ROUND THE GLOBE.

Grey River Argus, 19 January 1912, Page 7

ROUND THE GLOBE.

THE WHISPERS OF WIRELESS

THE WORLD'S INVISIBLE GIRDLE. •

While the little building is going upon top of the Tinakori Hills for New Zealand's first effective "wireless" telegraph station, it is hard, for New Zealanders % realise that the 1 rest of ths would is already iiy the I grip : of. .wireless to an exteiifc tnat it :is possible to speak of a wireless girdle round the -globe. To-day one could hardly circumnavigate the earth without being in' touch -with one or o%er wireless station somewhere. 'i"aiis of course, refers to- the Tegular ste&m •er routes, whereby, with the necessary! crossing of America, 0110 could ,gqt ixound tlie world in the quickest time. The position is well' put by Mr. F. A. Talboti, to the World's Work, where he traces the steamer on its voyage put pi London. The splendid .isolation of the vessal in mid-ocean is a +'hing of the past. \ . - ■ SPLENDID ISOLATION. GONE . Say., a' liner is setting- but .from London and . the passenger is bound for the -East, via the Seuz Can ad and Home, again by. way of Canada "The aerial stretching from mast to mast - of the liiter and coinmunicating- with tha small cabin on the uppermost deck ; of the liner -is. a-- conspicuous feature. •: Ere. the vessel has slipped --its leashin the Thames the ghostly communication is commenced and is maintain-, cd' without cessaion with various s?tat- , ions as tha liner glides down Channel. : Passing through the portal t O . the Atlantic with the. stern -turned' toward Cornwall and the flpow. towards' Usha/nt ■ the impulses travel to and fro. between : the steamer arid th- "Farewell", sta^-" ion a -Poldhu, Avhejice a grip is maintained upon the American Continent, from*^Europe. . Ere the. coast) of: Spain is within a" hundred or: so "miles ': |;t-h-». vessel is taking directly ahead' and directly .aste"r.ri' at the same time .forming- a" kind of half-way, house between 'Poldhu and one or other of. the stations scattered along the Span /ish mainland. .-The flow of messages between the land in front and' the. country behind is swelled by those proceeding from passing- vessels, and. indeed tho electric impulses signify-, ing words seem to be jostled' to and fro througih .the air' from the vessel \. like a. ball upon a tennis, court. . WIRELESS IN THE S;UEZ CANAL. . Past Gibraltar and through the Mediterranean communication, never, ceases. If the vessel is not speaking. in : front, she. is still talking to a station astern or to stations at the ; side. The 1 spurts and splashes *n. the Marconi rooim on the deck aboveoffer convincing testimony that conversation is being., maintained across fcpace. In the Suez Canal wireless telegraphy has been found exceedingly valuable for communication between ' ships as to where one shai'l "tie up ..for the- . other, to pass. If every vessel "were compelled to instal "\yireless,"; the ■ ■'tnlffi.c of the .caaial cojild be handled much more easily than it,, is at present. .. .'..• V CHANGING TIDINGS. In the Red Sea, as the steamer, churns hsr way south, the character of the news flashed to her wireless operator changes. While the^Somali land station is rapping, in conceni.i,nig the life and . of Abyssinia and the - Court of the Ne^rus and Suez is emptying derails concerning the Genii and , Tu'rke'yfOther rhessages force the-jy Avay on■ward from England announcing. the winner of the Derby, tho victor in the University boat race, or the result of the American Presidential election. And as Aden' is passed the news is of the Far 1 East. ' of India and its unrest with forward tidings of the trouble 'n China. • „..! l INTO THE LONELY PACIFIC^ Along the coast of India the steamer picks up station after stato'oll, the last call .b<jm.g-~ from Ceylon, before picking . up the Calcutta operators. And so' on, as the steamer proceeds on her .voyage there < is always some station within reach until the * vessel arivgs at Yokohama. Here comirnences the long-crossing of the loiiiJi-, est wastes of water in the world— the mighty -Pacific. Here comniun'cat- ' ion may fail, the invisible girdle may. break dowix- Tho only converse can be with approaching or passing yes-* I sels-rand. possibly .the "fiery; torch" of the world's news, may be handed on'; in wireless ; but there arc chances against it. , While pounding -across these silent leagues of . ( ocean ther messages. v are .few .and far .between, but, nevertheless, scarcely. Van hour flits by but what some • electric Am-, pulses '■ spurting through space are rssted. in their progress by the steam-, ers antennae to give vent, to dots and dashes of, the.. Morse code. Still there are stations on the American Continent '" 'to .-., wqlcpmj2 tih'b ' siteaJU'er •from the Tar -East. .'•■ ) . \?j.', THE HOME OF WIRELESS. ; In thG'.At'lantic. it is different..: Messages pffur im .from all points of the. compass. '' News'comes in such abun dance as to be worth the., printing on board ship in the daily Gazetted Not .only do stations communicat-i?. with ships! at , sea, but with -stations '3000 miles ; "afvyay on the other side of the herring, ''pond. Ships communicate with ships, and the wireless whisper^ becomes 'a shrill hubbub. ;So "rtreOntinups across tl>e Atlantic until '.the vessel sounds Clif den station biii. the Galway coast, : and thus, estblishes direct communication with <eyery. part of Great- Britain J ■'■ Soon , -Milan Head stiatipn swings inito the cu-cuit, .and th'cri Liverpool is spoken, aiid. thus, with :..\ydrele.ss" > conversation still proceeding' the traveller completes the - circuit of the worid; % ■,._ -. ■••,;, -.■;•' -, -.,-;.- {..;:.

The - -.remainder ' of our ladies' cos? tumesu and r.pbes. .\ve ihave marked down at; .ridiculous .prices to effect - a total clearance. White and Cplou'red Muslineßoib^sat 8s lid, : 9s lid/ 12s lid and "l7s Bd; Ladies'/Linen Costumes', all colors, at 13s 6d and; 17s ; 6d' each. White Blouses 3s lid Upwards. Ladies' -; Sunshades from 2.s 6d each, at -half post .price.-^TRATHEN nd CO, - .'Boundary. Street,. : *