Evening star., 1926-11-18
RAD|0MEASURES
| TO OPEN CONGRESS
Conferees to Take Up Com
promise of White and Dill
Plans at Once.

| bitterly controversial question around
which congressional activities will
range soon after House and Senate
convene. The contest is a hangover
from the preceding session, where it
was left in conference between q SUBJ
committee Of the House committee on
merchant marine and fisheries and
subcommittee Of the Senate committee
on interstate commerce.
The active members Of the respec-
| tive subcommittees - Representative
| wallace II. White. jr., Republican, Of
Maine and Senator c. c. Dill, Demo
| crat. OF Washington-are already in
INFORMAL conference. Each, in the
branch OF Congress to which he be-
longs, Is the author of a. bill dealing
with future radio supervision. The
pll!s are In agreement on numerous
points. But on the cardinal point as
70 where radio regulation hencefor-
Ward shall be lodged the White and
Dill measures are diametrically op-
posed. The White bill wants radio left
where 1t now is-in the Department OF
Commerce-subject to the advisory co.
operation Of so-called appellate COM
mission" to sit on emergency occa.
sions. The Dill bill provides for q new
Federal radio commission, to be set up
and conducted on lines more or less
identical with those OF the interstate
commerce Commission. and to consist
OF nve permanent officials on salaries
OF $4,000 apiece.
The House passed the White bill by
substantial majority. The Senate
approved the Dill bill by a virtually
unanimous vote. Weeks of confer
ence last Spring and during the early
summer failed to produce a compro- |
mise proposition. The House con-
1erees are Representatives Scott, |
Wnlte. I.ehlback (Republican) and
Lazaro and Davis (Democrat). The
senate conferees are Senators Wat |
son and Gooding (Republicans) and
Dlll (Democrat). AS soon as Con-
gress reassembles, Representative
White and Senator Dill will lay be-
tore the conferees such advance and |
INFORMAL suggestions, in q compro-
mise direction, as they may have been
able to work out. All concerned. in |
clud1ng President Coolidge and Seer |
tary Hoover. are ardently anxious for |
action at the earliest possible moment. |
But for the time being hope is strong.
er than expectation.
1t Is possible that the first skirmish
In the fight for radio legislation will
come before Congress has occasion to
act. On July 8, 1926, the day House
ana Senate adjourned, there was
enacted joint resolution known as
a "stop-gap" measure. Its purpose
Is ito bring to light any claims of |
vested rights" in the air and to fix
lrrevocably the United States Govern |
ment's exclusive rights to the wave
lengths over its territory at home and
overseas. Through some unaccount-
abie cause. the resolution failed, in
the closing jam" Of the session. to
secure the signatures of Vice Presi- !
dent Dawes and Speaker Longworth. |
It Is intended now to obtain them
the moment Congress is convened and
then to send the resolution to the |
PRESIDENT for his signature. Both
Representative White and Senator
'stop-gap" resolution an important |
condition precedent to radio legisla-
ton. 1t reads as follows:
THAT until otherwise provided by !
law no original license for the opera |
ton OF any radio broadcasting station |
and no renewal Of license Of Nn ex-
listing broadcasting station shay be !
granted for longer periods than 80 /
days and no original license for the |
operation OF any other class Of radio !
station and no renewal Of the license
for an existing station Of any other |
class than a broadcasting station shall |
De granted for longer periods than |
two years, and that no original radio |
license or the renewal of an existing !
license shall be granted after the date |
or the passage Of this resolution un-
less the applicant therefor shall exc.
cute In writing waiver Of any right |
or OF any claim to any right as against |
the United States to any wave length
or to the use Of the ether in radio |
transmission because Of previous |
license to use the same or because of |
the use thereof
The important clause Of the "stop.
gap" resolution is the provision for a |
waiver Of any claim to a vested pro. |
prietorship Of wave length. That |
Is to say, Congress is intent. upon |
deprtving station that has been op- |
Grating a certain wave length in the |
past from any Ownership" Of that |
length. Ownership, Congress will m |
sist, must eternally remain with the
United States. There have been
efforts to attach to both the White |
and the Dill bills an amendment which
would give priority" rights in wave
lengths to broadcasters which have
been using them. But it is not likely
this concession will be granted. Con.
gress rather will assume that when
the Government assigns or reassigns ,
wave lengths 1t will take priority"
conditions duly into consideration, but
there Is no disposition to tie the Gov
ernment's hands by act Of Congress.
Representative Whites position is
that radio control can effectively be
left with the Department Of Commerce
and every reasonable contingency of
the future met by creating an appel.
late radio commission" within the de-
partment. This view. which has ad-
ministration support, Is approved in
executive quarters on the additional
ground that Washington already is
sufficiently cluttered up with bureau
cratic" agencies and commissions
welding wide Federal authority. Mr.
White Is understood further to hold
that, in the present stage Of radio,
there is not sufficient business to JUS.
! tify creation Of an expensive radio
| commission with high-salaried mem
bers and an extensive staff.
Senator Dill holds that radio is
already so vital a public utility that it
unquestionably requires the attention
of a Federal agency, headed by ex.
perts with time and ability to give it's
boundless possibilities their undivided
| attention. Mr.. Dill thinks radio can
not be adequately supervised by de-
partmental sub-officials and clerks. He
declares he has much farther-reaching
plans in mind than the mere supervi-
| sion of radio.
"The time is coming" he states,
| when the Government will need to set
up Communications commission.
| That commission will deal not only
| with radio, but with telegraphs and
| telephones. The public does not gen.
orally know that the Interstate Com
| merce Commission already has juris-
| diction over radio, telegraphy and
| telephony. but has never in fact exer-
cised it, being overburdened with rail.
| road matters. I think a Federal
Radio Commission a natural and feas-
| ihlo foppdo t}ou ctopo for <bc s~ov,ovo,,