NO DEATH RAY

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 June 1937, Page 3

NO DEATH RAY

MARCONI’S DENIAL

ROME, May 21

"It is cheaper to shoot!" In these words the Marchese Marconi exploded reports that he had supplied Signor Mussolini with two new death-ray devices.

The nearest he had ever got to a death-ray was during a laboratory experiment when he had killed a rut at three feet.

“I am not at liberty to divulge how it was done.” he said, “but if one must crawl within three feet of something to kill it with an elaborate and costly apparatus requiring all manner of sensitive adjustments —what’s the use? All of the stories you have read or heard of death-rays are untrue,” he said.

“It is untrue that 1 have invented a mysterious ray capable of destroying armies by the mere pressing of a button. or perfected a ray capable of stopping moving aeroplanes, tanks, and automobiles. Even the laboratory experiment was soon dropped.” A FEARSOME THING At. the same time, Marconi propounded a theory that radio propaganda. could be turned into a fearsome thing in war. “Radio propaganda will be the most important weapon in any future war. One of the problems will be to prevent. enemy broadcasts being heard in lhe defending country. There is no really effective method of doing this. Jamming and interference are not very efficient. "There will be utter confusion on the ether in the event of another European war. It might prove effective to make confusion more confounded by hurling into the air, on conflicting wave-lengths, all manner of broadcasts, in order to blot, out transmissions from distant stations in enemy countries.”

Tho military possibilities ol tele vision. Marconi added, were obvious but he declined to say in what way.

He revealed that he was now experiment ill"' with ultra-short microradio waves, which would have a vita’ bearing on the future of television. "Television will sooner or later be •received in every house, like radio, but my own opinion is that television is less important than speech broadcasting."

While Hie wizard id' wireless was theorising about future aids to war. Signor Mussolini was bolstering Italy's war preparedness with large appropriations listed as tor public works.

Ilis programme provides nearly £5.000,090 for a telephone system, including a marine cable to Africa, a new strategic airport at Genoa, and a £3oo.uno hospital at Naples as a base for wounded from a Mediterranean war.

Mussolini also announced the formation of a new military corps of Frontier Guards, but gave no details.