WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 244, 16 July 1928, Page 8

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

NOTES AT RANDOM (By T.D.H.) The British Foreign Office states that it regards Manchuria as belonging to China—but this still leaves the puzzle as to whom China belongs. The death of another member of the Wills multimillionaire family of tobacco fame recalls that it was a threat of competition by a proposed American tobacco trust that put this family on its feet in money-making on the colossal scale. Originally the Wills fam- . ily was in the tobacco and snuff business in a small way at Salisbury. About a century and a quarter back one mem* her of it, the first Mr. Henry Overton Wills, married the daughter of a Mr. Day, it Bristol tobacco manufacturer, and went into partnership with him. Other members of the family came in and the business became known as Wills, Datchett, Day, and Wills. By 1858 the Wills family had full control and the name was changed to W. D. and 11. O. Wills, and then in 1900 rumours that a big American tobacco trust contemplated cutting into Britain’s trade caused the Wills family to take the lead in forming a British combine. Thus was born the Imperial Tobacco Company which began by buying up thirteen tobacco manufacturing concerns at a cost of £11,957,000, and has since mopped up numerous other concerns.

Away back In 1911 the third Mr. Henry Overton Wills died leaving a fortune of over £2,000,000. Two years before his death he had given £1,000,000 to Bristol University, and altogether the family has handed out enormous sums in benefactions mainly to Bristol institutions. Thirty-five years ago the Wills family got its first title when Mr. W. 11. Wills became Sir William Wills, Bart. Later on in 1906 he went to the House of Lords as Lord Winterstoke. This peerage lapsed mi its possessor's death without au heir in 1911, but to-day three members of the Wills family are baronets, and another is a knight, and more are millionaires.

Bristol’s connection with the tobacco trade dates back right to the beginning of things, for it was the Cabots of Bristol who made a famous early voyage to America, and the Bristol Company of Merchant Venturers was cut after the American trade from the start. It was a Spanish clergyman, the pious Bishop Bartolomeo de las Casas, who first suggested that negro slaves should be taken from Africa to America in order to prevent the cruel treatment of the native Indians. Sir John Hawkins was the first Englishman to enter this profitable trade, but Bristol soon, got into it, and many fortunes were made in running slaves up from, the Guinea Coast to the plantations in Virginia, and bringing over to England the tobacco and cotton produced by their labour. Liverpool, being a better port, later stole away most of Bristol’s trade with America, but the tobacco manufactory took root and stayed on.

There are a lot of the world's problems that are still “under consideration” at Geneva, but tbe League of Nations seems to have solved one of them. This particular one is tbe problem of enabling the members to understand what is being said by the gentleman who happens to have the floor. At the start every speech had to be translated into half-a-dozen different languages before all the members had a chance of making head or tai! of it. AH that is done away with now. When a speaker gets up, all that is necessary is for each of the other sis hundred members, newspaper correspondents, and interested visitors, to put ou a pair of headphones and turn the switch on to the language they want. As the speaker proceeds iu his own lingo a simultaneous translation comes through by ’phone.

This ingenious result is achieved ns follows:—Around the rostrum, within sight and earshot of the speaker, sits a number of interpreters, each speaking a language different from the orator’s and his neighbours'. Each interpreter is provided with a light microphone, encased iu rubber sponge, so as to be free from unnecessary vibration, and so "damped” that it is sensitive only to the subdued voice of its user, and not to that of the orator proper or the. noises of the Conference Hall. Coupled to these microphones are amplifiers and distributing circuits leading to the various tables, where electrically-oper-ated diaphragms supply the headpieces with a reproduction of the interpreters’ voices. Tbe task of the interpreter is to provide a running translation in the language iu which he specialises. At first it was thought that this would impose a great strain, but experience has shown that it is not so, and translation proceeds never more than a sentence behind the sneake”

One of thesa days this ragenious arrangement may be superseded by an international language, but international languages seem still to be a good way off. A good many years ago it was suggested that the easiest way for all the world to understand each other would be for the nations to agree to teach in their schools one existing language besides their own — that language being the same iu all countries. But the trouble is to find an easy language that everybody would agree 10. 'Whatever was suggested would he objected to by somebody.

A good many years back it was stated that twenty-seven artificial universal languages had been invented up to that date. The first of these, so far as. is known, was "Mercury,” invented in 1641 by an bushman named Wilkins. The list since the beginning of the last century includes "Pasilalie,” invented by Methammer in 1828; "Solresoldomido,” by Sudre, in 1827; “Genigraphia,” by Matrata, iu 1834; “Pantosdimon-glossa,” by Rudelle, in 1859. In 1863 Senibaldo de Mas proposed the use of Ideogrammatic Chinese charqcsters; in 1875 Dyer suggested "Lingualumina”; in 1878 Merriggi proposed “Blaia Zimendal"; "Volapuk,” invented by Schleyer, appeared in 1880; "New Latin,” by Sturmhoefel, in ISS3; “Pasilingua,” by Steiner, in 1885. "Chabe Abane,’ invented by Maidant; “Kosnios,” by Landa: and "El Nbiho,” by Verheggen, all appeared in ISS6. Swarthti's "Visoua” and Zanienhof's “Esperanto" date from ISS7. Saint-Max produced “Bapal” in 1888. In ISS9 came Chancerel’s “Oidapa,” Bauer’s “Spelin,” Iloinix’s "Anglo-Franca,” and Stempil’s "Myranna.” Gaste’s “Nov Latin” saw the light in 1890, Dormoy’s “Balta” and Ileinzeller’s “Unlversala" in 1893; “Communia,” another attempt by Stemptl, Marchand’s “Dilpnk,” and Bollak's "Bolak” if 1804, and Mr. Liptav’s “Langue Catolica” iu and in 1904 Mr. Molec, au American, invented “Tutonish.” So it seems there is no lack of “universal” languages iu which to be misunderstood!