The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-12-07

rAris. Deccmbcr )
TVpECrsrON oC great Importance. .s wol
"A from scientific pon, OF Wow as from
that Of tho worldwide influences OF
France tns,rkcd tho international lIou
Conference which has jus, held It's scs
sions at the Observatory of Paris Tic
delegates OF tho countries represented a
this meeting signed a document hcucefortl
historic By uhich there is created an Inter
nntional iiour Association. the heAdquar
,ers OF which arc established In Paris.
Tho city of Light becomes by this tacc
tho hour capital OF the world where there
and preserved all tho documents relative
20 the discrimination. tho measuring and
tho distribution OF time. The now agree
mcnt. in organizing in Paris itsclt Tie
centre OF tmc regulation. renders q
mcrited homage TO French science. which
for several yeArs has especially dis
tnsuishcd itself by sending ont IIcrtziau
signals radiatcd from the gigantic am
tcnnac formed 10y the EifGci Tower, under
the iudicous direction Of Commandan,
Tarric. with the collaboration Of tho OBJ
scryatory aud OF the Bureau of r.onsitudes,
signals which bring to ships isolated in
focgy seas the hour OF Paris and some
times their safety.
But VINO would ever have thought only
quarter OF a century aso tina; serious
scientists OF all countries would devote
a day OF profound and peaceful discus
,ions to the fugitive hours. the flight or
which. sad or joyous. precious or idle,
rules in truth or life?
\ Complete Finsco.
When In $3.50 tho raris Observatory
offered to telegraph the ,imo free OF
charge TO all the cities which should ask
for il. there WAS a complete fiasco. Il
is quite true that al the end OF thirty
years OF courteous and unwearled man
oeuvres. in 1911. seven cities In all had ac-
ceptcd this Invitation. The others Oh
stinately turned a deaf car to It,
But in tile meantime the Her;zian waves
were discovered. Rapid and light, by an
electric spark they are going 10 change this
state OF things. With them disappears the
complicated apparatus Of wires. poles and
cables. 1t was soon perceived that these
marvellous waves. which are propagated
I'm every direction. which traverse the
thickest walls and surround us invisibly
with subtle reservoir Of untranslated
thoughts, can be easily held captive. The
receiving apparatus Is snnplliied 10 such
an extent that to-day Ingenious young fell
lows construct At very small expense de-
lightiu detectors. with which they receive
'surrcptitiouSly the rddio-t clegra phic mes
sages OF the Eiffel Tower.
Partisan Amusement.
This has even become an amusement in
which many Partsians take part. one
hears with curiosity the tic-tacs, short or
long. which are sounded in the little re-
ceiving apparatus and feels 4 strange emo
ton in thinking that at the same moment
or almost within a few hundrcdths OF
sccond-this same tckiae is heard in
Washington. 900 Kilometres $3.50 .n!les)
from Paris; in the solitude of the seas by
ships which voyage between the old ANA
tances in Europe and Africa. 1t is like i
mysterious voice which whispers the same
word across space and establishes a tacit
accord between all those who hear it. un-
known to each other Eut the problem
OF regulating the time has bearing very
much greater than the private interests
of amateurs.
Our readers perhaps remember that two