Evening star., 1922-04-22
RADIO OUTGROWS
.ts THE FAD STAGE
Development and Popularity
Seen Following Same Lines
, Phone Once Did.

The whole world since December
%. 1920. has seen the popularizing OF
new science of entertainment and
instruction. This new science is radio
telephone broadcasting into the homes
of thousands of people throughout the
country Concerts have been heard
in nearly every state in the Union
and in Canada. Even in Cuba, Mex
leo, Venezuela and on ships on the
Atlantic ocean and Gulf of Mexico
KDKA's voice has found hearers who
have written back to tell of the en-
tertainment derived from it.
1t is gripping. to say the least,
when for the first time a headphone
is adjusted and music is heard. ap-
parently coming from nowhere
There may be something almost un-
canny in hearing humans voice
speaking or singing, clearer than
over the telephone. and knowing that
the possessor of the voice Is twenty
or a thousand miles away and that
his message. first caught in a rev
strands of copper wire. is then trans.
ferred to the ears by the Juggling OF
coils of the same kind of wire.
Radio telephony and the broad
casting of the human voice and music
by radio apparatus is comparatively
recent innovation in an age repiete
witt, marvels of electrical appl1ca-
but rather a gradual perfection
that has been going on for the past
ten years or more. Today 1t is still
in process of development. but has
reached the stage where expansion
and application will be very rapid.
It's possibilities from now on are
limited only by the rapidity with
which acceptance by the public is
gained.
when Phone Was Novelty.
There are people living today, not
so very old at that who can remem-
ber when there were only fourteen
or fifteen telephones in the largest
cities. These people also remember
the curiosity which centered around
these installations. and the fact that
there was nobody to talk to over
them. particularly if the other thir-
: teen or fourteen people with tele-
phones We're strangers. Calling CEN
trail for the time of day was quite
diversion in those days and the proud
youngster given the honor perhaps
still remembers the incident. After
time the telephone became fad of
the wellto-do: then it gradually was
accepted by the business houses; then
it went into private homes and today
it is a necessity of our civilization.
Millions of telephone calls are now
made hourly in the United States.
The development of radio tele-
phony has now passed the fad stage,
and, while it is not yet a necessity.
1t is being taken into the homes of
all classes of people. Its greatest
expansion and usefulness is yet to
come. And it will have as great
growth and become as much a neces-
sity as the telephone.
Had to he shown.
December %. 1920. when the first
derS of the wireless telephone were
known to only comparative few.
These few people. of course. had
been interested in wireless since
boyhocd in most cases and were
thoroughly familiar with the de-
human voice. The great number of
people did not know of it. however.
and to them raaio telephony was full
of mystery. The public never having
heard the concerts were in the posi-
tion of the natives of Missouri who
had to be shown before they could
believe. Therefore. those first con-
certs sent out from East Pittsburgh
were heard by comparatively small
and select circle. The phonograph
was the entire source of music and
the operators announcements sufficed
for lectures and talks. Problems
arose over the manner and method
OF broadcasting which had to be
solved by experiment There were
many times during the first few
weeks of broadcasting when the con-
certs were anything but pleasant to
the ear. Then as time passed on
and by experience the operators
found what sort of phonograph rec
ords would transmit well and which
would not, what to avoid in the way
of speech, what pleased the public
and what raised it's ire. and various
other little things which made or
marred radio performance, the
bit.