15 OCTOBER 1932, Page 56

It was an excellent idea to send -Mr. Vernon Bartlett

travelling round Europe to study at first hand the conditions of life, the political situation, and the mood and outlook of the various European peoples. Mr. Bartlett is one of the most popular among regular British broadcasters. And deservedly so ; for he has a way of levelling the political mountains and making the desert of international relation- ships appear to blossom as the rose. His " Way of the World " talks must have done more than almost anything else to make the man in the street more internationally minded : even the dullest of us are a little the wiser when Mr. Bartlett has been on the air. And now comes this new series of his, " The World and Ourselves." Listened to in conjunction with such a series as " Our Neighbours-To-day and Yesterday," these talks must inevitably foster an intelligent understanding of the life and spirit of other nations. On Thursday next Mr. Bartlett will speak from Paris ; and thereafter, fortnightly, his talks will come direct from Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest and Ronde. Incidentally, I would like to draw your attention to a weekly discussion-talk which has recently been added to the' afternoon talks to schools (Tuesday : Daventry National: 4.5). Mr. Hugh Ross Williamson and Mr. Godfrey Lias have undertaken the difficult task of helping the youth of Great Britain to under- stand " Current Affairs." It is a commendable work and, to judge from the first few broadcasts, these two speakers are admirably equipped to undertake it. • * *