The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1925-04-30
Federal Trade Commission
to Open Hearings Before
Judge Reeves May Is to
Seek Signs of Corner on
Air.
BIZ NEA Serrice

Corporation of America will hold the
center of the stage when the Fed
eral Trade Commission begins it's
hearings before Trial Examiner Will
liam C. Reeves on May Is, to de-
termine whether there is a monopoly
in the radio industry.
Although seven other corporations
are named in the complaint, the com
mission in it's report designates the
Radio Corporation as 1.-The most i'm
portant factor in the industry"
The annual report of the Radio
corporation for 1924 shows that its
gross sales for the year were $780,
Corporation received $3,358 ,5S4.31 for
trans-oceanic radio communication
and $742 ,345.03 for marine service.
The Radio Corporation was organ
lied by the General Electric Com
pany on Oct. II, 1919.
To Prevent Control
This action came some months
after Rear Admiral w. II. G. Bull
lard director of communication of
the United States Navy, had paid a
visit to the General Electric offices.
At that time. General Electric had
the only device-the Alexander al
ternator-which made transoceanic'
radio possible.
The British Marconi Company
was trying to obtain exclusive rights
to 1t.
Billiard, so the trade commission
report states, requested General
Electric not to take any action
which would bring about a foreign
monopoly in radio.
Apparently General Electric de-
cided to heed Billiards. suggestions.
Negotiations were broken off with
British Marconi.
Subsequently, the General Electric
bought out the holdings which the
British Marconi Company had in the
American Marcori Company, the
| largest American radio organization
at the time.
Big Firms Join
Next it organized the Radio Cor
poration of America.
Then followed a series of events
which brought about the conditions
to which the Federal Trade Commits
sion objects.
On Nov. 20, 1919, the Radio Cor
poration took over the physical as
sets and patent rights of the Amer
lean Marconi Company.
On July /, 1920, the General Elec-
trio and the American Telephone
and Telegraph Company entered
into a license agreement by which
each company obtained the rights
to the radio patents OF the others.
This agreement was subsequently
extended to the Western Electric
Company, subsidiary Of the tel
ephone company, ard to the Radio
Corporation OF America.
BY it. the telephone company and
It's subsidiary might use radio pat
ents in ordinary telephone, but were
prohibited from the sale Of radio re-
ceiving apparatus to the public.
lNOIlC
On June 30, 1921, the Westing-
house Company, entered into an
agreement to manufacture sets for
the Radio Corporation Of America
and the cross-license agreement was
extended to include Westinghouse.
At the same time Westinghouse
caused its subsidiary, the interna-
tional Radio Telegraph Company, to
turn it's patent rights over 10 the
Radio Corporation of America.
Prior to the agreement with West
inghouse, the Radio Corporation
made agreements by which it took
over the patent rights Of the United
Fruit Company, and the Wireless
Speciality Apparatus Company.
The Federal Trade Commission
says that at the present time &c per
cent of the sets sold by Radio Cor
poration are manufactured by Gen
eral Electric and 40 per cent by
Westinghouse.
1t says that General Electric,
WESTINGHOUSE and United Fruit
Company are the principal stockhold-
ers in Radio Corporation and rep
resented on it's board Of directors.
All charges are denied by the
Radio Corporation and by each OF
the other seven corporations named
in the complaint.