Instead of signalling produced by electrical changes that were induced in atmospheric stratifications, supporters generally hypothesize that he was actually inadvertently sending and receiving radio signals. (It was not until the mid-1890s, through the work of Guglielmo Marconi, that it became known that high frequency electrical currents could be used to generate radio signals (electromagnetic radiation) for signalling purposes.) The lack of independent witnesses or detailed technical descriptions has made it difficult to make a conclusive analysis of Loomis' various assertions and ideas. During this era the common practice for verifying that a system was working as advertised was to post observers at each end of a communication link, sending their own messages and making public reports. Although Loomis claimed that "eminent scientists and engineers" observed his experiments, he never provided their names or those of his assistants, and extensive research has not uncovered any independent reports by eyewitnesses. Skepticism about Loomis' ideas date back to his earliest work. In 1869, the year he petitioned the U.S. Congress for financial support, and from 1870 to 1873, when he was endeavoring to receive the charter for the Loomis Aerial Telegraph Company, newspaper commentary was often very negative. An editorial comment in the January 15, 1869 "Paterson Daily Gardian" stated "We incline to think that Mr. Summer is both sound and safe in saying of Mahon Loomis, M. D.'s new mode of 'telegraphing without the use of wires,' that it is "either" a great case of moonshine or else it marks an epoch in the progress of invention.' But before that 'appropriation of $50,000' is passed, it may be well to find out "which"." For the "Telegraphy" entry in the 1903 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, contributor John Ambrose Fleming wrote that: "Many other more or less imperfect devices—such as those of Mahlon Loomis, put forward in 1872 and 1877, and Kitsee in 1895—for wireless telegraphy were not within the region of practically realizable schemes." In 1904, A. T. Story surveyed the available information, and felt the need to include the qualifier "if we are to believe the reports", before stating that then "the attempt to communicate between the two summits was successful". In 1907 Lucien Poincaré authored a comprehensive overview of "modern physics" which flatly dismissed Loomis' self-reported successes as not even being worthy of review, and the English translation of this book added the pejorative description of Loomis as "an American quack".