THE PRESS CONFERENCE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 617, 21 September 1909, Page 6

THE PRESS CONFERENCE.

CHEAPER CABLEGRAMS. AN INTERESTING • INTERVIEW. . Among the first of Australasians, representatives at the .Empire Press Conference to return was Mr. P. W. Ward, editor of, the Sydney "Daily Telegraph," who gore.'an interesting summary of his-impression's on subjects discussed at tho conference and• those J gained during his walks,abroad. ,',,.../ Speaking on tho subject of cheaper cable c6mmunication, he stated: '■ Difficulties of Pacific Cable,

The demand by the overseas, Dominions for cheaper cablegrams was . almost/ vehemently supported by tho English journals, and if a colonial might hazard air opinion he did not think very much love was lost between the English journals and the .cable .people. Undoubtedly . the charges;had'been excessive, and it was due to the conference'. that tho recent 25 per cent, reduction was made. Many members of the conference, including, the Australian delegates, thought it.'should be possible to reduce the rate .to 6d.'per word, but outside of the Pacific route there were so many interests to bo considered that'it would be difficult to bring it about. Regarding the' Pacific cable, there seemed to bo ;some disappointment that tho cable was not'/used' by tho Australian press combination; but it was only fair to the latter to say that messages -by the Pacifio route wore much. Di6re liable' to delay. Mr. Lohraann, of 'the North Geiman Lloyd, who was a : passenger to Canada by the steamer Empress of Ireland, by -which ho (Mr';' Ward) travelled, stated' that this '(Mr.- Lohniann's) company recently :gaVe the Pacifio route three months' trial; but the delays were so great-that the old system had to bo reverted to. "...

• Continuing, Mr. Ward" said the fault was not with the cable, but with,the land lines in the Dominion. The latter were owned by private companies, ..who did heavy business between' Canada and tho United States, and the consequence was that cables were often held up and had to wait. The Atlantic section of tho cable also was owned by a private concern; who'refused to reduce their rates, which were very high. /That induced the'delegates to propose a State-owned-.' cable across the Atlantic, on lines similar to the Pacific, but that proposal was not eagerly soized upon by delegates other than those from Canada, owing to the wonderful development of-the wireloss systems of ."telegraphy, which might before long supersede, all' the -Atlantic cables, when those cables would. become r a • "white elephant" on the hands of their-owners. •■ ' Tribute to Wireless.; '~"'■''.''•■•' Mr. Marconi, inventor' -of : ethergrophs, was present at conference, which "he addressed. So impressed by his words,were delegates from the 'other - Dominions'; particularly ■'Australia and New Zealand, that they could not vote in favour of a State-owned -Atlantic cable; but; on tho other:hand, they would not vote against it," with the result that the Canadians carried the conference. Had it been a question of the three States ereoting and equipping 'Marconi stations on both sides of the. Atlantic, all the 1 delegates probably would have supported 'it. '.■■■" -v-; •.;.'. v : Mr. Ward said he travelled across; to Canada by the Empress of Ireland, and every morning, until within 100 miles of Quebec, ITarconi' messages were received giving the .latest information - from , the London morning papers. That'made one doubtful of sanctioning the tremendous expense of' laying another cable across the Atlantic. ..',"-' Australian; News In English' Journals, : Speaking_of the paucity,, of. Australian',news published in English journals, the reason for' that was not so much the cost of: cablegrams as the uninteresting nature of,the,:news..Australian inews. was ! of little interest to 'English readers, and as the Home journals had the pick of the best news available in Europe, very little space could 'be,/or .would be, devoted ..to Australian, rainfall, or'-politics;. .'.'Mr/ Ward said he learned that when the Federal "fusion" "was accomplished, 1000 words were cabled by Reuter's, but; not more than 150 words were published, the- rest being .consigned to the waste-paber basket. r He,wasjof opinion. that the waste-paper basket-was,'used ; too, much whero Australian nows wis concerned.; There were no earthquakes,' wars,: or : massacres in Australia; hence there: was little of interest to people beyond the sear He learned,■'.howevor, .that if the .cables: could be obtained from Australia at 4''reasonable'., rate, "The Times" would give, a couple • of "columns a week to Australian"news. -That, however, was doubtful,, in the face.of the. statement that the news cabled' at'existing rates was not used. ' ' >''"'' , .

used. ' .■';"". ■'. ■■ >''"■'; .'■-.,..; , Referring ",to - the statement recently .'cabled .that owing to corporate influence the Canadian Government .would ignore the .Cable Conference in London, and would refuse to support the movement 'for State : owned cables, Mr. Ward said that Mr. Eoss,!editor of the Ottawa journal, was responsible'for'the'resolution moved; at the conference in favour of (State-owned cables; and'if was surmised that tho.' loss of faith' in the present Government was' the cause of the cabled declaration. . He felt, however, that the Canadian Government wbuld.;not stand.in the.way;of any, movement that would be likely fo benefit the Dominion. As' a matter '.of fact' he'had '-'heard or read a denial of the statement attributed to the Ottawa journal/, '■ .'.' ; ' "'•'.■. ''.'■! Naval .'Defence.' . The;second subject dealt, with, by the conference was naval.fdeience.ylt'was, quite,impossible to exaggerate' the feeling! manifested by delegates,. and 'the. conference : hdd the effect, of making it understood-: that anything done 'in the matter/of-naval' defence must ..be done by the Empire .as a'whole; that the time 'had come when the ,whole .Empire must stand: by to, share the burden with the British taxpayers." With-regard to the British Navy, there appeared' to be.but.one man"who was.not satisfied,'and that was Admiral lord Charles Beresford. The review held in honour of the press delegates, when the vessels of war extended for.lß miles, gavei' the impression that all- was satisfactory! at! the .'present-time, and naval men, when asked if the t\vo-P,6wer. standard existed in fact, pointed to the ships and said: "There is no;other Power .which/could bring together such a force." ' ..None' of..those vessels were more than ten.years of age; all. wero built and paid: for within\tlie.past dozen years, and those Dreadnoughts' were,wonderful vessels. Tho first..vessel.Vwhich gave.the name to. the class! was the weakest of (the lot. The pity was that every person in the Empire, could not seo that display, of power. He always was a one-Navy man,'and after witnessing that sight he,continued to be a one-Navy man. ..One nnyy, paid for and controlled by every, part of the Empire, was .his'ideal..; Efficiency.was the niuin feature in a fighting'machine, and if experts-'. met and considered ,the matter 'and told the, people frankly what „was the/ best thing to do' then that,should bo' done. If they said groups of navies was the best system, there was tnothing left for a layman to say; but if they said that one • navy was'the most efficient, form, of naval defence,/.that, form should be dictated by commonsense. : , / ,-'. A ■ Comparison.' Mr.. Ward went on to deal.with the English, •journals, and .said that while the articles published were excellent on tho whole,-there was room for improvement in reporting' events. ,Ho considered that some of; that-work was done in a slovenly mariner, and;from wkat.heicould seo he had no hesitation'in saying that reporting on the metropolitan, journals in' Australia was, if not superior, at any rato, not- inferior to that of, English journals. As.rcgarded English journalists, he said that Lord Northoliffe whs a phenomenal'man in newspaper enterprise, • always doing something to stand out above all else. . Lord -Nprthclitfo failed occasionally, but when he succeedod-his success.was great./' - /, "':■ ■ .-:-.' Speaking of his travels-through,the United Kingdom, subsequent to'the'closeof tho conference,- Mr. Ward safd -that the two' impressions/which every 'delegate carried; away from provincial England were tho unsurpassable beauty of rural' England, and the; amazing energy and vitality of - the. English ■ people. < .London was a marvellous city. ;It was n-pily. that anyone 6ho.uld ; go,outVof;the world/with, out seeing -it; but London- was not England. Outside v of'London- thero- was ,an England greater than London, great -/as'.London;, was.Thcv heard many 'pessimistic, 'disparagements of the condition of the Motherland,'but it-was' about ono of those, ordinary -depressions in trade that.was going on in England at present; still, substantially, England was the'market for thoir production, and. they all/wero impressed. ~ ■■"■'.,'.- /, ■■ '-. .