Page 4.
THE CHINA MAIL, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1956.
In the last quarter of a century, the world, our under- standing of it, and our power over it, have changed out of recognition
Now comes a book about
THE YEARS OF DISCOVERY
By J. Bronowski
N 1932 I was a student selves; there was a positive elec-nable constantly to divide and
and 1 loft the meeting to reproduce itself, at Cambridge and had tron,
was in ferment,
We think
the double spirals in which molecules of the muckels acids hang together,
not long begun my re knowing that the world of fact that we have found this in the
It search in mathematics,
I recall those headlong times was a custom of my
pro- becmise
they have a bearing fessor gather hiaro on "The New Outline of Modern
to
Mr Gollancz pub- search students once a week Knowledge."
"Outline of at what was meant to be an shed his original
Modern Knowledge" in 1931. then informal tea-party, at which
There seemed to reaso one of us had to follow the why it should not remain up to changes here Dundee cake by an account date, with minor
and there, for
years to of his work.
rume.
Deeper Secret
I was walking slowly on a line to this for- spring afternoon. bidding porty when, eur the Cavendish Laboratory, 1 saw a Cock- strange
Younk Bight. crofi 1/1 physicist, who W usually so shy, wus stopping people whom he hardly knew, and saying in high excitement
"We've
Amashed the atom
many
DUT no sooner was the book in print than the ruin of dis- cuvenes turned into a cloudburst, I have recalled that the year 1932 marked exceptional advances in estal understanding of the fire Next year structure of matter.
The Ex Eddington
verse," in which he have been banding Ublished
be destroyed the common-sense hef that the universe is fixed in size and shape from eternity.
The world, our understanding of it and our power over i have changed out of recognition in the past 25 years. And these changes
been
confined
and the Amerienus spending millions trying to it,"
en
This was how 1, an abstract mathematiciuni, Arst became เut the experimental seleners were bubbling and here ing with chuage.
aware
A
Rapid Advance
MONTH or two later Chad wick proved the exelence if the neutron, and transformed our mudel--and
SINCT
the
the
In
atom: it was the most important advance in physics pioneer work of Rutherford, another three months that fugi- tive but awkward unit, the pusi-
Juve
our
to
Or turn to everyday matters of practical life. A revolution In transport was begun before 1931 by the peropane; but the revolu- tion in the aeroplane itself has by the jet been set off since engine. The aeroplane must be by shepherded at critical times rada, and this elegant invention na incidentally fed us to study the radio nolee made by stars.
by
At other times the aeroplane is guided by automatic pllo:, and this is model for all those mechantsins of foresight and control which have been rolled to a black bogy in the single word Automation. Those self- adjusting
depend for erntrols their delleute work on the pro- In ess which has been made gress wa
which electronies.
has mude elect runles en absorbing study
fabric of movemont.
a cwn right. When the physical the work I in
either the world of pubke action 1147 the solitary mind stands still. The convulsions of There hav been changes as
Nazism at one extreme and Com- understand- profound ing and control of living matter. is at the other have shaken economic certainties (thuse Penellin was dienvered before of the Right and those of the 1931, but it had in effect to be Left) of 1031.
before its power rediscovered could be gra could
grasted; there reference to it in the first
Knowi line of Modern Much the same is true of the
15 no
190
live electron, was discovered study viruzzes, in which the
་་་གས་ད་་་
for
being froerd.
have
the
There
philosophical D J3 <division, 100, Letween our atenal and Irrational impulses which has st to adjust itself As always to the new world.
ส
ja Umes of change, the irrational counter-attacking bitterly: The fashion is for Jung, for Since 1931 mportant vitamins
and (in this beeti
and existentialism. synthesised, speedie drugs auch es cortisone country) for a timid and nurrow vaccines such those nalytical philosophy which re- and
furs to take part in the great human speculations,
went to the Cambrờige meet- chemical buses of life are now ing at which the evidenco this was to be shown so brush relief, and siner Chadwick and Blackest chose to have the paper rend by their fellow-auth, who was an Italian, 1 did not under- word it, it was only gland a late in the paper that I real-ed he was speaking English the
spoke for them pictures
rganet polio have been prepar- ed. And deeper than all these. we bebeve that we have at last penetrated
underlying
to the But
structure by which living matter
ROLEX
Sharing the Fruits
1x the wealth of discovery and Imaginatiun which the pest 25 years have thrown to us for the picking up; this and the cave paintings at Lascoux and the sculpture of Henry Moore, the reading of the Minon script and the writing of Dylan Thomas, the Dead Sea
and Berolia
shot The theory constantly being
matter
crented.
at
Every part
A
of it is alive, part of our time, and is (to me (cast) At once stimulating and satisfying. And what S
satisfying s surely most
'KEEP TO THE RIGHT – AND STRAIGHT ON...
World (onions by arrangement with the Manchester Gudidjan
THE OVAL TEST MURDER
son
UARLES
stared at
the inspector.
"Who
WRA
he
threatening?" "PET- unknown," the Inspec
tor auid with relish. "Just come along this way and you can hear the story."
Daftar Kane hung back, rud Quarics made a gesture towards him. "This is Doctor Kene, who examined Bowerton after He's holpa he was taken if me a good deal."
Ꮤ
NOW IT'S THE SECRETARY WHO DICTATES...
London.
THAT is the price of a good socretary? She is a rising girl in the labour market. The price on her pretty head has gone up and up since the war. Your 1956 secretary, sir, will cost you £8-£9 a week.
And it is no use haggling. You may bo hiring her to take dictation, but it is she who the
lctates terms -
long holidays,
no Saturday working, for a start.
Long holidays, no Saturday work,
higher wage-- >that's the price
bosses have to pay
for a secretary
In 1956
by MADELEINE BINGHAM
one
Look how things
have changed. Be- fore the war the starting economics — has kept pace salary for a girl with good with the secretary's wages. shorthand, typing and
Chief reason for the big language was £1 10s. 4 improvement in 4 secro- week. A really experienced tary's pay is simple enough there are not enough girl might get £2 10s.
Not even the rise in the secretaries to go round. cost of living and that's Fewer girls are training for one of the fastest things in the job.
T The Oral cricketing sensations are followed by dromo of another kind. By the end of the first day the Australians are all out and the English batsmen are in trouble in their turn Off the field, umpire Charles Bowerman, who collapsed during the Australion innings, has died in hospital of atropine poisoning. Private detective Francis Quarles, who was watching the match with Bowerman's doctor, Gregory Kane, caras that the umpire had a row in the bar ol funch time with radio commentator Leo Macicon, he had also had words with his fellow umpire, Jack Petty, whom he accused of taking his white coat, Detective. inspector Leeds appears on the scene and telts Quartes that Bowerman had been
threatening someone.
THE STORY
So FAR
DESPERATE MEASURES
When he had gone the In- spector filled
"Fair's his pipe. fur now,
You Mr Quarles. were first on the secr and 1 "Pleased to meet you, Doctor know you haven't wasted your
What The time. Kane.
have Come along too."
you found Inspector was expansive,
He out
while the opentd a door pposite the long Quurley told him.
his Inspector puffed at
pipe. room do: thei
Room" on the ruts de, In "We've got pretty clear iden were chairs, desks, env:lopes of Bowerman's moveme nis, then. the Bluff als, He can't have taken and writing paper, Here
before lunch, that's ablished, was all
1 suppsal who turned it
this new knowledge is already on the way to beerning cominor. [tinowleage.
نا
becomin
The tree of knowedge a grown hugely in 25 years, but it
at least
A limportant that what it bears has interesting to a growing public and on be reached by it. Toe first "Outline of Modern Know- ledge" in 1931 helpe: both 10 120 this interest and น
Penguin book stillsly it; the from 1035 have done then mere; so have broadensting and, more recently, television.
Knowledge is only the INV material for judgments. One cin be well informed and tili misjudge public issues. But no one who is Ill-informed has the means to make a respanalhlu judgment [: Lit And the public issues Lodty, mom atomic energy of oil, cannot b isolated from the discoveries #i the past 25 years.
Strange Choices
IT would be pleasant to fly that, in this pursuit, "The New Outline of Modern Know- ledge" will be as helpful as the first "Outline" was," Alas, It would not be true,
The
**Writing that said
dark-fact
man.
and cap over
over in his hands,
"This is Ernie Jancs,
who is anything
ively.
It might act
from
ten minutes
to
shook his head decis- "No.
on the staff her. Tell these an hour, not lenger."
Mr
ה!
gentemen what you told me, The Inspector led the way up Ernic.
to the dusing room. their slepa When I saw
echoing on the stone stairs. "He "Yes, sir, Bowerman had been taken it sits at the end of the table, here. thought, this is a bit too much Pelty en one side of hum, of a coincidence like, and so I body on the other. dialled 980 like they tell you to bustle of beer, drink it. do for emergencies."
to see how anybody could have slipped anything into it.
storits.
Heard talking
no- Pourt a Hard
Out
Mr. A. Williams, vice- principal of a big commer- cini college in Southampton Row, told me: "Prewar, we had 8,000 girls n'year going Now through this college. that figure is down to 2,000."
What has happened to the missing 1,000 girls? No Training
"They've mostly gone to the factories," thinks Mr Williams. There are still more jobs than there are work-people in Britain's fac- tories, and industry offers a girl a good starting wage with no training or experi- ence at all.
"Most modern parents, says Mr Williams, "want the money straight away. They ure concerned with the im- mediate present, not future prospects." The parents who are willing to make sacrifices for their children are usually those who re- ceived A Bound training themselves, and know the value of it.
Tho modern girl, Impatient
to start
too, is
earning. Beloro the war she left college with a
shorthand speed of
İcast 80-usually 120.
at
Now
miny girls leave with a short- hand speed of a furious 80, and typing which
only
can
regarded with indulgence,
Right Away
bo
Of the 2,000 students who pass through this collego every year, 1,000
jobs get
right www.y Maclean came out to meet them when the Inspector sent in
through the college appointments his name. He was a handsome man in his thirties with a
bureau-yet half of them have kind of weary smartness about him.
not stayed long enough to com- two years ago, when I was do-plete their training. ing a series of sporting sketches
girl of for a newspaper on the once-
17 with no experience is £5 to famous - where-are-they-
£7. And there are hundreds more jobs than there are giris
by JULIAN SYMONS
room,
"Frankly, I'm not."
all
wo
in
now? lines. I wanted an umpire and picked оп Bower-
Mrs Bowerman?" the
FRAN
"And Inspector said.
"Pretty
thing.”
Starting salary for a
to fill them.
ما
Eric Jones,
his in spite of
Secretarial colleges on the unsophisticated appearance, was
"deb level" report the same. evidently a reader of detective he goes to the bar, has a drink,
" trend. The starting salary for little talks to Mavicon. Then down-
The Inspector listened to "It was like this, r. During stairs to
Macican was elaborately casual girl of good publia school The
this with some impatience, writing
couple "I took her out a
of type, with training, is £8 10%. the lunch interval I was sweep where obviously he met this "I think we've seen all
No Ond college specialises ing out the passage along hire man—let's call him X---by op- can here, for the present. I'll times, dancing and so on. as I always do. This would be, pointment. Now, can Maclean arrange for you to have access harm in it, but Bowerman was turning out girls with French, ere crazily jealous, so we stopped, German ond Spanish shorthand. say, five minutes to two or two possibly have been X7 Slips the to anything you wani
Haven't seen her for months." As 8000 as they are qualified two o'clock. I heard
people poison in his drink and then tomorrow, Quaries. A1 the
"Wasn't there something about they Teavo
poste taiking in bere. Only caught goes down to the writing room moment en interview with Mr
a fight?"
in international organisations- bits of what they were saying, and pretends to be worried. Maclean seems to be indicated."
Maclean laughed again, un- labroad. mind you, but though to know How's that?”
easily. "It was in the papers.
bellovers опа of them was
Quarles resisted the templation Charlo
Nothing to it really. "I cast 0 Instead he said: ether one do say "Out,"
FATT."
He paused. savouring the expectation of his audience,
TOMORROW
"Outline" of 1931 WRS Bowerman. The brilliantly edited, and those spok very low for the most "Ingenious, but not convincing. who wrote for it were 10:1 whose expositions Arc still remembered — among them Sullivan, Flugel, G. D. H. Cole, Roger Fry and Dudley Stamp. Perhaps we could not hope for such a team agrin, But It hard to guess how the new editor, Mr Alan Pryce-Jones, cathe to choose even bia subjects.
There is too lille physles and blology, too much philosophy and politics, and nothing (for example) on stadstics, mo- dern legic,
the evolution of culture, and the drams. Yet, in a book only half as long as his predecessor's, Mr Pryce-Jones Includes
гра 211 Casay od travel and another on what is called parapsychology. If those cholpes have been thought out, then they
sitango area. perversion of values.
By contrast, there are some exoclient cunoýs: @among them Photo by John Holloway on aELA- dicat philosophy, by Pret, O. 1. Zangwill on psychology, by M T. E. Uiley on democracy and fobalkaristtern, and by D: Those Balogh on International oconomics. In short, there are good things and bad, and "The Now Outline of Modern Know- fedige" (Croflaner, 185.) a 01 course a book that educated mea and women should read but the !'Outline" of 1931′ remains' the book that they should re-read
Come on now, Eric, Jel's have it exactly. This is Im portant."
Ernie swelled almost visibly. "Bowerman, he says: I've got tell you. I'm going to proof,
ruin you. Then the other man
** shan't rest until i know who killed him."
says something, in a low volcs after what we heard about Like, and Bowerman каув they conversation” "There's nothing I want from
except to see you crawl-
And
"I wender," Quarles said, "You wonder what?" "Why Bowerman should have thought Petty had taken sumpire's coat. Where
<out now?"
"It went to hospital," answered. "I suppose there."
in
to
· an
Besides being great
in prper: work, these organizmi. tions are giant consumers of
Iow doubts on Bowerman's umpiring-you know, mentioned "girl power." And they pay his one or two things like that way wel On: girl aged 23 recently 1hn he had of whistling a tune
when a bowler appealed and he left for a job in Paris (using Kane waited for me, one night outside her French shorthand)-starting it's still a club. Hit me on the jaw." zalry £1,000 a year,
"Have you looked through Rowerman's things at the hospital?" Queries asked the Inspector.
"Not yet, They'll
want to see Macican art
T
Not answering
Automation
What of the future? Where there is no secretary, "automa→
of dicto "You were talking to Bower-on steps in Sales
ting machines go up and up.
man in the bar at the Oval Chian stores cod big industrimi
Bowerman he saya. slow and for a farthing in an enormous when the Inspector sent in tile a lawyer.
V
one now.
They telephoned Leo Maclean's today? While he was having a
concerns are installing machines "There's something, In
my flat.
drink?" his and were directed by
"Here, what is this?" The ca Icage scale. Hospitals, The other chap he talks mind about this Maclean Let manservant to the Oxtail
Club,
commentator looked where doctors need to dictato at. me think." I heard two words. Inspector fost then.
They could see the which is a favourite haunt
of sports dipping into desperate
his London's
sportemon, alarmed. "I'm not answering hours, fod them indispen near measures.
and mory like a man searching Meclean came out to meet them any more questions before I see able.
In fact, I think I'll Sir Walter Puckey, director of tako what-like: You can
"Got It, Maclean and name
Good night, to a British firm making tabulafing pocket.
slick-haired He was a I've measures you like.
Bowerman had
machines, reports; "In 1985, tha got it with me. The other men oh,
fight about handsome
man in his thirties, you."
"What did you make of him, total output of office machines may and
eighteen months
ngo. Bowerman
with
a kind of weary smartness
Quarles?" the Inspector asked was 1,500,000. This year it is do with what about him. Something to laughs.
never Maclean and said about Bower-
alterwards. "Et ho
still 50 million," WOR And it, he
Mrs with says,
around "Tomorrow, man in a broadcast, I seem to "Hello there. Come and have playing
a drink, Inspector. Mr Quarles, Bowerman,
Is the modern maka up my mind
necrotary and the husband mat to do with it, and when Bowerman, too"
remember something about Mix I
*** || pricing herself out of a job? +1. I know your face, Happy to found out--" meet you, Doctor Kaner Come
don't think so. I think girls I've got you on the hook and
"Yes, that's possible. But,
It
will still hold their own against Aims not
"Do you know Mrs Bower- and have a drink... 40 Ict, going
explain why Bowerman the machine. For Miss Jones hearduously
Ernie Jerte man, Greg?" Quarles, naked. "Not while
thank thought Peity That's gil 1
duty, on
had taken is always on hand with les sand said. He
"Yes. As a matter of fact she's you," the Inspector said, heavily.
or what my patient. too,
though 1 "Mr
cont Maclean I shall be glad if white wasn't listening, you, zOC,”
mysterious proot was "You've no Iden who the haven't seen her In months." you will tell me anything Bowerman had with him, but in con offer, that? other man was you didn't sce ·Kano scratchied his noso can about Charles Bowerman. them come out?" Quarles asked, thoughtfully before the went on. "Oh lord, did somebody knock & place, where it would never Jonco shook his head, "You're "Fairly, young, dirty-two or the old so-and-so off then? be found. Until you've answered three perhaps, ortrinly much see in the final editions that he's thees questions. Inspector, you
his eyes wore wary:
you_of
sure it was aṭman; I sled, younger than Borzennan,"
The little man, looked "Never occurr to me other- wise but-yes, I'd pretty well. awear it was a man's voice
"All right, Finle, You've been 'a great belp."
"Proity?"
I
dead." Maclean laughed, but won't solve t
*(COPYRIGHT)"
"I suppose MO if you like it, if that's what you're thinic All characters in The thom westted-out blonde, types.?! (dost olema baadhal Test Murder story mapart.
“You don't sormid
"You want a complete history, the players:
: do you? I met Bowermas/pearly fictitiour
;
tho
thet sympathy. What robot secretarý
Nathaniel
bbina