Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-03-02
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

most seldom If ever write you. The
world, in this respect, is divided into
| two classes, those who write letters to
strangers and those who do not.
THE same thing applies in voting.
| There are millions of voters who never
vote. You will have to ask the stu
dents of political economy why this is
so. In leaning, therefore, so heavily
upon the opinions of those who have
| flooded you with letters in the past
you have leaned more or less upon a
broken reed, for those who might
have helped you the most have seldom
ever written.
X X X X
'In the second place, Mr.. Gloves,
you and all the broadcast stations
have succumbed to the modern doc
| trine of service. and have tried to
make your stations educational inSti-
tutions, which they are not, instead
of entertainers, which they are.
1.-The prime function of radio
broadcasting station is to entertain,
not to educate. Although l am a
sincere admirer of President Cool
idge, I warrant you there We're thou
sands of listeners who tuned in an
other station when he made a speech
recently. And every blessed one of
them switched their sets back Oh
again when the Gypsies came on the
air at 8 o'clock
You have much too much band
music, MIR. Cleves. l have the pro-
foundest admiration for the Marine,
Army and Navy Bands in their
proper settings. which is out-of-
doors, but five or six nights week
is far too much.
Band music comes over radio per-
| \ I,a Of of q
and the piano comes through, on al
most any set, or any speaker. the
best, and yet what is the situation
that prevails?
Bands are put on every night, and
piano music practically never any
more. In other words, what comes
over the worst is put on the most,
and what comes over the best is put
on the least.
you are suffering from bandits,
and don't know it. For heavens sake,
give up a rest on the bands. Return
to the early days Of broadcasting,
when singers, trios, piano and other
small combinations took the air at all
hours.
Then you allow the announcers to
talk too much. They bore us unto
tears They like to hear the sound
of their own voice. but We do not.
They are like the POSTMASTER at the
banquet. Did you ever see a toast
master who did not talk and talk and
talk?
Then, too, l believe that you go on
the wrong assumption as to the bed
time of the great majority of per
sons You may not realize it, but
thousands upon thousands of persons
go to bed al 9. $50 and 10 pm. They
are not going to stay up all night
to hear anything.
"Other thousands have other enter
tainments, so that unless you give
them good entertainment before $50
they do not listen to you. Instead
you intlict speeches al nauSeam
upon them, and reserve all the good
stuff until late in the evening.
You seem to show a Woeful lack of
study as to tone quality. AS for me.
l would rather hear you broadcast
the Lost Chord. and nothing else,
if 1t came over full and round, than
listen to some quartet with the tenor
badly placed and blasting on every
high note.
And the bridge lesson-mon Deu.
the bridge lessOn." sighed Mary. BE
cause some bridge enthusiasts like it,
you intict it on all us thousands who
DO not play bridge. Why. YOU had
better broadcast chess game"
Mary Rogue looked at 7. Cleveland
Cleves with pity in her eyes.
# know YOU have a hard job, poor
young man" she said. But it would
help so if you would use just ordinary
common sense"