"LISTENING IN."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 3, 5 January 1937, Page 9

"LISTENING IN."

TELEPHONE DANGERS. ' i STORM IN A TEA CUP? TRANS-OCEAN CALLS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, December 30. The Sydney County Council has been subjected to much adverse criticism, both from members of the council and outsidei s, for ita use of the so-e<illed "monitone" or "tell tale" telephone. Tlio objection to the system apparently i(> that there is something undignified or unmanly or even treacherous about the practice of "listening in" that it tends to intimidate and therefore to demoralise the staff. At a recent meeting of the council the charman, Councillor S. A. Lloyd, explained the section for the l>enefit of the public as well as in the interests of certain members who seemed to have rather vague ideas-about the subject of discussion. "There seems to be an entire misconception of the Minister," he said. "It merely means that a senior officer can listen in to-the conversations of the staff as a check on starting price activities over the departmental telephones or on any other unauthorised use. He complained further that departmental principals and councillors have access to telephones that are entirelv free from censorship and interference." The chairman's remarks, however, did not secure general approval from the meeting. Councillor McElhone, who has a keen scent for any invasion of personal liberties or privileges, gave his opinion that the tell-tale has been installed to stop a leakage of information and was starting price betting among the staff. This suggestion was vigorously repudicated by the general manager, Mr. Forbes Mackey, but it seemed to represent the view of a section of the members, and Councillor Gardener, who has sharply condemned the council's organisation, maintained that recourse to such a devise "shows that there is something lacking in the administration of this body by those responsible." Key Hole PeepeTs. There may not be much in this critisicm but it deserved more attention than the puerile remarks of Councillor O Dea, ho asked the chairman in an obviously offensive manner.,—"Can you give me your opinion of people who look through key holes and listen at doors?" As this excerpt indicates the discussion took on a rather unpleasant tone and several speakers displayed distinct animus against the chairman, but when the matter came up again at an adjourned meeting called this week to discuss the council budget it was deferred for further consideration until after the recess (January 19). The general impression gathered from this debate is that the malcontent members of the council have made a great deal of a email matter. It is manifest that some restriction must be placed on the use of telephones in every large commercial or industrial enterprise. Councillor McElhone himself admitted this during the discussion. "In all the big business institutions of this city," he said, "an employee cannot use the telephone without consent. This conis given only in cases of urgency or sickness. If they use the telephone without consent they are liable to dismissal." The Dire ct° r of Posts and: Telegraphs (Mr. Dunsany), when interviewed last week on this subject, disclaimed all responsibility as' to the uses to which telephones may be put. "Our business is only to install them," he said. However, he, too, mentioned the well-known fact that "most of the big citv business houses and retail shops forbid their staffs to use the telephones for private calls, excepting those that can claim urgency and importance." Warning to Employees. These considerations should help councillors to clear up the question in their own minds. WTiether employees have formal permission to use telephones or not, they m?<rht ha well Understand that if are using them for any illegitimate purpose they are liable to be detected ai}d penalised.. As to Councillor O'Dea's childish references to "listening at keyholes" and similar objections, they may be left for tfie delectatton of the spineless people who would smother np any abuse or misdemeanour rather than be called "telltale," and to whom policemen and : detectives, our most potent protectors against violence and crime, are merely "pimps" and "spies." While on the topic of 'listening-in," I may mention" a subject which came up for discussion at the conference of the Local Government Clerks' Association in Sydney last week. The shire-clerk of Hastings was relating his experiences is a short-Wave listener, and he mentioned that he had frequently heard oversea messages of a private and embarrassing nature passing between people who had every reason to avoid publicity. 'The reference was, of course, to the oversea telephone service, and as this means "of communication is the chief feature of the beam-wireless system, now deservedly popular here, a number of people began to wonder if their telephone messages to oversea friends and relations are always eo secret and inviolable as might be desired. An inquiry from the postal officials at the G.P.O. waa met with the assurance that "complete secrecy can be guaranteed for every oversea telephone conversation between any part of Australia, and any listener in any country in the world. Remarkable Invention. The ground for this positive assertion is a recent development in the telephone system of a very remarkable nature. For some time past, the "Sydney Morning Herald" tells us, the Sydney and London clearing houses for telephone calls have been equipped with an apparatus called an inverter, through which every "round-the-world" conversation lias to pass. The "inverter" is brought into play by the actual voices of caller and listener, and it accepts the messages just as they are epoken. After receiving normal intelligent conversation in English or any otherlanguage, before sending the words out in the air again, "it transforms them into a jumble of discordant sounds." Then the number located at the other end "picks up this jumble and transforms it again into intelligible language." Within the past month inverters have been installed on either side of the Tasman, and people can speak between Australia and New Zealand with perfect immunity from "listening-in." Now—it may be well to remember —the only oversea telephone talks which shortwave listeners can overhear are those between Australia and New, Zealand and the Awatea — the only ship-in these Waters giving telephonic service to her passengers. The reason, of course, w that the Awatea, though ahe has the telephone and radio installation, does not possess an inverter.