out the culprits and let him know^and he woidd-well, do something dreadful to them. After much scientific mudthrowing to the papers Mr. Neville Maskelyne, of Egyp'tian Hall fame, confessed publicly that he and another scientific man were perpe- trators of what Professor Fleming called "monkey tricks." They do not say by what means the interference was accomplished, but apparently it was done by putting very high tension currents into the earth, which showed at once to the alleged ''evildoers'' that had they chosen they could have "wrecked the whole demonstration" given by Professor Fleming, bu'fc that was beyond their object. Mr. Maskelyne contends that what he did was quite "fairplay." He knew there was a challenge issued by Professor Fleming^ and he simply took it up, and won. "It should be remembered," says Mr. Mas- kelyne, "that Professor Fleming is the ex peft adviser to the) Marconi company, and that other systems of wireless telegraphy are being greatly handicapped by what we be- lieve to be the extravagant claims put for- ward on behalf of the Marconi system. So, after all, the Government authorities may not be such blockheads as the Marconi pro- moters would have us believe."