Evening star., 1924-05-05
IN TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT
BY PAUL y. COLLINS

Washington to Paris and to Honolulu.
In 1928 broadcasting from PITTS
burgh was heard in England, and OF
tdnIy, February %, 1924, a concert was
up in England and rebroadcast, 50
, that it was clearly heard in Calcutta
India The expenditures in the United
States this year for radio sales
amount to $3.50, .00O-twice as much
as the total sales of all sporting,
goods.
Owing to the policy of Secretary
Hoover in limiting licenses under the
old law to only three months, no one
has been able to secure a monopoly
| of any particular wave length. but
it is charged that a monopoly has
grown up in transaceanic communit
cation for commercial purposes
through the control by the Radio
Corporation of patents and exclusive
traffic arrangements. Other monop-
olies are charged and denied, and the
immediate future will probably wit
ness litigation between holders OF
patents and the public interests This
conflict of interests concerns the
American Telephone Company and is
manufacturing subsidiaries, the West
ern Electric Company. the Genera
Electric Company, the Westinghouse
Electric and Manufacturing com
pany and the United Fruit COMPANY
an OF which corporations are said
10 be combined in the Radio Cor
poration as owners of the latter cor.
poratiop shares.
The rapid growth of the Radio
corporation is indicated by its report
in 1922, s14,S3 and i'm 1929 sos
394,7S9. Its net profits last yea- are
reported s4,737, ,774-nearlv % me-
cent on the par value of its stock
X x X *
After the armistice officers Of the
United States Navy started negoti-
ations for the organization Of q radio
company in America controlled bv the
Navy Department. Secretary DanielS
asked Congress for authority to CON
tract with such a corporation. but ii
was not granted. The General Elec-
trlc company thereupon purchased
the British holdings in the Narconi
Wireles Telegraph COMPANY of
america: and proceeded to organize
the Radio Corporation of America
with S25,000,O00 capital This cor
poratlon now holds agreements by
which it becomes the selling company
for practically all radio devices un-
der hundreds of patents 1t buys So
per cent of its goods from the Cen
erai Electric Company and 40 per
cent from the westinghouse Com
pany.
For while the Radio Corporation
held an absolute monopoly or
vacuum tubes. but since the expira-
ton of the Fleming patents in 1922
the De Forest Company has been max
ing tubes The Radio Corporation has
competition from seventeen other
companies on the smaller outfits with
crystal sets, but there is pending
litigation over the right to sell sets
is the only company doing a trans
oceanic commerce.
The Federal Trade Commission has
fled complaint charges of monopoly
no final order has vet been entered
in the case.
There are 4S4 independent broad
casting stations operating without
a license from the American Tele-
phone and Telegraph Company. and
using, as alleged, certain parts in
fringing upon that company's patents
The company has brought suit
against one of these independent
broadcasters, WIN, whereupon the
defendants counter with the claim
that the American Telephone and
Telegraph Company is seeking
monopoly of the air"
1t is predicted that within year
or two the problem of how the cost
OF broadcasting. now $5,000,000 "a
year, may be met. The only return
now comes from increased public in
terest and increased sales of receiv-
ing sets. The city of New York is
building a municipal broadcasting
station, as a means of furnishing
public entertainment, as do our bands
playing in parks.
The coming political campaign. the
first ever to use the radio, will do
much toward demonstrating it's pos
sibilities, in place or front porches."
scopyrisht 1894. b. Paul v. colIlns.)