MEN OF THE TREES 



At the outset it will of course be necessary to gain the 

 confidence of the people, and to overcome any possible 

 suspicion of the instrument itself and to arouse in them 

 an interest in the subject, A program could be arranged 

 consisting of native folk-lore, interspersed with a musi- 

 cal selection. The whole would be broadcast in the lan- 

 guages of the people as well as in English, and in time 

 we might have the African prototype of the people 

 who tell "Bedtime Stories" to the children throughout 

 America. From this stage the program could be gradu- 

 ally developed. Extracts from JEsop's moral stories — 

 which are already translated into some local dialects — 

 might be included, and in a very short time broadcast- 

 ing could be used not only for entertainment, and for 

 promulgating orders but for direct instructional pur- 

 poses. 



Not only could broadcasting be used as a means of 

 providing instruction in agriculture, but it should be 

 possible to give the African smallholder hints on what 

 to grow, and seasonable instruction as to the best mar- 

 kets for the disposal of his produce. Wireless thus used 

 would not only uplift the African, influence his sur- 

 roundings and make life more attractive for him, but 

 it should speed up his production of such raw materials 

 as are of vital importance to us all. 



As for the technical consideration of wireless, it is 

 only necessary to see how readily the African takes to 

 any kind of mechanics. He is enormously interested in 

 the engine of a car, and although at first the wirings of 



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