The Washington times., 1924-04-14
URGES
KEEPING RADIO
FORPE0PLE
Nebraska Senator Opposes
Wave Length Control Of
Private Interests.
BY TOM EVERRITT,
CosmopOIitan News Service.

The radio corporations and other
interests in the United States which
have been using certain wave
lengths for commercial purposes for
a long time should not be permitted
to claim those wave lengths as their
.private property, Senator Robert
B. Howell OF Nebraska, said today.
HowelHs radio bill, which has
passed the Senate and is now in the
House, affirms the use of the ether
for radio communication or other
wise to be the inalienable possession
Of the people Of the United States
and their Government" Howell
said IL his bill becomes a law, the
people will be safeguarded in their
use of the ether.
He said that almost any "dream"
about the possibilities of radio Is
more than apt to come true within
a short time, and pointed to the
necessity of the United States Gov
eminent preserving the remaining
hydro-electric power sites in the
United States for strictly public
Lonly a short time until power will
be transmitted by radio.
THE situation is this" said
Howell, 1.-The ether is the great
untouched natural resource that we
its possibilities. The first thing
to do is to preserve it for the
people"
Radio Trails Seen.
Some day we may have radio
trails analogous to electric cur
rent transmission lines. The time
will probably come when we will
have these trails or transmission
lines, that will be merely the direc-
tors of vibrations, and we may be
able to transmit power along these
trails with very little loss"
There may be more than one
frequency following this trail so
that q particular city, or even a
State, might take off its frequency
from this trail without disturbing
the transmission of the other fire.
Quencies. In other words, This
trail' might be the pathway Of a
dozen frequencies, and dozen
different communities may tap
their own frequencies, and those
trails may even stretch across
the continent, and each State may
take off its frequency; the source
of power being some of the great
hydro- electric developments like the
proposed gigantic Boulder canyon
dam on the Colorado river"
Howell pointed to danger TO the
public of the Federal Government
permitting private corporations IL
develop projects such as the Boulder
Canyon Dam. He said, THE future
possibilities of the ether are so gre
as to emphasize at this time Il
unwisdom Of letting our gre
water power resources get aw
from the public and into the han
OF private monopolies."
On Edge Of Great Things.
I'VE are on the edge of e
things now, and how many ii
has the public given away trenS
dous possibilities simply because
didn't understand and apprecia
their value.
Another very important phase OF
the use OF the ether-very much
more important than most users of
the radio contemplate at presents
this. / think that it is undoubtedly
in the minds of the radio corpora
ton and other interests in sthe
United States, who are using radio
for commercial purposes, to claim
that having used certain wave
length for long time that that
wave length had become their pri-
vate wave length, had become a
species Of private property sort
OF squatter sovereignty. 80
"Of course If one secured a vested
right in the ether, it would mean
monopolization Of the ether SO
TAR as that particular right was
concerned. These interests are de.
claring there is no monopoly or at
tempt to monopolize the ether.
which suggests that they do flcS
claim vested rights. II such is tlIt
case, my bill doesn't affect thoeA
inteests in any way, because It
simply reaffirms the possession Of
the ether to be the property Of the
American people and protects the
people in the granting of licenses
by the Government"