many important questions will be answered of course by the comparative listening tests testing t while a thin curtain obscures the machines from view identical records will be played over each of the two systems the panel will of course hear only one phonograph at a time with the music coming alternately from one source or the other the soundproof double doors of the acoustically silent room weigh half a ton each to keep them sealed tight air is exhausted from the space between the doors and comparing the sound produced by the machines the members of the jury are asked to consider a number of different sound characteristics in turn each listener operates a selector device to switch back and forth between the two machines the selector is checked and the test begins his judgment independently and without discussion with his fellow listeners with both laboratory and subjective evaluations completed the research phase of the package stereo inquiry comes to a close the riser now drops the report incorporating all the test data and market information and including c use unique ratings of all models tested as acceptable or not acceptable with outstandingly good brands check rated and outstanding values listed as best consumer reports are written in clear understandable english avoiding wherever possible use of technical jargon always sticking to hard facts and avoiding vague generalizations and lofty language from the duplicating room copies of the report are distributed for checking before it gets into print this report must undergo the scrutiny of almost a dozen people start checked word for word by the technical department editorial department library market information staff and very often by special consultants each check has the same objectives to make sure the report will be accurate useful and a fair statement of the facts after corrections are made in the company it is sent to be set in type returning first in galley sheet form and later in the form of page proofs at each of these steps the same stringent reviewing and checking takes place with frequent consultations the editors once more scrutinize the article as a whole in a phase called editing improve which sometimes occasions drastic cuts are revisions to see used editors it is never too late to make a change if it will advance their ideal of accuracy and clarity the painstaking process which has finally resulted in approval reflects the magazine's high standards and insistence on accuracy readability and thoroughness no matter what the cost in time and patience final page proofs are made up and submitted to the art director for a layout check now the pages are ready to be sent to the printer where still another review will be made by c u editors before the issue goes on the press this was one report on a single test project the work and thought that went into it are fairly representative of what goes into each test project in consumer reports whatever its subject reading at the subscriber will find out whether or not a package stereo phonograph will suit his audio needs and if so which of the many makes and models is for him and in just this way for all of the reports that readers get each year the use seeks to provide answers to the consumers buying questions to give consumers the facts they want and need to know independently and without bias of course the e u has never considered itself the only spokesman for the spending public whose interests are much too varied for a single voice as the largest organization of its kind however c u has a responsibility to speak up for the consumer interest to represent it and advance it as well and as often as possible and so through the years see use board and staff members have testified at governmental hearings affecting the consumer interest but familiar figure on these occasions is the man who has been president of consumers union since its founding dr coastin warren professor of economics at amherst college his appearance this time was at the invitation of the chairman of the federal trade commission who had called a conference to discuss deceptive advertising practices dr warren was asked to suggest what might be done with existing law to correct fictitious advertising and price baiting often before laws are passed see you representatives are in attendance at congressional committee hearings to give by request advice and information wherever they appear those who speak on behalf of see you do so with the same objectivity the same same freedom from special interests and the same dedication to the consumer that characterized the test report the u representatives have testified on subjects as diverse as methods of cigarette testing price fixing laws monopoly practices me grading government regulation of radio and television and the hazards of radioactive fallout under the direction of irving michelson a department of public service projects was set up to study a new category of problems consumers faced in an industrial society such as air pollution water pollution and the rise in automobile accidents this program and other c u activities benefit greatly from voluntary contributions of time and effort from scientists engineers and organizations among them  own national educational advisory committee radioactive fallout in milk and other foods has been under study for see you at an independent consulting laboratory used also by the atomic energy commission one of the original test studied milk samples from different cities to discover how much they contained of strontium ninety a dangerous byproduct of atomic explosions milk and food samples for another pioneering study were collected from twenty six cities with the cooperation of leading universities and the amount of straw and present it was determined that the laboratory by a combination of bio chemical and radiological techniques when the radiation in each city's sample was isolated and measured the results showed that while the general american diet is still safe greatly increased government testing and research are needed to buy health hazard of which the full extent is ill unknown to use concern for probably cal problems is a continuing one the health and medicine the partment of the monthly reports seeks to differentiate genuine advances in medical science from the so called miracles paled in drug advertising one of the most popular departments economics for the consumer provides a continuing report to readers on their economic environment consumers union does not engage in lobbying but it can and does help to define the consumer interest and to ensure that it and some of the major problems besetting it will be known at the use mt vernon headquarters there is now a permanent education center under the direction of florence mason here visitors become acquainted with the worldwide movement of consumer organizations now established in more than twenty countries through the international office of consumers unions information is exchanged so that each member organization can benefit from the other experience and testing method see you has given small grants to help some of the foreign organizations get started the displays and see use exhibit include factual eye catching information for teachers and their classes women's clubs trade unions and many others as well as simple information too often overlooked by individual trip to consumers union is now frequently on the itinerary of foreign guests of our government visiting american institutions in another aspect of the public education program key people such as mrs gina whitehill assistant to the director go out to visit groups around the country to explain what consumers union is trying to accomplish those who have watched the growth of consumers union in the years since nineteen thirty six have seen a crusade to inform the consumer catch the imagination of the american public see you began with a staff of fifteen people each paid ten dollars a week all sharing the burdens of research reporting correspondence and circulation today these activities are handled by specialized departments of a major publishing organization whose staff numbers over two hundred the first issue of consumer reports in one nine hundred thirty six went to some three thousand members now in its twenty fifth year the magazine circulation is getting close to a million each month with a total readership estimated at approximately four million it is for its readers alone that see use reports are published and see you opposes by legal action if necessary and the commercial exploitation of its name its test results or its rating for men and women in all walks of life consumers union has grown to be an authority of reliable voice providing a demo credit people with facts they need for intelligent and free choice in the spending of their money the watchfulness and above all the integrity of consumers union are two of the many checks and balances needed in our free enterprise society for many of its readers consumers union holds a more personal value as one subscriber said in a world where competitive claims often overshadow the truth c u is one organization we can look to and trust