Amazing Achievement of Wireless is near to Accom- plishment. London and Over- seas Dominions to Converse. "Hello, Australia! Are you 1 "Yes--Bruce speaking." *This is Baldwin. I've just been talking to Canadas and South Africa. They're agreeable to meeting with us ia London four weeks from to- day to discuss New Zealand's inter- Empire air and steamships pro- posal. Will that suit you?" "We'll come: probably by air." "Right. Keeping well?" "In the pink." "So long." 'Happy days." And Premier Baldwin of Britain mud Premier Bruce of Australia, sitting in their offices in their re- capitals, turn from their wireless telephones to take up new tasks of government. Imaginery! moment yes; but Marconi and other wire- less experts are authority for the assurance that it will be an actual- ity in a comparatively short time. Not only so but they declare that conversations may be as priv- the parties concerned desire j¢ them. That stage of effi- would solve many problems Britain and the Empire. Its ttainment is regarded by leaders in the world of radio as absolutely beyond question. People who pick on their home radios concerts, have no doubts about it, either. It is not a far step from present ac- complishment to the day when the listener and the sender may shut out all that they do not care to hear, and bar those who want to hear them but who should not. Beam transmission is the answer to the thousand and one queries that such assertions are bound to cause, especially among those who _ are not radio or wireless devotees. "Perhaps the best explanation from the layman's point of view, is that given by a London, England, news- paper, in these words: "It is pos- sible to direct a beam of electrical energy along a selected path, in- stead of having to broadcast it simultaneously in every direction, as has hitherto been the case. There is thus removed the danger of the clashing of one set of waves with another, and there can be no tap- ping 'of messages outside the direct path of the beam. It means greater secrecy, higher efficiency and lower cost." Difference in Cost The cost of a beam sta in fact is given as one tenth" that of the ordinary high power wireless station, hitherto considered so es- sential for long distance transmis- sion. When the British govern- ment's new high power station at Rugby, England, was decided upon, the estimated cost was $2,500,000 in our money. The difference in the cost and the prospective improved efficiency has given a great impetus to the projected wireless chain of the British Empire, already well under way. The Baldwin govern- ment will carry on the arrange- ments made by the late Labor cab- inet, extending the combined state and privately owned wireless sys- tem which links the Empire. And wherever wireless Is operative there wireless telephony is possible. Several amateur wireless oper ators in England and New Zealand have picked up one another and have recorded their successes and the messages received, with the au- thorities. Canadian amateurs, Including many in the West, have within the last few weeks listened in on con- certs given by bands, instrumental- ists and vocalists in many parts of England and France. Much has already been accom- plished by Britain in respect to wireless communication as a mat- ter of fact., That oft-times eritt- cized and some times despised in- stitution, the British Post Office, which as many people know oper- ates the telegraphs in the old land, administers wireless services which reach Central and Eastern Europe, Egypt, Canada and India. These are in addition to a coastal system in Britain itself, and a special ser- vice for the mercantile marine, They do not embrace the privately When Downing Street talks to the Empire by telephone. owned services which reach many flicts between the stations on the countries, including Australia, and | opposite of the the highly efficient separate ser-| vices of the army, the navy, and the air forces. To Link the Empire What is now being brought to completion, with the aid of the overseas Dominions and private en- terprise, is the extension and co- ordination of the wireless systems, s0 as to form an absolutely perfect chain around the Empire. Inde- pendence of any foreign capitdl, op- eration or interest of any kind is assured. In this linking of the na- tions, colonies, and dependencies within the Empire, Canada will have at least one and perhaps two "beam" stations, in addition to the ary wireless stations existent or contemplated. An {illustration or the beam station idea is given In the announcement from Ottawa that the re-assignment of waves to radio broadcasting stations in Canada and the United States is nearing completion. The government of each country is carrying on its own work on a basis which Is really co- operation, the idea being to arrange the wave lengths so as to avoid con- line. Of course every station in the two countries cannot be assigned a wave length and many will have to double up or "share time." Talk about divid- ing the atmosphere! Two. or three years ago experi- menters in Canada conversed by wireless telephony over a distance of 1,100 miles. Some who were present or who read of these experl- ments recalled that Canadians were | introduced to the possibilities of wireless, both for telegraphing and | telephoning, in the battle of Pas- chendale during the World War, and employed it to a still wider ex- tent in the glorious days from, Amiens on, when almost every hour | witnessed a new advance and a fresh victory. To-day radiotele- graph stations are familiar in many parts of this country. From the Atlantic to the Pacific there are stations built or projected by gov- ernment or private companies and individuals, and many of these are wireless or radiotelegraph stations. In the aid of the mercantile mar- ine on the lakes as well as the sea coasts, and in keeping touch with the police statioms, explorers, and surveyors in the outposts of civili- zation, these services have been a boon and convenience of incalcul- able value. From Atlantic to Paci- fic- Canada is using wireless, and Canadians are becoming more fam- {liar with the idea that the worla is becoming less of a mystery and more of a family, as man's genius makes new conquests of distance and time. ' Some one may object that wire- less messages are "old stuff," and ask pertinent questionings about 'phoning around the Empire. It is on the way. Who would have im- agined a few years ago that mil- lions could have heard without see- ing the speakers, the speeches de- livered by various candidates in the Imperial Conferences It is however In its Imperial as- pect, that the Dominions are more keenly interested in the develop- ment of wireless. The agitation for changes in the functions of the Col- onial Office, due to the growing im- portance of overseas Dominions in- fluence in Imperial foreign policies, is significant of an evolution that means much for the Empire. Force of circumstances have brought Britain and the Dominions in still closer and warmer relationship than any one could have foreseen even in the World War days. Now we {have Viscount Grey echoing some British and United States elections? lof the frank criticisms by British] newspapers, of that same Colontat! Office, 'and its place in Empire building. These signs that Britain and her sister nations are prepar< ing for changes in respect to Em« pire consultation and action, are significant. The proposed Imperial confer- ence of last October was postponed for a variety of reasons, and a great deal of voluminous corres- pondence was then and has since been exchanged to temporarily deal with some of the subjects that would have been settled there. A new conference is in the making and will not long be delayed. What an advantage an Empire telephone system would be in making the pre- liminary arrangements for such § | gathering, GAS AS A UNIVERSAL MEDIUM FOR GENERAL DOMESTIC PURPOSES THE COST is reasonable. Fuel conditions the last few years have been such as to en- courage the use of substitutes for coal for both heating and cooking. While we admit great advances have been made by elec- trically operated devices, the old reliable "GAS FOR COOK- ING" has more than held its own. Let us enumerate some good reasons for furthering the use of GAS for general domestic purposes: GAS is always available at a moment's notice. Gas for cooking is easily controlled, and unlike any other fuel, can be readily adjusted. As regards HEAT, itis easily and immediately applied to the work. There is NO ADDITIONAL EXPENSE entailed through ash or waste material, and you have no worry as to storage. IF YOU CONTEMPLATE ANY EXTENSIONS OR INSTALLATIONS, ANY INFOR- MATION YOU MAY REQUIRE WILL BE GLA DL Y FURNISHED BY A TELE- PHONE CALL TO, OR A PERSONAL INTERVIEW AT, THE OFFICE OF THE WORKS, QUEEN STREET.