RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 94, 15 January 1936, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights on Current

Events

(By

Kickshaws.)

The tobacco industry, it is declared, is to he given an evenly balanced board. Ix-t.'s hope it won’t be a see saw.

Tiie dogs of poultry-keepers, it is claimed, should receive special consideration by the licensing authority: the poor hen-pecked creatures.

A business man ou a visit to New Zealand declared that he did not wish to talk about business. Why, business is looking up.

"Regarding birth coincidences a rather remarkable thing in that way happened in my family,” says "A.” "My husband’s mother died at the age of 96. Her birthday was December 11. On the first anniversary of that date after her deatli a great-grandchild was born, so there has now been a birthday in the family on December 11 for more than 120 years, and in my own side of tiie family another great-grandchild was born on March 28, the anniversary of her great-grandmother’s birthday.” « « .

Naturally, one likes to imagine that messages from Ellsworth have not been received because of a blanket effect'. The idea, although not impossible, is, however, a little far-fetched. A more likely reason for not hearing signals if they are being sent is that too little power is being used. As a rule messages ar© received from the Antarctic quite clearly on fairly high power. There do not appear to have been tests as regards the smallest power required. It is possible, nevertheless, to receive messages across the world transmitted on less power than that used by a car headlamp. Another factor that would preclude hearing anything would be the use of an unsuitable wavelength. As the transmitter was designed for just such a purpose as it is now expected to fulfil, this possibility should not have to be considered. If members o' the expedition are still alive their radio may have been damaged or it may not be possible to use it for luck of anyone sufficiently experienced to work it. The other alternative is that the aeroplane struck a cloud-covered mountainside.

Possibly radio operators might care to give their experiences as regards the blanketing of radio signals. These days of extremely sensitive leceivers there does not appear to be any part of the globe from which messages cannot be received. In the early days when the humble crystal played its insensitive part there were certainly parts of the oceans where it was a virtual impossibility to transmit messages. One such area was said to lie off South Africa. Another area was noticed in the Pacifiv. Messages were also supposed to be difficult to pick up trom vessels off Cape Horn. These days of special receivers ami short waves it would be strange it some wavelength was not found capable of transmitting a message from any of' these old-time ofeid areas. In the case of short waves, nioMlOver, the blanket would have to be overhead rather than at cue side. Long-distance shortwave messages start up into the sky. They are reflected down at a height of 60 miles or so. A "hole” in the reflector would, of course, be the most effective blanket of all.

One by one the nations are announcing large increases in expenditure ou military budgets. For that leason '.A comes as no surprise to read tiiat Russia has decided to spend in the coming year a sum of nearly £600,000.000 to ensure safety from aggression. It may come as a surprise to compare this huge expenditure on armaments with that for 1931. In that year Russia decided to spend a total of £131,000,000. The present allocation is nearly five times what it was four years ago. Russia, of course, is not alone iu her efforts to ensure safety against aggression. All the other nations are spending mors and more liberally to ensure this end. In a very short time the peace of the world must be assured because more money will be spent on ensuring safety against aggression than is spent ou anything else. AV C shall become one huge brotherhood armed to the teeth, waiting for the match that will set our peace hopes afire.

Perhaps it is timely to take stock of the present trend toward more and more expenditure ou insurances of perpetual peace. It has been decided quite definitely that the only certain method is to trust nobody and to arm to the teeth. The porcupine is not an animal upon which to start a war of aggression. In another decade every nation will be like the porcupine, except that this animal grows its armaments at no cost. The nations of tiie world grow their quills at great cost. Four years ago the civilised nations of the world had attained to such a remarkable pinnacle of.amicable friendliness that it was oulj’ considered necessary for them, all told, to spend just under £100,000.000 a year to stop falling upon each other’s throats. So amicable is the world becoming, in another few years it will only be necessary to spend £400.000.000 a year to attain the same ideal. Obviously this cannot continue for ever. The nations will become bankrupt one by one in the pursuit of peace.

The war that started in 1914 was supposed to have taught the world a lesson. The'result is curious. Instead of all the nations settling up they have settled down to defend themselves from one another. Indeed, if has even been shown that it is possible to undertake a war of aggression iu the interests of self-defence.- Defensive aggression is becoming popular. Tiie result is that the Great AVar has not caused tiie slightest reduction in armaments for future wars. It has been fought and is now forgotten. In 1913 Great Britain was spending £80.000,000 a year on armaments. Iler experts knew tb it a war was imminent, and for that reason Hie expenditure is understandable. Having fought and won the war, expenditure continued to rise until today it lias passed the £100.000.000 mark Four years before the war tiie United States of America was content with £92.000.000 for armament purposes. In Hie piping times of post-war peace Hie expenditure rose to very nearly £200.000,000 a year. It has been the same with al! nations. Of a truth the peace that came after the Great AVar is a peace Hint passeth all understanding.

“Regarding the verse mentioned last Saturday. "All the .world's markets, etc.,” says “AV.H.S.,” "It comes from "Fleckler, Golden Journey to Samarkand,’ Prologue II.”