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A tired and busy radio operator in the central telegraph
office inserted a carefully punched tape in an automatic wireless
transmitter at 2:19 a.m., and Dr. Hugh Mansfield Robinson's serious
and semiofficial attempt to communicate with the planet of Mars was
under way at the cost of 36 cents a word.
A skeleton staff gave only passing attention to the busy machine
as it clicked out the code words, "love to Mars from earth," and
forced the dots and dashes out over the powerful Rugby Wireless
Station, England.
Exactly eight minutes later three men sitting in the home of
Prof. A.M. Low, one of Britain's best known young scientists and
writers, received a long and mysterious wireless message in the
Morse code. Prof. Low, who has encouraged Robinson's experiment but
expressed skepticism, admitted that he did not understand the
message, but Robinson claimed it was a reply from a high-powered
Martian radio station-probably one situated in Ookalonga, the
capital of Mars, according to Robinson.
"It was very mysterious, but it is hardly likely that it was a
message from Mars," Prof. Low said. "However, I must confess I do
not know who sent it. One striking thing about it was that it was
not an ordinary message. It was a long series of undecipherable dots
and dashes. For example, at one time there were eleven dots followed
by three dashes."
Dr. Robinson, who claims to have been in telepathic communication
with Mars; Prof. Low and the London Daily Mirror representative
heard the mysterious message at 2:27 a.m. (9:27 p.m., Tuesday,
Eastern Standard time).
The second message "God is love" was dispatched from the Rugby
station at 2:32 a.m., and started on its 35,000,000-mile journey to
Mars. The government did not guarantee that the message would reach
its destination.
Officials, in fact, insisted that the whole transaction was
merely routine business, and in no way involved the postoffice
department's belief or disbelief that the message could be received
on Mars-or that there was any one there to receive it.
Dr. Robinson said late yesterday he had been in telepathic
communication with Mars during the afternoon and informed the
planetary radio operators that a message would be sent them.
He said they replied to him by "shouting through a huge
megaphone."
"It's wonderful the way these things work out," said the man who
claims to have held numerous conversations with a Martian woman,
Oomaruru, who has a "sweet face and big ears."
Source: United Press - Oct. 24, 1928
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