IN THE FLESH

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 45, 16 May 1927, Page 12

IN THE FLESH

“Uncle Jack” Speaks Not Merely a Voice THE MIRACLE OF WIRELESS THE big voice of “Uncle Jack” (Mr. J, M. Prentice) boomed through Unity Hall this afternoon. Auckland Rotarians listened with keen interest to a chat on wireless matters from the IYA official announcer. The impression had really got abroad, said Mr. Prentice, that “Uncle Jack” did not really exist. “But I

have come along to-day in the flesh,” Rotarians were told by the announcer, “just to show you the weight behind my voice” As “Uncle Jack” is rather inclined to avoirdupois the large gathering . quite enjoyed his joke.

But Mr. Prentice soon became serious. Various aspects of wireless development were touched upon. For instance, he declared it was quite a possibility that within the next few years New Zealanders would be able to sit in their homes and listen to a speech by His Majesty the King, or his Prime Minister. Then, there were the possibilities of television. British adn Ameri can experts, explained Mr. Prentice, were hard at work on research in this connection. “The odds are that the British experts will win, and I sincerely hope that they will,” he said. “It would be a splendid feather in our caps if we perfected this process first.” The position had so arisen in the United States in connection with radio, said Mr. Prentice, that Government control became essential. Radio was also controlled in Great Britain by the Government. New Zealand and Australia would probably have to follow this example. As for broadcasting in Auckland, Mr. Prentice said: “There are scores of unpaid experts broadcasting through the newspapers, telling myself and many others what we should do. AH this, of course, is very interesting, and I would like these people to know that we are following them very carefully.” Wireless in New Zealand, as in other coutnries, had undoubtedly been a great boon to country dwellers. In many respects it was giving them many advantages enjoyed by their town cousins. In the outside world radio knew no barriers or frontiers. From one country to another it flashed through the ether. It was Mr. Prehtice’s opinion that radio was a force for tolerance and understanding. in the years to come it would be a big factor in the work for world peace. “For radio, let me tell you. is one of the few great scientific discoveries,” he said, “which has been utilised for constructive purposes. So much of our research has been in the direction of destruction.”