Evening star., 1924-10-07
GREATER control
OF RADIO NEEDED
Experts Study Regulation of
Broadcasting Now Used in
s3oo,ooo,ooo Industry.
BY j. G.. ROYLE.

BY J. e. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, October 7-More ef-
fective and more modern regulation
of radio broadcasting is being work ed
out by delegates to the national ra
dio conference now in session in
washington. These will come in the
form of reports and suggestions
from radio engineers, manufacturers
and operators of broadcasting sta
tons to Secretary Hoover of the
DeIar artment of Commerce, who has the
authority to put them into effect.
Eventually the most farsighted men
connected with the industry predict
that radio will assume place a. a
public utility and be placed under
direction of national regulatory
body similar to the Interstate Con-.
merce Commission.
business In Chaotic State.
AS is natural in an industry which
mas sprung up overnight to an annual
Noiume or business exceeding $780,
Voo.ooo' conditions In radio broad
casting still are chaotic. In the first
place, the international convention
adopted by all nations for use of the
air is out of date since no changes
nave been made since before 1914.
when radio broadcasting was a thing
unknown. The national regulations.
based on this convention, also have
rallied to keep pace with developments
In this great utility. The purpose of
the present meeting. therefore, is to
bring about regulation which will
permit full advantage of recent de-
velopments.
Secretary HoOver's Views.
The most pressing subject under
discussion among the engineers is re-
broadcasting. The local material
available for local programs, in nv
opinion, is not enough to maintain as
sured interest" Secretary Hoover sa id
in addressing the delegates; my prom
osltion is that the local stations
must be able to deliver every import
ant national event with regularity.
The local station must be able to
bring to its listeners the greatest
music and entertainment of the Ma
ton. But beyond this it must be able
TO deliver important pronouncements
of public men. To this it must add
it's matters of local interest"
Radio engineers said today that
this goal could be reached in two
ways-through interconnection of land
telephone wires and through the
broadcastinG of programs on two
ability that the conference will rec
ommend the setting aside of certain
shorter wave lengths for the latter
purpose. In rebroadcasting by this
method, the program is sent out on
two wave lengths at the same time
over one it is delivered to the re-
ceivers within the ordinary radius OF
the stations sending area. Over the
other it is delivered to a distant sta
n fnh
normal broadcastin wave length and
delivers it to its patrons.
Warns Against Monopoly.
Secretary Hoover laid stress on the
danger which would ensue If control
of broadcasting should become a mo.
nopoly, but broadcasters, manufac-
turers and engineers are a unit ir
declaring this highly improbable II
not impossible. They point out tina,
there are between 500 and 500 broad
casting stations throughout the coun-
try. most of them independently
| owned and operated.
They say monopoly of programs
! cannot lie with the telephone com.
! panies owning the lines used in dis
tributing national program since
the revenue of the telephone COM
panies comes from the stations which
natronize it, and any station which
does not approve a program has only
to decline to pay for hook up" for
that program. The same applies to
| rebroadcasting programs intercon-
nected through the use of short wave
lengths
Safety in Public Opinion.
They add. finally, that in no other
| field of communication is public opin-
ion so quickly and Enthusiastically mani
tested. and that public opinion. which
! was strong enough to settle at leas,
one radio law suit before it reached
the courts, would be safeguard
against monopoly.
Material for programs, broadcasters
say, will not be lacking in eithe,
quality or quantity for some time to
come, and that without any grea,
added expense. Stations, they pre-.
dict. will exchange programs with
each other to their mutual benefit
while the services of even the highest
priced artists will be available with
out additional cost by broadcastine
their efforts direct from the per-
formances given in theaters or con-
certs.
May Pick Up Programs.
Even if stations are not willing tc
exchange. there seems nothing in ex-
'sting laws which would prevent one
station picking up and rebroadcast
ing the program of another 1t is
true that the international code SAYS
| that messages sent over the air are
| private. and provides penalties for re-
vealing them, but this regulation was
made before broadcasting was heard
| of and it is difficult to see how a
| broadcast program can be private
when it is automatically addressed tc
every one who can pick it up.
There is no question but that even
tually and indirectly the public must
and does bear the expense of broad
casting, whether payment is made in
| purchase of receiving sets and parts
| by way of advertising. All the pub.
| lie has to do to cut off this revenue
| is to quit listening and the entire ra-