NEWS AND OPINIONS

Evening Star, Issue 23379, 23 September 1939, Page 3

NEWS AND OPINIONS

TELEVISION FOR ALL Television will be available to everyone in Britain within five years, and fiye million sets will be “ looking in.” according to Major C. H. Bell. He urged cinema managers at their conference in Blackpool to decide their policy in time to tell the Government what they were prepared to do in making use of the new medium. Major Bell, formerly chief consulting engineer to the Paramount Corporation in Europe, sketched his television points to his cinema-minded audience and discussed the £6,000,000 plan to install television in cinemas. He declared! that he was out to stop “ racketeering ” in the early stages of television, and advocated that cinema television licenses should ho issued at a cost in ratio to the cinema seating capacity to give patrons in the Cd seats a chanco to look in. “ Television will not keep people at home.” lie added. “ for the cinemas will give television in addition to pictures. I believe the Postmaster-General himself desires to see television available to the cinema. It is up to the Government to make television available to the public through the cinema at a nominal charge.” DEATH OF NAPOLEON In these days of wireless transmission the news of important events travels round the world in a few minutes, but before the invention of the telegraph news travelled slowly. Napoleon died at St. Helena on May 5, 1821, but it was not until two months later that the fact was known in England. ‘ The Times ’ of July 6 the interesting information under a single head line. “ Death of Napoleon Buonaparte.” The official despatch “ brought by Captain Crockett, of the 20th Regiment,” filled about a quarter of a column of the paper, and was followed by a third of a column “ from our own sources of information.” The leading article opened with the sentence: “ Thus terminates in exile and in prison the most extraordinary life yet known to political history.”

THE GUINEA Professional men still charge fees in guineas or half-guineas, but it is 123 years since guineas were made by the British Mint. They were first minted in 1663, in the reign ,of Charles 11. Previously the coins in circulation had varied in value, as unscrupulous monarchs had not scrupled to debase the coinage. Originally the guinea—so called because it was first made of gold from the Guinea coast of Africa—was worth 20 shillings, but as the shillings of the 17th century varied in value from time to time the relative value of the guinea fluctuated. In 1695 it had risen to 30 shillings, but in 1717 it was fixed at 21 shillings. MILLIONS LOST Estate of only £7,010, with net personalty nil, has been left by a man wild, four years ago, was a millionaire. He was Mr E. A. Strauss, LiberalNational M.P. for North Southwark—known affectionately as the “ uncrowned king of Southwark.” Head of Strauss and Company, Southwark, one of the Big Five of the Baltic grain companies, he lost the fortune lie had built up through years of work in London when hjs company failed, and lie assigned his personal assets to the committee dealing with his firm’s affairs. It is believed that he gave away a quarter of a million pounds to the poor of his constituency. After the crash he gave up his London home and his Berkshire estate and went back to direct the hop business founded by his father. WHY? One of the features of the buried medieval village of Seacourt, which is now being unearthed in Oxfordshire, was “ the holy well of St. Frideswide.” , whose patrons were so numerous as to | require 24 inns. Why were so many j of the ancient wells “ holy.” and why has every trace of sanctity disappeared from corporation waterworks? It is the same water, only a little cleaner. — ‘ Observer.’ 1