Evening star., 1927-11-21
GOVERNMENT RULE
I. IN RADIO HIT BLOW
DELEGATES of Private Firms
Hail Stand of America
at Conference.
Nv the Associated Press.

Nv the Associated Press.
Representatives of private concerns
attending the International Radio Con
ference, In session here since October
/, hail the result of this parley as
vindicntion of the principle of no Gov
rrnmcnt Interference in the manage
mont OF commercial business.
This principle. they say. has been
defended intact and has been given in.
tcrnntional recognition in the race or
determined pressure from foreign
countries whore government control
af communications is an accepted
axiom. American tactics during the
conference. Americans say. have re-
suited in a complete victory In what
was realized before the congress would
hc the chief difference between Amerl-
can and European policy.
Ask Private Control.
American radio concerns assert that
they are concerned solely with the de-
velopment Of the art and in the ell
cient operation Of their facilities.
Members Of the American delegation,
among whom are Senators Watson OF
Indiana and Smith Of South Carolina
and REPRESENTATIVE White OF Maine.
fuse to ratify any international con-
yention whereby it would devolve upon
the Government to fix rates. impose
the use of given devices and otherwise
enter into the management of the con-
Germs.
Most European delegates. on the
other hand. in view of the fact that
I'm their countries radio communlca-
tions are either government owned
or controlled, came to the conference
favoring minute regulation in the
terms of the convention itself or all
radio communication activities.
The American deeGation, speaking
for the largest single radio nation IN
the world from the first made 1t clear
that the United States would have TO
be counted out in any agreement
whereby the individually or private
initiative of any independent radio
concern would be cramped or con
trolled by any government. The
American proposal that the wireless
regulations to accompany the conven-
ton be divided into two groups. the
first of which would be subscribed to
bv the United States, while the sec
ond. containing governmental mana
gerial dispositions. would not. was
agreed to by all other countries.
Won Over to Idea.
The determined stand, representa-
tives of independent concerns say, had
the double effect that it not only
awakened many European countries
to the idea of freedom from govern
mental interference in the prosecution
of legitimate businesses more easily
carried out by private, but 1t damp
ened impulsive European efforts to in
clude in the regulations even more
article unacceptable to the United
States than is now the case.
Some European radio companies.
founded and developed under a regime
of strict government supervision, are
understood to have conceived in Wash
ington the idea that perhaps even in
their countries they might shake gov
ernment interference to point where
this would be merely nominal and an
irreducible minimum.
The separation Of the regulations
into those acceptable and unaccept-
able to the United States has been
done, but the latter, contrary to eX-
pectations when the conference
opened, are comparatively few and
deal mostly with the charging and
computation of rates for radiograms,
and the obligatory free routing of
kilograms through certain channels,
which the United States cannot i'm.
pose upon private concerns.