RADIO FOR SHIPS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 35, 11 February 1935, Page 8

RADIO FOR SHIPS.

COASTAL VESSELS. OPPOSITION BY OWNERS. UNFAVOURABLE IMPRESSION. (From Our Own Correspondent.l SYDNEY, February 4. The request of the marine unions for the installation of wireless on coastal steamers is still being considered by the Federal Minister of Health. But Mr. Hughes was called away to Melbourne on Cabinet business 32 days ago, and nothing seems to have been done since. When last heard from on this subject the Minister had received a deputation from ship owners in Melbourne, and they had expressed a desire to exclude ships between 700 tons and 1000 ton; from the obligation to carry wireless operators. Mr. Hughes declined to accept this proposal, but the arguments by which it was supported seem to deserve a little attention. In the first place it was urged that the inclusion of wireless operators on the staff of such small vessels would "disturb the balance of the crew," compelling in many cases the employment of additional hands and probably the installation of extra lifeboats. *Of course, this question of expense is a matter that appeals very much more strongly to shipping owners than to sailors, or to the average citizen; and when a Langite member asked in the Federal House whether dividends ought to be considered before human lives, he got a distinct "round" of applause. But the deputation representing the owners committed a grievous error in judgment by going further than this and arguing that the money spent on the wireless operators would, be wasted, because "they would have practically nothing to do." On this ground a watchman employed to guard a building at night is useless unless he happens to be catching a burglar, a fire brigade is not worth keeping unless and until the firebell rings, and n policeman is wasting his time, and" deserves no pay, unless he is actually arresting a thief. Mr. Hughes has a keenly logical mind, and no doubt this strained and onesided argument helped him to form a very unfavourable opinion of the shipowners' case. The whole matter is still in abeyance, but there have been many indications that the shipping companies have produced a very unpleasant impression on the public mind by laying so much stress on the "expense" that would be involved in taking reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of the coastal boats and their crews.