Evening star., 1927-08-30
PAR[EY TO REVISE
WORLD RADIO LAWS
Conference Here, Invited by
| U. S., to Include so For
eign Governments.
By FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.


the international radio universe. More
than so foreign governments and a
score OF foreign telegraph, cable and
broadcasting corporations have ac'
cepted the invitation of the United
States to get together and revise the
worlds radio laws.
President Coolidge has appointed
Herbert Hoover, Secretary OF Com
n1erce. to be the chairman OF the Amer
lean delegation. AS it is customary
for international conferences to select
as their presiding officers the chlet del-
egates of the power which calls the
conference, Secretary Hoover in all
probability will be made the head OF
the conference and the vice chairman
of the American delegation. Judge
Stephen B. Davis, presiding officer pro
tenn.
Other we'll known Americans VIII be
fellow delegates Of MesSrs Hoover and
Davis. Among them are Senators
James Z. Watson. Republican, of In
diana and Ellison d. Smith, Democrat
of South Carolina; Representative Wal
lace II. White, jr., Republican. of
Maine; Owen y. Young, chairman of
the board of the General Electric Co.
and member of the Dawes Reparations
Commission; Rear Admiral w. II. G.
Bullard, chairman of the Federal Radio
Commission, and William r. Castle,
1r., Assistant Secretary Of State.
Treaty Signed in London.
The last time the leading countries
Of the globe conferred upon radiotel-
egraph affairs was in 1912, when they
signed a treaty and regulations at
London. In the intervening Is years
the art" of autobiography has
grown and developed beyond all eX-
At. - ;t hoe
been found urgently necessary to turn
the treaty of London into a scrap of
paper and revise it into an entirely
new agreement. When the world gov
ernments convened in Great Britain
in 1912, radio was practically nothing
more than a ship-t-oshore proposition,
Transoceanic radio communication was
in existence, but not common. Radio
broadcasting, as we know it today,
was still dream, even within the
borders of given country, while such
thing as broadcasting across the At
lantic or any other wide stretch of
water was talked Of in terms of some
thing that the future generations
might perhaps know about.
Radio has marched to the forefront
Of mankindS communications with
such rapidity that the international
air has steadily tended to become more
and more clogged. The basic purpose
Of the forthcoming international con.
ference at Washington is to relieve
this worldwide radio traffic jam. To
reduce interference to a minimum is
the primary objective at which the
United States aims, although the draft
convention and regulations which the
American delegation will submit cover
o vast variety of other things.
L. S. Submits Proposals.
Through the International Bureau
of the Telegraph Union at Berne,
Switzerland, the United States has
already circulated to the conference
governments and private corporations
the different American proposals, so
that foreign delegates will reach
Washington with a graphic idea of
what this country seeks to bring
about.
The following countries have ac.
cepted the United States invitation to
the conference: Albania, Argentina,
Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bull
garia, Chile, China. Colombia. Costa
Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Danzig,
Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt,
Esthonia. Finland. France, Germany,
Great Britain. Canada. Irish Free
State, India. Australia and New Zeal
and, South Africa; Greece, Guatemala,
Haiti, Honduras, Hungary. Italy, Fri
trea, Somalia, Japan, Latvia, Liberia,
Lithuania, Mexico. Monaco, Morocco,
Netherlands, Dutch Colonies, Nicara-
qua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay,
Peru, Persia, Poland, Portugal, Rou.
mania, Salvador, San Marino, Serbs,
Croats and Slovenes, Siam, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uru-
quay and Venezuela.
In addition, the principal radio,
telegraph, cable and telephone COM
panies Of the United States and the
world will be represented at the con.
ference. Only the delegates Of gov
ernments will have votes, but the
delegates of private companies will
enjoy full rights of discussion. The
United States is laying great stress
on the necessity, from the American
standpoint, of subjecting privately
owned and operated radio corpora.
tions to as little governmental or in
ternational supervision as possible.
To that end Secretary Hoover and
his fellow delegates will submit a
draft of an international radio treaty
10 be signed by the conference gov
ernments for general regulatory pur-
poses, and a set of management reg
ulations" for consideration by private
ly-owned companies. The United
States is different from most foreign
governments in that 1t does not own
or operate. for commercial purposes,
any radio system. Army, Navy and
other departmental delegates will CO.
operate with the Hoover delegation
as technical advisers.
Subjects for Discussion.
Among the subjects to be discussed
are: International supervision of radio
communication between large fixed
stations, including broadcasting and
transmission of press messages; radio
telephony: measures for conf1ning
broadcasters to assigned wavelengths
arbitration of disagreements over
treaty provisions the United States
proposes that decision in disputed
cases shall be by an absolute majority
of votes Of the signatory govern
to navigation, and all other questions
made important by the development
Of the art since 1912.
Maj. Gen. Charles NICK. Saltzman
chief signal officer of the United States
Army, and Capt. Thomas T. Craven
director Of the United States NaVy's
communications, will be among the
American delegates. Col. z. D. Peek
United States Army. has been ap
pointed executive officer Of the con
terence, and Laurens +. Whittemorc
of the Department of Commerce, is
secretary of the American delegation
nCQpyright. 1927