STATIC

Radio Record, Volume VI, Issue 14, 14 October 1932, Page 7

STATIC

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SPARK

The Fight This paragraph wins "Spark's" 5/- prise for the best par sent in during the week. Address entries "Spark,’ Box 1032, W ell ington. . We had been listening the previous night to the boxing contests in New Plymouth, and it had all sounded rather terrifying to our’ gentle. mother, who was on a visit to us from the south. This night, a little after 8 o’clock, I turned to Auckland, but found that everything was not as it should be-the sounds were thick and almost: indistinguishable. Partly in explanation and partly ia defence of my set, I remarked: "There’s a regular fight on between Atickland and some Australian station."" At which mother held up her hands and cried: "No, no no! We don’t want.any more fighting. It’s too bloodthristy. Let’s have Dunedin."

HERE Have been many talks recently from: YA stations upon impressions of Holland, and one of the*most interesting was that given by Mr.’ R. McGillivray from 3YA. Every visitor to the. Nederlands -is ‘immediately impressed.:by the industrious habits of the: péople, their generous: hospitality.* and proverbial cleanliness. It was ‘mentioned that there ‘is no language: difficulty for the. foreigner in Holland. . The very young man us dally. seen behind the ‘inquiry ter at the post office in‘the larger ‘is frequently fluent. in six or eight * European. lariguages, and the lads in ‘the street can usually: speak three languages. . Holland -has many art galleries, and evidence of wealth acquired from a colonial empire meet the yisitor-at every turn.. The people greatly. admire: their. seamen ‘who founded: their colonies. Statues to great admirals. are to be seen in nearly every little "‘dorp."’. In fact ws Dutch think much more of:-their efunct. admirals than they do of their .great painters. At school pupils learn much more about their historical sailors than the artists who made Holland famous in Europe before the Spanish yoke was thrown off and the Indies were conquered. . %* * S elsewhere on the Continent, the cafes are centres of attraction to any -English-speaking visitor, and the severe climate of Holland is proof that the’ adoption of the system is nt impossible in countries where the public house supplies the needs of the thirsty and weary. No tourist in the spring or summer can talk of Holland without mentioning the fiowers, which strikingly add colour to.an otherwise colourless country, but I prefer Holland in mid-winter, when skating carnivals take everybody to the frozen canals, and all the world is in, ymerry mood. Every old building’ {is a memorial to the Nederlands’ one \hundred and fifty years of war against the Spaniard. The Dutch deserve: the tribute paid to the little boy who’ poked his thumb into the hole in the dyke, and thus saved his country so that other little boys from six years of age upwards may smoke fat cigars in the'streets to-day. * x > , FoR the last of the series upon "Great: Personalities and their ‘Influence,’ Mr. L. F. De Berry X8YA) spoke of. Cecil John Rhodes, a-figure who has left his mark upon the world, but who contrasts immensely with the other great. men that have been subjects of Mr. De Berry’s lecturettes. It is impossible to estimate. the value of such scholarly men. as: De Vinci,, Sir Thomas

More and Henri. Pestalozzi, but with Rhodes we are able to discern something tangible. This great business magnate with imperial dreams, accomplished something concrete within his own time and judgement upon his influence is possible. Unknown at the age of thirty-two, fallen at forty-four, and dead at forty-nine, Rhodes’ meteoric career, spirit of service and sense of stewardship, make a romance in history that will last for all time. ; ; bd & + THE very arresting series of stories with comments, of "Famous British Murder Trials," by Mr. C. A. L. Treadwell, from 2YA, was brought to a conclusion with an account of the life and trial of Dr. H. H. Crippen. This murder case was in our time, and many remember the trial and the part played by wireless which led to the arrest of Crippen. Crippen was an American citizen who, after attending many and varied universities and hospitals, eventually established himself as an eye-specialist and patent medicine advertising agent, in London. His wife,-a veritable trull, with early ambitions for grand opera and later ambitions for third rate placing at second rate music-halls, was’ well-known to musical hall frequenters in London. In conjunction with the husband’s and wife’s professional vocations Mrs. Crippen conducted a boarding-house, and the sill of the kitchen’ window in this abode of: a trollope, epitomised the proprietress. On this might be seen letters, cosmetics, all kinds of apparel, saucepan lids. and anything that the ledge would hold. In this uncleaned house where Mrs. Crippen harboured some of her lovers, the poor little wizened Doctor acted as boots and general _menial,: during. the hours. that -his

office did not claim him. Some time after Mrs. Crippen’s unexplained disappearance, Ethel Le Neve, the Doctor’s ostensibly unsophisticated typist, was seen about with Crippen, wearing some of the wife’s jewellery. This ultimately led to a ‘search’ of Crippen’s house, where human remains were: discovered’ behind ‘some brickwork. In the meantime a Mr. and Master Robinson had departed for Canada;‘and this is where the new miracle-wireless-played a part, as the two voyagers were arrested on the arrival of the ship at its destination. The Robinsons were Dr. Crippen and Le Neve, who were later returned to London, where Crippen was found guilty, and Le Neve, discharged. . bo a bd (CRIPPEN was not very ably defended at his trial, said: Mr. Treadwell, and many will agree with him. Although a great number do not think that Crippen should have escaped punishment, many think that he should not have been hanged. I was resident in London at the time, and the sordid details revealed by the half-penny press, were departures not usual with the traditional sobriety of English newspaperdom. A wave of pity swept the country among the temperate minded people, for the uncomplaining decrepid old man whose marital life had been one long period of misery. Le Neve also was the object of much pity until she accepted an engagement to appear on the music halls. Then there was an outery-and not from the squeamish o: ly, but from every decent: person in the kingdom. Any pity that, remained for Le Neve disappeared when a few days later some queer and wealthy individual whose compassion and values became mixed offered her

marriage, to make an honest woman of her. They were a queer lot, and the little old man was the best of them. * aie * WHENEVER conditions were favyourable I never missed the opportunity of listening to Captain Robertson, when he was scheduled to speak on "Flying" from 2UE, Sydney. His racy style, together with his lucid replies to correspondents, always made his appearance at the microphone welcome. Captain Robertson is so completely air-minded that he has no difficulty whatever in conveying to his hearers that there: is really nothing in flying. Very apparently it is a matter of caution and confidence to commence with, and a good deal of human mechanism, once’ the pupil is familiar with the air. 2 o * PROSPECTIVE and even practical aeronauts were fortunate if they were tuned to 2YA on Wednesday evening last, when Captain Robertson gave a very illuminating talk on "Safety of the Air.’ The speaker emphasised the need for a thorough and actual training on the aerodrome ground, although he hoped that his little talk would help, and. to the young men and women who propose learning to fly it certainly should have helped as it familiarised listeners with the instruments and controls of the ordinary plane. It was explained that there was nothing haphazard in training pilots. The system has advanced hand in hand with scientific developments, and instruction is given in carefully graduated stages by specialists employing only training aircraft, which offer maximum safety and complete facilities for instruction. It is ineumbent upon New Zealanders to become airminded as early as possible. Flying services in other lands have attained a pitch of perfection that iz veally amazing, and although many obstacles preclude aviation developing along ordinary lines in this country, with its mountains and high winds, specially designed planes for the comparatively short distances of regular routes hold out a promise of an efficient service as soon as airsense is developed.. Talks by authorities like Captain Robertson go 2 long way towards that ideal. * Bd * I LIKED the story of Mr, David Moore, from 2YA, of the owner who was mourning the loss of his dog and was commiserated with by the padre .who, being a dog-lover too, gave the dog a soul-which he de-served-and informed the bereaved that he would meet his dog again-

if he were good enough. Mention of the Lancashire miner and his dog recalls that this makes a redeeming feature of the dismal soot smothered landscape of the coal and cotton district towns of Lancashire. It is a familiar sight, on a Sunday morning, to see a number of miners squatting on their haunches, in a ¢ircle, with the dogs enclosed in the middle of the street, discussing the merits of "Towser," with an occasional mention .of the puling ricket-racked , youngster at home. Mr. Moore, a real dog-lover, said he didn’t own a dog, because he had not the time or facilities to give it, and the Lancashire miner is a real dog-lover, too. In times of unemployment, the last to feel the pinch‘is the dog, and ‘perhaps that is just, for the canine cannot be blamed for human economic failures. The story about the man who absented himself from his fellows’ company because his dog had died, and "a man feels such a fool without a dog," I had always understood to be an Australian one, but apparently it was imported from Lancashire. R x pS F you happen to leave puss in over night and he comes to the bedroom door to let you know that it is time he was out, so that he can arouse the neighbours’ roosters, in order that they may herald the dawn, have a try at getting some of the European stations. As the signals come from the West you may just as well go back to bed if the sun has beaten "Tom," but from three o’clock onward some of the super-powered Europeans are quite audible. Madrid, Rome, Prague, Bordeaux, Mulacher, Leningrad, and many others, are to be heard on favourable mornings, while Heilsburg seems to be capable of getting through any day. On a recent morning when there was a total absence of static, Goteborg came in with strength exceeding that of 4YA. It is listed as a 10 kilowatter only. Increased aerial power in European stations is almost a daily occurrence, and it may be that Goteborg has quite lately grown up, but many comparatively low-powered stations are to be heard if the cat only eallg one in time. * * *€ ITH the memory of a previous performance from the Town Hall with a fuller orchestra I was thoroughly disappointed with the first movement of Rachmaninov’s Second Concerto for the piano in C Minor, from 2YA. The double forte passages were totally without definition, a mere jumble of noise, At the Town Hall a larger number of instruments was given the opportunity for each to impinge its own characteristic upon the microphone without being crowded, and the performance was one of the finest piano and orchestral items ever broadcast in Wellington. I would have rather heard the whole concerto, without a "howlitzer’’ organ being sandwiched in. * % * TH the gramophone and wireless as vehicles to let the world know exactly the talent of master musiciang, it is not surprising to hear that some of them make money. We may eyen expect that Szegeti will add to

— his fortune while holidaying in New Zealand. But a hundred years ago, and when newspapers were few, it was quite a different matter. Perhaps it was because of few aids to publicity that so many of the giant composers and executants remained poor, but when one did acquire a tidy fortune the merit could not possibly be below genius rank. I suppose it would be safe to say that more people had heard of Paganini than Szegeti twelve months ago, and by reason of that, perhaps there is something in the rumour that Szegeti carries ‘with him a reprint of the unexcelled .Paganini’s will, and appearing in "The Era," London, dated July 19, 1840, thus :--~ "The will of Paganini has been opened at Genoa (says a letter from that place in the "Debats’’), and the following account of its contents is given as authentic: The greater part of the fortune consists in houses and lands; the remainder is in the funds in France, England and Naples. The total amount has been officially estimated at 1,700,000 francs, whicli is said to be rather an under than’ an over estimate. Paganini has left to his elder sister the life interest of a capital of 57,000 frs., which is, after her death, to be divided equally between her sons and daughters. To his youngest sister he has left a life interest of 50,000 frs., on similar conditions: To a lady of Lucca, whose name the will declares is not to be mentioned, he has left 6000 frs. a year for life, and to the mother of his son 1200 frances for life. This. lady is not 4 Jewess, as has heen generally said, but a Roman Catholic, and a distinguished singer who travelled with Paganini from 1820 to 1823, and sang at nearly all the concerts he gave during that time. The bulk of the property, after deducting the legacies, is bequeathed to his son, Achilles, who is by the will placed under the guardianship of Marquis Lorenzo Purato, of Genoa."