New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-08-06
Fight Reveals
Broadcasting
Conditions
More Than 80 Per Cent of
New Stations Operate OH
Low Power; Only Send
Out Photographic Music
Drastic Regulation Urged
Station With Less Than $50
Watts Output Should Not
Be Licensed to Operate

The recent battle for supremacy be-
tween two groups of broadcastine in
terests in the metropolitan area is a
foretaste of the situation which will
soon exist throughout the country I'M
less something is done Immediately to
control the entire field of radio phone
entertainment. The battle, which
ended in a temporary truce, also brings
forcibly to the attention. of the public
the question, What is a broadcasting
station?
Six months have passed since the
beginning of the rush to take ad-
vantage of the radio Ell Dorado, and
during that time more than 400 broad
casting stations have been licensed to
operate in various parts of the coun-
try. OF these at least 80 per cent are
called broadcasting stations for want
of better definition. In performance
they do not measure up to the average
station built at home by the radio
amateur.
Jurisdiction over radio communica-
ton under existing laws is vested in
the Department of Commerce, but at
the present time Secretary Hoover has
no discretion in the issuance of licenses
provided all the conditions in the old
laws are complied with. The conse-
quence is that a tremendous number of
stations are operating as broadcastipg
stations which should not under any
circumstances be permitted.
Situation Ridiculous
How ridiculous the situation really
has become is we'll illustrated in the
conditions about New York City, and
some Of the Californian cities, where
there are moro than fifteen stations
operating within the city limits. Many
of them have a power output Of only
five watts, yet they insist upon having
equal rights with the more powerful
stations to the detriment of the general
public.
The majority Of these low powered
stations exist only for the purpose Of
bringing the name of the operating
concern before the public as means
of indirect advertising-since direct
advertising has already been banned by
mutual consent and will soon be made
illegal.
1t is not merely the low power used
by these stations, but the program
they arrange that Is reacting upon the
development of radio. These stations
as a general rule are not~in position
to arrange for well-balanced program
of artists, and in fact in many cases it
consists solely OF photograph music.
Supervision of Program Needed
The broadcasting of canned music
will never bring about the general use
of radio as public utility. There isn't
the slightest question about that. If
the public wants photograph music 1t
will invest in records and not in radio
Thoraforo ~ capra that in
the proposed bill which is before Con-
gress, the Secretary of Commerce
should be given power to act in cases
where the program does not measure
up to a certain minimum standard.
The broadcasting of music is not the
only service that radio can perform.
AS matter Of fact it is merely one Of
it's uses. Another equally as important
is the function of bringing information
Immediately to the general public.
In the recent unpleasantness in New
York City the operators of the little
stations put forward the cry Of emo
nents No one wants to see a mo-
nopoly in the ether, but at the same
time the cry of monopoly should not
blind US to actualities. Until radio
has undergone further stages of devel
opment, the ether will be a pretty
crowded space, because broadcasting is
not the only thing that goes on in it.
Such things as general public commu
nication, navigation, safety at sea and
similar things are part of radios
work.
Stations Should Be Regulated
Therefore, none but adequately
equipped broadcasting stations should
be licensed, and steps should be taken
to see that not more than certain
number exist in congested areas.
Where there is already a large num-
Der of efficient stations they should
be put on schedule basis, and if pos
sible. arrangements made to operate
them on a cooperative plan, so that
continuous service can be rendered to
the public. The operators of such
stations cannot afford to break faith
with the public.
After weighing these conditions
carefully it seems to me that the bill
which is awaiting action by Congress
should be amended to contain a clause
that no station should be licensed Tor
general public broadcasting unless it
had power output of $50 watts. Fur
thermore, the meditation system used
in the station should also be of GER
tain minimum quality to be deter
mined by the Bureau Of Standards.