The Greatest Broadcast of History

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 29, 31 January 1930, Page 3

The Greatest Broadcast of History

World Hears Opening of Historical Naval Conference for | Limitation of Armaments :

THE largest radio audience in history listened to the world-wide broadcast of the proceedings attending the opening of. the 1930 Naval Conference in London on Tuesday last: The Conference opened in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords in the presence of a memorable gathering of 30 delegates, a large* body of. naval experts and secretaries, and a-most compree hensive gathering ‘of: approximately 400 journalists representative of the eyes and ears of the . civilised’ world. More important perhaps than the journalists was the presence .of a silver and gold microphone, for, through that wonderful instrument, practically, the whole of the intelligentsia of the civilised world had the privilege of listening to the proceedings. The significance of the event as the forerunner of the new diplomacy, of frank meetings ‘between peoples, and discussion of their points of view, cannot be overlooked. Conditions in New Zealand forthe reception of the broadcast were good, and the effort to give New Zealand listeners access to the proceedings of the Conference was successful to an exceptional degree. » The broadcast will take rank as the most’ successful’ sustamed overseas. effort yet made. , '

‘HE miracle of wireless was again demonstrated on Tuesday, January 21, when ‘New Zealanders heard the voice of His Majesty, King George, speaking at the opening of the Conference on Naval Disarmament. It was the most successful rebroadcast of a transmission from Britain yet carried out by the YA. stations. The reception throughout New Zealand was good from the outset, and steadily improved until the final announcement, by which time the rebroadcast was well-nigh perfect, om that it was difficult to realise that the speakers were 11,000 miles away, and not in the local studio. There was some surging. and fading, and Morse caused much interference, somewhat marring the first speeches, but the majority of what was said could be intelligibly followed The final speeches were perfectly clear, and Mr. Wilford’s voice sounded as clearly as though he were still in the Dominion. Great importance is being placed on this international: conference, as was demonstrated ‘by the arrangements made for world-wide broadcasting, but as far as the people of the British Dominions overseas were concerned, their interest in the opening ceremony centred in the fact that they would have the opportunity of hearing the voice of His Majesty the King. King George’s voice came through clearly, although atmospheric igterference was troublesome to listeners who desired to hear every word that was said. The broadcasting arrangements in connection with the occasion, were most extensive, being on easily the greatest seale yet attempted. To King George goes the honour of being the first to make a world-wide broadcast speech to an audience of probably 100,000,000 people. The speeches were relayed throughout Britain, and broadcast by. all the British Broadcasting Corporation stations. The Canadian Beam. Wireless Service‘ and the Trans-Atlantic Telephone Services carried the Conference proceedings to Canada and. U.S.A, From the London station of the British’ Broadcasting: Corporation, the speech was ‘relayed by telephone to France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Denmark, ‘Sweden, Hungary,: Austria and

Czecho-Slovakia. Belgium and Holland received'it' from Daventry and rebroadcast it. Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Finland; and the National Broadeasting ‘(Company of .the United States were served by a wireless relay from the 5SW’experimental short-wave transmitter at, Chelmsford. The Columbian chain of broadcasting stations in the United, States used the: Rugby ‘Trans-Atlantic telephone : service.

"Tt has been prophesied ‘that : some day we would be able to sit in our homes in New Zealand.and hear the King speaking in London.. This is no longer a. prophecy," commented the general manager of the Broadcasting Company, referring ta the snecess, of the rebroadcast the previous evening. "Last night, from 11 o’elock, ‘New Zealand listened to His Majesty King George VY, speaking from... the . Royal Gallery on the occasion of the opening of ‘the Naval Conférence: in London, also to speeches of delegates of the five Powers represented, and presided over by the Prime Minister of Great Britain, the Rt. Hon. J. Ramsay MacDonald, broadcast by G5SW, Chelmsford, and rebroadcast by the radio broadcasting stations at Auckland, Wellington,. Christchurch and Dunedin. The

addresses lasted. from 11 p.m. until 1 a.m., New Zealand time. The results were far better than anything previ-ous-y attempted, and demonstrated an. advance in overseas rebroadcast, exceeding the greatest expectations. The speeches were wonderfully ‘audible, and although some surging was apparent at the commencement, this disappeared towards midnight, and subse-

quently the speeches were strong and clear. "The speech of the Hon. 'T. M.. Wilford came fhrough 3YA, Christchurch, -particularly clearly, and every word was heard without the slightest distortion, or difficulty in hearing. At the conclusion of the relay the announcer at G5SW spoke from the station, and his announcements were just as clear and distinct as if ,.he were speaking from the studio at the New Zealand end, instead of 11,000 miles away. The speeches were followed by some musical items relayed from the Piccadilly Hotel, and these were also received with great clarity until the, station closed down. "The broadcast, which we understand was made per medium of the new transmitter at the Chlemsford

' ‘gtation,’ demonstrated that a clear and distinct rebroadeast from England through the Broadcasting Company’s stations -is..not anly practicable, but also an accomplished fact The result of the» rebroadcast is being communicated to the authorities in London, and listeners. can look forward to receiving news of further transmissions at an early, date from the Homeland, to be rebroadcast... through the local stations." . . . The- King’s Voice. aa WHEN His Majesty the King Degan to speak expectation was on tip‘toe to judge the effectiveness of the ‘effort. ‘Keen pleasure was felt as it became apparent that the extensive preparations made by all stations for the utmost efficiency, combined with suitable atmospheric conditions, were permitting a satisfactory standard of reception. ; . . In sturdy, dignified and ‘measured tones His Majesty spoke, extending greetings to all assembled delegates, and expressing the keenest interest in ‘the purpose for which they were gathered together. The purpose of the "Conference was not for nationalistic or’ selfish, purposes, but for noble in--spiration and resolve for the betterment of mankind. "I feel sure," ' he gdid, "that the delegates from the countries of Europe: and the United: States of America in their conference together will confer a great and lasting benefit, not only upon the country which each of them represents, but upon mankind.in general. I earnestly ‘trust that the results of this Conference will lead immediately to the relief of the heavy burdens of arma--meénts now weighing upon the peoples of the world, and thus, by facilitating the: work of the League of: Nations upon disarmament, may lead to a general Disarmament Conference, which -will. deal with these: problems in even a more camprehensive manner, I shall follow your deliberations with the closest interest and attention." The Chairman Elected. FOLLOWED a ‘silence while His Majesty left. the Gallery of the House of Lords, after which the Conference proceeded’ with its business,

Mr. H. L. Stimgon, Secretary of State for the United States, in accordane. with a unanimous arrangement entered into beforehand, then proposed that the chairman to preside over the deliberations of the Conference should be chosen from the delegation of that nation which is the home of the Conference. He was fulfilling the wish of the visiting delegates by saying that they were happy in the choice of the Prime Minister of England as chair‘man of the Conference. This was indorsed by the representative of France, after which Mr. MacDonald took his seat as chairman of the Conference, Prime Minister’s Speech. Me. J. RAMSAY MACDONALD in * his. speech displayed to advanticy® that mellowness of voice and power(of oratory which have in part won for him the position he now holds. A more rapid speaker than others=heard during the evening, and thereby suffering a little in clarity under the conditions, he was yet heard to distinct advantage. "All I can say to my fellow delegates," he said, "is that I shall be very pleased to fill the position of chairman, and to endeavour to win your approval of my impartiality." He pro- ceeded to pay tribute to what he termed "the gracious speech to whicli we have just listened." He also expressed the hope, which the people of every nation share, that our labours here may be crowned with success, It was peculiarly appropriate, and is the cause ‘of the most profound pleasure, .that this should be the occasion of‘ His Majesty’s first public speech since his yecent illness, and I do convey to him in your name our hearty thanks for his speech and congratulations upon his recovery." shapes _ Following on this happy opening, Mr. ‘MacDonald proceeded to outline the grave problems to consider which Conference was convened. They were te consider points in the solution of ‘which difficulties ‘had been’ encountered again and again. Every nation was concerned with its own defence. The burden of that defence, however, was a growing weight upon each individual nation and ‘its progress towards ‘the fullest civilisation. Hivery. nation aimed to attain the fullest benefits of civilisation for its members, On the other hand, they had to ensure security, and the problem that was presented was _ tle price that was being paid for what they regarded .as security. The military preparations which any one nation felt to be necessary for its safety must in the nature of things be met by the military preparations of other nations, so that no nation could be safe except by disarmament. In their own Confer-. ence they had to remember that whatever language was used, or whatever figures were arrived at, they must not affect the freedom of other nations. Mr. MacDonald explained proceedings in connection with the former Washington Conference, and the prime purpose of his own visit recently to America. It had been’ felt that the time was ripe for further negotiations for mutual benefit, and with the objective of attainment of a fuller peace and understanding he his made that visit, That wag the sole purpose of that visit, and that subsequent gathering of this Conference. "THE whole world is turning its eyes upon us to-day," he said. "It expects that we shall negotiate on the ine md sassy Yeq. woydumsse

‘s to pacts of. peace, we, mean to ‘t our signatures. It prays that ut we shall not only relieve it of burdens, but establish it still more securely in the ways of peace. It begins to give public opinion a chance and to lift our problem out of the ‘narrower scrutiny of the technical expert, and put it on the broader field of the creative statesman. Above all, it demands from us an agreement to stop the competition which has’ recently begun to show itself, both in types and numbers of. ships. If we are not careful .we shall be once more involved in a feverish competition such as heralded the outbreak of the war. Two Important Things. Nine Prime’ Minister ‘suggested that work would be shortened if two things were assumed in the discussions. One was that different needs were imposed -By. geographical position world responsibility and points of attack in event of war. Conferences, he said; -had broken down through unwillingness or inability to understand this point: or that the ton used in ships for one purpose was totally different for the ton used in ships for another purpose... The second thing to be assumed was that, although armqments eould not be divided into watertight compartments-naval, land, and air forces-for practical purposes they must be discussed separately, always remembering when coming to concluLL

sions regarding each arm that it had relationships to the other two. If they were willing to make a good naval agreement now, when it came to be reviewed a few years hence, their attitude would depend upon what the other Powers had done as regards land and air armaments in the meantime. Importance of Navy to Britain. All nations had not the same interest in each arm, but they had an interest _in the general armed state of the world. "The way of Great Britain is on the sea, for it is a small island," he said. "Our Navy is no mere superfluity to us. So if this country can make a contribution to

‘ peace which will be one of deeds as well as words, it must be as a. Naval Power." so Thus it came about that, after unsuccessful attempts: to get an AngloAmerican understanding which would make a wide international agreement possible, President Hoover had proposed a further exploration of their difference in order that the five Naval Powers might again try to agree upon an equilibrium in‘strength and competitive building and reduce the size and cost of fleets and, as a result, present to the Preparatory Disarmament Commission at Geneva an agreement which would be related to its wider work and form part of, the material which would ultimately go before a general Disarmament Conference. The Prime Minister concluded :- "If we can limit and reduce by agreement one of our most powerful arms without diminishing na- ' tional séeurity, but indeed streng- . then it by our very act, this Conference will undoubtedly take its place amongst the great landmarks which tell the events by which mankind had advanced in enlightenment." Mr. MacDonald concluded by expressing the view that the London Naval Conference of 1930 would un.doubtedly take its place amongst the crowning landmarks by which mankind has advanced in wisdom and enlightenment. The Voice of the United States. M&.. H: L. STIMSON, Secretary of State for the United States, followed Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, after the former’s speech had been translated into French. Mr. Stimson was heard to advantage, proving himself to be a slow and measured speaker. "We ure profoundly impressed," he said, "by the speeches we have heard. We also appreciate the welcome extended to us by His Majesty the King, and the wise expression of our problems which has. been presented by the Prime Minister. I am convinced that this Conference will be impressed by the lofty ideals of the two preceding speakers, and I look forward confidently to the attainthent of success as a result of our labours. I deem it auspicious that our first meeting, in which there must be a spirit of understanding and co-operation, should take place in the Houses of Parliament, which have for Americans deep significance as the home of our jurisprudence and our fundamental ideas of human unity." Mr. Stimson next outlined the development of the international idea for the reduction of armaments, and indicated the importance it had now taken as a factor in world politics. He referred to the first Washington Naval Conference, and indicated that from that there had been a long course of international development. They could, well feel that in any moment of history evolution was a continuous process, and they could hope that by frequent revisions the important position reach-. ed to-day would enable. still further drastic reductions to be made in the future-thus whatever limitations were now agreed upon might be the basis for further revision at appropriate periods, leading on to the ideal position of disarmament. They were convinced that in’ attacking now the naval problems they were following a practical course of events. They believed that any reduction they

could make in that problem would be a substantial contribution to the wider problem of general disarmament. Land, sea and air forces constituted the modern means of defence. They believed, however, that a reduction in one of these arms would contribute to an enlightened limitation of the others. He hoped for definite success from the Naval Conference now in progress, but whatever the achievements of the Conference were, their efforts: in the general influence of disarmament would continue unabated. They were prepared to consider and study the problems of other nations as well as their own. They hoped to attain a solution acceptable to all, fair to all, and a benefit. to the peace and stability of the world. They knew there were many problems, but they were ready to stay there till the problems were solved, and until they could give to the world an agreement that would carry them on. to the time when they could meet again in the same spirit for further reduction. Mr, Stimson concluded: "Mr. Chairman, we have had relatiéns with the members of each delegation here which have given us the assurance of goodwill, patience and wisdom, which’ we are sure they will Contribute to the success of our endeavours. We assure you that we are prepared to cooperate in the fullest measure, and do our utmost to appreciate the difficulties of others, to continue the work for so long as it may be necessary to achieve our purpose. We recognise the disaster that failure of this Conference will bring to the peaceful hopes of our people. We are determined that we shall succeed. Other Speakers. GPEAKERS of other nations followed in alphabetical order. The representative of France spoke in Hnglish slowly and deliberately. His speech was afterwards given in French by the interpreter. Of particular interest to New Zealand was the speech by the Hon. T. M. Wilford. Mr. Wilford was the last speaker, and as proceedings at that

time had extended nearly half an hour beyond the allotted time, he showed discrimination in making his remarks of the briefest nature. Mr. Wilford spoke with: outstanding calm and dignity, his presence over the air being conspicuously effective. Mr. Wilford said that great difficulties would be experienced in the course of that‘ ConCOE

ference, and that mutual forbearance and toleration would have to be exercised. New Zealand wished the Conference well in its deliberations, and hoped sincerely that the result would be another milestone upon the road.to lasting peace. Comprehensive Arrangements. FTER the close of proceedings, the . announcer at Stations 2XAD and 2XAF, operated by the National Broadcasting Company of America, (Concluded on page 40.)

The Greatest Broadcast . (Concluded from page: 5.) made. an inter esting summary. He said that’ a King’s voice had: been . heard for the first time in America over the radio. In the Royal Gallery of the House of. Lords, London,-a gatheriny © met, and at 6 o’clock (American time) the people in America heard King . George‘speaking. This was a historymaking body of delegates . attending the Nayal Conference. of the Five Powers--the British -Empire, the United States of America, France, Italy and Japan. The National Broadeasting Company was very happy to hye brought this opening of the Naval Conference before listeners in America. After His Majesty King George the Fifth had spoken, the next speaker was Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, after his" election | as chairman of the’ Conference. The announcer then outlined the order of the speakers, and conclude by saying that the National. Broadcasting Company had been able to bring this important Conference before American listeners through the co-operation. of the ‘Broadeasting Corporation, the official broadcasting authority in Great Britain.. 1t. was further their intention to giying listeners news of the Conference ‘daily by a broadeast from 1. to 1.15 p.m., standard time. On Wednesday at 1.45 p.m,, standard time, | they would hear Sir John Reeth, Director of the British Broadcasting Corporation. In addition, the National Broadeasting Company had, its own. repre: sentative attending the Conference, and he "would introduce yarious speakers to American listeners at certain times. Amongst these would be Mr. Ramsay MacDonald. Announcements would be mide from ‘day to day, anda complete summary gtven of Conference proceedings. Newspaper Comments. rPHeE following extracts are taken : from the reports published in the city newsPapers :-- ."Christchurch ‘Times. "__New Zealand seored. heavily over Australia in the rebroedeast. of the short-wave transmissions of the Naval Conference

speeches. Station. 3YA was the: first on the air with the rebroadcast, turning on the weather report for the ‘Brit--ish Isles from shortly, after 10.30. At 10.48 4YA, ‘Dunedin, came on, but stirging and static were heavy. At 10.59 all four New Zealand’ stations were on the rebroadcast of 5SW. Surging was very heavy, and strong Morse’ code. transmission interfered -with 8YA’s reception, Aft 11.10, 4QG, Brisbane, announced that although arrangements had been made for a land line relay of Sydney’s reception of 5SW, so far nothing had come through.’ From then on, the four New Zealand broadcast Stations and 3ZC succeeded in receiy--ing fairly clear reception ‘ ‘of His Majesty’s speech. ‘On the whole, reception was patchy, first one and then another station taking the palm for steadiness and clarity of rebroadcast. It. was not until 11.26-after the King had concluded his speech-that 2FC and 4QG. succeeded ‘in picking up SSW, ‘and even then ‘their rebroadcast was not as good as that of any of the New Zealand stations. Of the five New Zealand stations heard, 3YA must be credited with providing its listeners with the best rebroadcast of the speeches, . "Christchurch Sun.’-As far as distance from the central broadcasting

station..at Chelmsford, England, is concerned, New Zealand is not well placed, being at the farthest point away from ‘Great Britain .-on the opposite side of the globe. The difficulties in the way of good reception . were therefore as great as it is possible for them: to be, but ‘notwithstanding these difficulties, the rebroadcast was yery successful, probably the most ‘successful rebroadcast in New Zealand of 2 shortwave station, distant many thousand miles away: from this Dominion. In: common with all long-distance short-wave reception, high frequency fading was noticeable, but not to any serious extent. © The worst interference came from static, and in a lesser degree from spark and continous wave Morse signals. The voices of the yarious speakers who were delivering their addresses in London were loud, and considering the technical difficulties, they. could be followed with a large amount of continuity. The King’s yoice was strong, without any sugges--tion of loss of vigour from his illness Of last ‘year.

"Christchurch Press.’’ — From. radio broadcasting station 3YA a "Press" reporter heard the reception. of the’ spéeches at the opening of the Naval Conference in the House of Lords, London, relayed from station GLY, Dorchester, It was probably one of the most remarkable examples.of the annihilation of distance by wireless mankind has ever known, .and ‘at times it was almost unbelievable that the speeches. were coming in from a point ten ;thousand miles away. Again at times, how ever, it seemed that they were coming from fully that distance. The King’s speech came through moderately well, although «here was a certain amount of distortion which robbed some of his. statements of ‘all meaning to the listeners. His Majesty spoke in a -strong, ‘clear voice, without hesitation, and his speech was very brief. ‘"Byening Post" (Wellington). — If the proceedings of the Naval Conference are in any way as successful in their ultimate result as the broadcast of the opening speeches from London last night, then considerable progress will haye been made in the endeavour to limit competition in .nayal’ arma

— ments "hetween the leading nations, This applies particularly, however, to the direct reception of the speeches by ow ners of short-wave -sets,: for the rebroadcast carried out by station 2YA was marred at times by a considerable. amount. of extraneous noise. "Despite this unwelcome interruption, however, those people whose sets were.tuned to, 2YA’s wave-length were able to follow the speeches, although His Majesty’s voice was not heard to the best advantage. The concluding speakers, amongst whom were Mr. T. M. Wilford (High Commissioner for New Zealand) were heard very clearly. "Ryening Star" (Dunedin), — His Majesty the King literally-spoke to the whole. world in opening the Naval Con-: ference, and then followed the speeches of the world’s most eminent statesmen -truly a unique and historic radio performance. In New Zealand, as in many other countries, the remarkable possibilites of radio were strikingly exemplified by the reception of the broadcast. "Otago Daily ‘Times."-From a radie point of view the reception at station 4YA last evening was exceedingly. interesting, and hundreds. of -listeners-in in the city must have been greatly impressed ‘by the -manner.in which the

voices of speakers 16,000 miles distant were transmitted; but it was impossible to secure a connected version: of the speeches owing to. the interruptions due to static. ‘When His Majesty delivered his address conditions were at their worst. so far as Dunedin ‘was concerned, but shortly after .11.30 things improved considerably, until by the time the French and Italian delegates faced the microphone the reception was remarkably good. Local listeners, for the most part, would find’. these speeches unintelligible, as the speakers used their native. tongues. ‘ "New Zealand Herald."-The transmission was picked up and. rebroadeast by all the principal Australian and New Zealand stations. The. first part, of it, including His Majesty’s. speech, unfortunately ‘suffered a good deal of interference, and.only. isolated phrases could be made out. However, the King's concluding words were distinct. Reception improved as Mr. Ramsay MacDonald was speaking, and the later addresses were almost word-perfect. "The: ceremony was followed with interest. by radio enthusiasts in Auckland. Many owners’ of valve sets listened in to rebroadcasts from the Australian stations, while splendid results: were obtained on both valve ‘sets and crystal sets tuned in to 1YA. The reception ‘is one of the most. successful rebroadcasts on short-wave ever received in New Zealand. The ‘last rebroadeast of any importance from 5SW was that of the Armistice Day ceremony at the:Cenotaph, London, on November 11: On that occasion, owing to'the large amount of static, only fragments of the service were. picked up in New Zealand. .The local station andthe Melbourne and Sydney stations did not rebroadcast the ceremony,

Listeners’: Appreciation. HE appreciation of listeners is y *,expressed in the following letter to® 8XA from’ a Christchurch’ corréespondent :-"Once again I congratulate you on your splendid. ‘rebroadcast : of » the proceedings: in London -yesterday in connection with the Naval Conference. There.are from-time to-time people who complain’ of your programmes, and it always: makes: me feel -sorry when I think of all the great:and wonderful things: we have been ‘privileged to listen to through your. efforts. Anything that is.of .interest in. the world . is put: at our disposal, and I suppose | most ‘people take it as a matter of course. I, forn.one, am deeply grateful’ .for the privilege of. listenitix. to © wonderful events,°:and it: seemed to fie particularly wonderful -to be able’ to hear the voice of the King and all those great men in London yesterday, and I. thank you for the trotble in connection with it. It was quite the best rebroadcast I have listened ‘to, . particularly after midnight, when, I should say, reception. became almost as perfect .as ‘possible. Hoping we may hear many more ofthese rebroadcasts, and wishing you eyery success in your efforts." . ‘a ‘