Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-29
RADIO SPECULATION
/, IN STATIONS HIT
Federal Commission Annuls
License When Equipment
Is Sold to Another.

Federal Radio Commission that spec
nlation in broadca Stinc stations for
purposes of financial gain has been
thwarted. The simple cXpcdient has
been used of issuing regula ton
which anuuls license when there is
sale or transfer of apparatus.
The purchaser must prove to tho
satlSfaCtio of the commission that
his object in buying the station is in
the public interest. whcreupon he will
he issued new license. Otherwise
the license may be summarily refused
and he will be left with a white Gle
plant on his hands.
The commission is firm in its atti-
tude that nothing but physical appa
ratus goes with the sale of a station,
and has suggested that approval Of
the sale and purchase of such appa.
ratus be first obtained TO determine
whether the chances are good for
the issuance of a new operating IL
cense.
Case i'm Point
A case in point occurred this week.
Since it is the policy of the commits
sion not to license any new stations,
an application for a construction per.
init filed by the Fellowship Forum. a
weekly newspaper, was denied. The
publishers went to Brooklyn, where
they offered to buy WTRC, proposing
to remove it to Washington.
The sale and removal of the Brook
lyn station. which used but $50 watts
on lao kilocycles GOA meters) was
approved this week by the commission.
but that body has given no promise
that license will be issued to the
station, although it is a fair presump-
ton one will. inasmuch as the pur-
chase was approved.
The matter is soon to be taken up
In closed session. where it will be de-
termined whether the public service.
convenience or necessity of the new
station, as Well as local conditions in
the Washington broadcast area, en-
title 1t to the license If the license is
granted. will it designate the same
power formerly used, which was very
low, and the same wave length, which
was so far down in the broadcast band
as to be regarded as poor? Or will bet
ter conditions of broadcasting be pre-
scribed?
Death of Stations.
There are precedents in the commits
sions tenure where exchange deals
fell through when the commission
made it plain it would not license the
proposed purchased. On the other
hand, there is at least one precedent
where the sale of apparatus to more
competent parties led Immediately to
the issuance of a new license prescrib-
ing far better wave length and much
higher power.
Commissioner Bellows thinks this
order of the commission, baking many
small fry in the broadcast field. who
took out licenses during the period of
broken-down control, when they were
issued to all corners, and who erected
stations only for the purpose of dis
posing Of them later at profit, will
lead to the death of a number of sta
tons within short time.
The Lord Calvert hour of musl
and the w. B. & A. Quartet, both Of
which will originate in its own studio,
ere featured tonight by WRC. The
quartet as usual will present an all
request program.
From New York WRC will draw
the weekly program of the Cities
Service Orchestra and Cavaliers and
q host of other attractions, including
musical miniatures. and dance music
by the Pennsylvania Grill and Green
witch Village Inn Orchestras.
The Cities Service Orchestra has
prepared quite an elaborate program.
Aside from its own opening march, the
selections announced include the
overture Merry Wives of Windsor"
''Indian Dawn" "Silver Moon" and
selections from Madame Sherry
c. E. Currier, 1476 Belmont street,
whose enthusiasm for radio has taken
him down on the shor. waves, picked
up some station on a 38-meter wave,
.t41. 1aA C1 n~fx fly1
can aid him in identifying. His
communication to The Stars radio
department reads:
Tuesday night at 10 O'Clock pick
ed up station on about a 3S-meter
wave. broadcasting a special 24.hour
program for the listeners of Australia
and New Zealand. / held them with
very good reception until midnight, at
11:30 there being fine selection on
grand organ. The announcements
were made in five languages, German,
English, French, Dutch fprobably) and
either Spanish or Portuguese, with
very frequent use Of the words ''Ullo;
'Ullo.'
WAS using short wave set, of
course, while throughout the evening
the same aerial was bringing in WRC
to my crystal set with 2-stage ampli-
fer. Both programs were heard from
loud speakers.
Hope some short-wave fan can
identify the foreign station for me; it
was probably Dutch station, as
heard the word Holland probably
so times or more, but could not make
out call letters, meter or kilocycle an
nouncement."
The atmosphere continued TO remain
i1b Ia ST night and nnlv fo.v of 70
nearby superpower stations We're able
to penetrate it with volume sufficient
for loud speaker reproduction. Static
and fading also contributed TO the gen.
eral unsatisfactory reception condi-
tions. WPG in Atlantic City seemed
TO be more afflicted by fading than
any of the other stations heard.