Evening star., 1926-05-02

" EARRING aside the veil of Sc
crecN which has surrounded its
leaningS on radio legislation
Il the administration has come
out fiat footed in favor OF
legislation similar to that sponsored in
the White radio control bill which
has already passed the House and is
awaiting action in the Senate. The
situation caused by the decision of a
Federal judge in Chicago upholding
the right of station WJAZ to broad
east off its assigned wave length has
tghtened the situation all along the
line. and administration leaders, in and
out of Congress, stunned by the ure-
ency of a dilemma that may permit
any broadcaSting station to send out
its messages on any wave length.
have turned toward legislation as the
best possible means out.
Only within the last few days Presi-
dent Coolidge has taken stand
behind the radio legislation offered in
the House by Representative White,
Republican, of Maine, indicating in no
uudertain terms that he is against
establishment or creation of any more
independent, bureaucratic commissions
or Government agencies to have con-
troll over factor which deals with
public use of the air. The executive
was represented as DelleNlnS lIl6tI SET
ting up of a radio commission to add
20 the number of independent estab-
liShmentS already in existence would
he of the very essence of bureau
rraCy al-l would treate another
bureau responsible to no one but the
President. with autot ratic power over
something which sE- aid he free as air
Makes a Distinction.
The President was said to hold that
control of broadcastin. is something
entirely different from coEtrol of
Justice, as administered by th> courts
which are of necessity independent
establishments. and rate and schedule
making control of railroad tariffs
which is the exclusive right of semi
judicial Independent establishment
the Interstate Commerce Commission
In this the Presidents views coincide
With his attit"de of a year ago. when
he indicated there are now too many
independent establishments admins
tering the public business.
The White bill. which the President
would favor, provides the following
for control of radio:
Division of the country into five
radio districts. with a commissioner
10 be appointed by the President from
by the Senate.
Retention of the present super
Visory technical machinery over
broadcasting frequencies and wave
lengths in the Department of Com
merce under a chief radio supervisor
and nine sectional supervisors
Meetings of the commission would
he held in Washington at the Com
merce Department whenever sufficient
business, initiated by the public as
represented by broadcasters or broad
East listeners or by the Department
of Commerce representing the Gov
ernment, required These meetings
would probably not he held more than
three or four times Il year. The pay
of the commissioners would he $25 a
day and expenses for total of not
more than 120 days q calendar year.
Impartial Tribune Proposed.
The commission would be in effect
an impartial tribunal representing the
public, the radio industry and the
Government, to whom all questions
on every phase of the new science
would be submitted.
Passage of this bill. the only radio
measure the White House "spokes-
man" is represented as faVOrinG.
would, it is claimed. satisfy even the
most radical of those who favor com
plete separation of the Government
from radio supervision. Observers
believe it would remove all possibility
of continuation OF conditions which
Secretary Hoover has declared to be
chaotic and would supplant the
present undecided situation wherein
Governments right to control of the
air has been directly challenged with
one where an impartial tribunal would
attempt to adjudicate and settle any
question of any character that would
affect the public right to broadcast
or to hear hrOadcasting.
There are those in Congress who do
not favor giving Secretary Hoover any
more authority with regard to radio.
In opposition. others would enlarge
The powers of the Commerce Secre-
tary and virtually make him "czar"
of the air-a position some claim he
4lready has without further enlarge
ment of his powers.