Evening star., 1928-04-29
ODDITIES Of RADIO
TOLD IN LECTURE
Judge Davis Compares Air
Communication With Phone
and Telegraph.

IN the course OF his lecture on some
OF the legal phases OF radio before the
Harvard Business School last week:
Judge stephen h. Davis, who handed
radio matters for the Department OF
Commerce when he was Its Solici,oI
ana who was vice chairman OF the
American delegation 10 the recent IN"
ternational radiotoleeraph conference
In washington. drew some interesting
analoeies and made some pertinent oo'
servafaons regarding the radio propiem'
Radio Communication In its legal as
necfS differs from other forms IN three
nrinciDal respects. said Judge DAVIS.
First In every other form OF conintu-
nication those conducting 1t own their
own rights Of way. Poles and wires
are property, and there Is law 10 pro-
teet them. The radio operator owns
only his transmitter; he cannot even
tpIl whether his message reaches the
receiver Legal precedents relating to
rrofactins physical property are useless
ia him. He needs new rules for MS
protection.
second. Judge Davis continued, q
Aelecranh or telephone company senoS
a message from one defnite point 10
another. guiding 1t by wire ana inter-
ferinr With no one else. In rAoio'
r,esssee goes simultaneously IN every
Sirection and interfereS with otner
radio MESSAGES. Ths waves travel so
far that q message from New YORK 70
I,ondcn travels over the world ano may
ursct a circuit from Manila to SnanS-
hal or an amateur In Phoenix, ATE,
naay theoretically destroy . oroaoc&S.
program In New York. Tne cnahoeS
81 conflict and disputes are innnNe.
Thirdiy. from the listeners viewpoint
the ehief essential In a receiving set
aS its selectivity. or its ability TO choose
between various programs. There must
necessarily be q proper separation oe.
tveer channels or interference VIII
occur. or else there will be an impair
Y.ent OF musical quality and speech.
Accordingiy, every transmitting station
to be received perfectly must have its
ewn channel on which TO operate.
Here are offered not only the compllca-
tions Of the question az monopoly out
national and international interference
problems.
The technical problem is 10 ind the
channels best suited 20 each type OF
racio service. whether eroaocasttng.
teiesrarhy or seleviSton. The legal
rrchleYn is to distribute the channels,
maintain order determine rules and
enforce them TT Is as though ve had
too few tracks 70 accommodate our
tsatgs.~ said Judge Davis. ''or not
enough streets for our autcuoalles"
Judge Davis referred to the 1877 radio
law as the most severe, most drastic
and most ccnflnins ever imposed upon
Anr legitimate American business" and
the 1898 amendments as being far from
the panaces- The trouble Is too many
stations, said he, and he maintained
that major operation In the form Of
drastic reductions Is necessary The
Federal Radio Commission, with un-
preeedented powers to act In the public
interest, can legally perform that opera
ton. Judge Davis contended.
Judge Davis remarks are significant
because ne Is one Of the best informed
men In radio. although unccnnected in
any way with the industry. While
solicitor for Secretary Hoover. he wrote
Q book on the law of radio communics-
items which IL the frSt and only ex-
haustive treatment Of the subject ever
undertaken.