Evening star., 1927-03-09
SPECIAL SESSION
]. URGED FOR RADIO
Bloom, Despite Opposition,
Wants Funds Provided
for Commission.

that It was one of the measures Oh
outstanding Importance acted upon py
the late Congress. In fact, the New
sYork Representative thinks the pres
ent turn the radio control situation
has taken is important enough In It
self to warrant the calling Of a special
session of Congress.
II IS Mr.. Blooms contention that
the Federal Radio Commission has no
authority to meet, as four OF its 1lve
members propose to do infDrmally
next week, in view of the fa1iure OF
Congress to provide it with FUNDS
The failure of the commissions ap-
preparation on account of the recent
filibuster in the Senate, he argues,
leaves it without salary money, and
hence without legal power, because no
person can work for the Government
without pay.
To that effect he was written Her
bert Hoover, taking issue with the
statement of the Secretary of Com
inerce that the commission can func-
tion REGARDLESS of lack of funds. If
the commissioners are willing to await
their salaries from the next Congress-
Secretary Hoover has offered expert
, and clerical aid from his department
to help the commission along.
Mr.. Bloom calls Secretary Hoover s
attention to the fact that radio licenses
automatically expired when the radio
act became law, February %, and that
applications for new licenses must be
made within 60 days.
The question now presenting it
self" he writes, 'is this: Without an
appropriation the Radio Commission
cannot organize. In the event of the
Radio Commission not being able to
organize, there is no one to reissue
licenses. since no individual in the De-
partment Of Commerce has authority
q TO issue licenses during the life OF the
Radio Commission. Thus it would an
pear tF9t the radio authority was out
of business for one year and 60 days,
or until such time as the Seventeen
Congress appropriates money which
Will give the commission life.
You are no doubt acquainted with
the law which prevents any person
working for the Government of the
United States without pay. They can
not work for nothing, so if there is
nothing appropriated for them to even
buy an official seal for their commits
sion and not one penny to start the
commission working, l would like to
know from you, my dear Mr.. Secre-
tary, how on and after April "a any
person or any broadcaster will be able
to broadcast under the present exist
ing condition.
THE complications in which radio
administration is involved as a result
Of the failure of the second deficiency
bill to pass the Sixty-ninth Congress
is only one of many resulting from
the omission of the Senate to act on
thiss important measure. The sum of
these embarrassmentS threatens SO Sc
riously as to indicate a possibility or
no escape from them except through
the call by the President of an extra
session of Congress.
Mr. Bloom obviously overlookS the
tacit intent of Congress to have the
commission function by its passage of
the radio act and by the Senate's con-
firnation Of three of the commission
ers Administration opinion on the
legal merit of his opinion on the radio
situation is withheld, but 1t is prac-
tically a certainty that the commits
sion will go ahead. Nor is President
Coolidge likely to deviate from the de-
termination not to call an extra ses-
sion of Congress on the score raised
by Mr.. Bloom.
Now that roxy has returned to
the broadcast arena and promises to
"Roxyize" the ether regularly every
Monday night, the critics are begin
ming to unloose their pent-up feelings
concerning his most worthy successor
Bowes by name.
While some of the complaints center
about the alleged similarity OF the
Sunday night broadcasts from the
Capitol Theater, the chief shaft of
criticism is aimed directly at the good
natured impresario. 1t seems that
Mai. Bowes wakes too loquacious be-
fore the microphone to please certain
l of his Washington listeners.
v Several communications condemning
Mai Bowes' practice of discoursing
animatedly before the microphone have
come to the radio department of The
Star in the last few days Pron. .inent
among these critics is Walter r. Nc
CalIum. 3716 r street, an ardent radio
fan and golfer Here are his views:
Can 1t be that Maj. Bowes, the
latest major domo of the Capitol
Theater, is so enamored of his own
voice that he must believe he
thrills radio listeners with its dull
Get tones while he explaine voiubly,
voluminouSly and at interminable
length the virtues of his motion
picture program? Does he think
his unseen audience-the millions
who cannot see his feature picture
and wouldn't go to see it, in all
probability, if they could--care
even a little bit about what his pic
4 ture is TO show, or what his very
" meritoriouS orchestra is to play?
Why must radio listeners who
appreciate the Capitol Theater pro-
grams and who are fond Of the
really good music that comes from
portions Of them, listen to the So
norous voice of this announcer,
for, after all, that is all he Is? And
one Of the first duties of an an
nouncer is to tell his story in as
few words as possible, thus giving
the worthwhile features Of the
program more time in a Scant in
terval devoted to entertainment and
not to speaking.
Maj Bowes has a story to tell,
but he embellishes 1t with such
v heart touching pathos, such redun-
dancy of phrase and expression
and such a poor.speaking voice that
], perhaps selfishly, shut off the
set while the worthy major is
speaking his little piece, to turn on
the juice again when / believe and
hope he will have relinquished the
microphone to some more worthy
performer.
Sunday night he rambled on for
IL minutes, telling of his picture
and his orchestra and other mat
ters connected with his theater
Yet all the radio conferences have
resoluted and indorced the idea that
direct advertising shall not be
heard over the air.
If Mai. Bowes believes his voice
IS a good advertisement. he must
he mistaken. Nor are his words,
when they can be distinguished,
golden threads of wisdom. I, for
one, would infinitely prefer music
of any kind to a poor radio voice
with very little OF interest to say.
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