Evening star., 1926-06-15
PRESIDENT HOPES
RADIO !! BILL PASSES
Control of Air Communication
Held Vital Against New
Bureau Here.
BIZ FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

By FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.
President Coolidge is earnestly anx
ious for radio legislation before the
! adjournment Of Congress. Matters
are temporarily deadiocked by the op
posing views reflected by the House
/ White bill and the Senate Dill bill
| The House measure leaves super
vision Of radio In the Department OF
Commerce. subject to the cooperation
! Of a Federal radio advisory commits
| sion to be appointed by the President
| The Senate measure takes radio en-
! tirely out of the Department Of Com
| merce and places 1t under the control
| OF a radio commission with pow
| ers as independent as those exercised
! by the Interstate Commerce Com
| mission.
Some time ago the interstate com
merce committee of the Senate re
ported out the Din bill. which amend
ed the White bill to the point OF
annihiIa ton. If the Senate passes
the Dill mea sure (as the House assed
the White measure, the project then
goes to joint conference between the
two houses. That development is
likely within the next few days. Sen
ator Dill believes there is ample op'
portunity for meeting of minds on
the rival points AT issue, and conveys
the impression that compromise
proposition, fairly satisfactory to all
concerned, is attainable.
Against Another Bureau.
Opinion is widespread that the
President Is so desirous of placing
radio on a definite legislative basis,
without further delay. that he would
nots withhold his signature from
satisfactory compromise bill. On one
point only is Mr.. Coolidge apparently
dead set in his opposition.
He disapproves the setting up Of an
other new bureaucratic agency such
L s the Radio Commission contemplated
by the Dill bill. The President strong
" holds that radio can best be super
vsed by an existing administrative
branch of the Government under
executive control.
One of the outstanding factors in
the congressional situation is the per
sonal opposition to Herbert Hoover
on the part particularly of certain
United States Senator's. The Senate
Interstate commerce committee Is de.
scribed as full of anti-Hooverism,
especially among it's Republican mem
bers. These are Messrs. Watson tchair'
mani, Cummins. Fernald, Gooding
Couzens, Fess, Howell Goff Pine and
Sackett. But just which of these mem
bers have Hoover completes" is not
known. The Democratic members
of the committee are Messrs. smith
Underwood, Pittman, Bruce. Dill.
Wheeler and Mayfield. Some of them
are known to be among Mr.. Hoover g
detractors. The theory has been that
the Secretary of Commerce Is run
ming for President" and that he wants
to boss radio for personal and partl'
san purposes.
AS matter of fact, Herbert Hoover
is on record in favor OF any leglsia'
ton that will relieve him of respons'
Utility for radio control. limited as Is
the power in the direction now vested
in him. The White measure not only
confers wide authority on Federal
Radio Commission, acting with the
Secretary of Commerce, to say who
shall or shall not receive licenses to
maintain broadcasting stations, but
contains an appellate provision
Would Appeal to Courts.
Under this provision persons dis
satisfied with the joint decisions Of
the Secretary of Commere and the
advisory commission shall have the
right to 60 to the United States Courts
for redress Of grievances. The ad-
visory commission, the White proposal
sets forth, shall not be in session In
any one year for more than 120 days.
If such a body is set up, under
Representative Whites suggestions,
the Chicago Federation of Labor, for
instance, which is now at loggerheads
with the Department of Commerce
because it cannot secure a license to
broadcast over a pre-empted wave
length. automatically would be at lib
erty to ask the Federal bench for
decision as to its rights.
Senator Dill, who has made deep
study of the whole radio program. in
national, international and historical
aspects. has written into his measure
several points he considers of essential
importance. These include:
1. That any broadcasting stations
that give or sell space on the air to
a political candidate or party must be
under the compulsion to give the
opposing candidate or party an equal
opportunity to be heard by the. air
audience.
Same Charge to All.
2. That rates at which air space
is sold to advertisers or others shall
apply equally to all, without special
privilege, preferential prices, or re-
bates Of any sort not enjoyed by each
and every applicant.
3. That Government radio stations
shall be at liberty to handle COM
mercial radio business uransoceanic
in particularly, in free competition with
private radio companies. Senator Dill
says that Government stations have
enjoyed revenue as high as 100000 q
wear, reducing by that much mainte-
nance costs totaling 81, ,000,0 900 a year.
The great broadcasting companies
now furnishing the public so vast an
amount Of instrction and entertain
ment by radio are frankly convinced
that unwise radio legislation will seri.
ously cripple the development of
public service by air. They. too,
share the administrations anxiety for
legislation at the present session of
Congress, but they hope 1t will be
of the broad-gauge kind designed to
promote, not retard, the progress Of
the worlds newest channel of com
.munication. Lack of legislation at
this session is likely to postpone ac-
ton for at least a year, nothing be-
ing likely at the short session of the
expiring Sixty-ninth Congress next
Winter.
tCopyright. 1926.l