Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-20
SIGNAL CORPS HEAD.
ATTACKS RADIO ACT.
Gen. Gibbs Criticizes Restric-
tons Placed on Communica-
tons by the Law.
BY MARTIN CODEL.

Opening guns against restrictive as
poets of the present radio law have been
fred, not by an official of private COM
munications company, but by high
ranking officer of the Government.
Testifying before the Senate commit
tee conducting hearings on the Couzensg
bill to establish Federal communica-
tions commission, Gen. George o. Gibbs,
chief of the Army Signal Corps, criti-
cized the radio act for the apparent re-
striction 1t places upon the co-ordina-
ton of wire and wireless activities.
It is unthinkable, said Gen. Gibbs,
that radio will ever do away with the
wire systems. Radio will always be an
auxiliary means of communication, In
the opinion of the Signal Corps chief. S
Instead of prohibiting mergers of
wire and radio companies, Gen. Gibbs
recommended that the Government
should permit the formation of strictly
regulated communications companies,
utilizing all forms of transmission fa-
cilitieS. Rather than have radio COM
pete with wires, the competition should
be maintained as between such comnu-
n1cations companies, he said.
Alaska Is Cited.
An example of successful co-ordina-
ton of telephone, telegraph, cable and
radio was cited in the case of Alaska
The whole Alaskan communications
system is operated by the Government,
chiefly by the Army. All forms of
transmission are co-ordinated with high
efficiency, Gen. Gibbs said. This was
made possible only because the develop
ment of the Alaskan system was under
no legislative restraints, he added.
Following close after Chairman Rob-
inson of the Federal Radio Commission,
who strongly Endorsed the principle of
a communications commission govern
ing telephone, telegraph, cables and
radio alike, Gen. Gibbs opened what
promises to be an extensive inquiry into
the national and international COM
munications system of the United
States.
Conldr. T. A. M. Craven, naval radio
expert and former engineer for the
Federal Radio Commission, was the
next witness. He is to be followed by
Capt. S. G. Hooper, chief of naval COM
munications and foremost authority on
the international situation. Later in
the week a representative of the State
Department will testify. Within the
next two weeks the Senate committee
WILL IlSdI 1cil. OdiIcS W. 41dIDOLd, PACSA-
dent of the Radio Corporation of Amer
lea. Owen D. Young, father of Amer
ica's International radio system, will be
called soon after his return from his
reparations task in Europe.
The present Senate hearings on the
bill to establish a commission with
broader powers over communications
than those enjoyed by the Federal Radio
Commission have conceded with highly
important American radio developments.
The Radio Corporation OF America last
week opened its first radio circuit for
public message service between New
York and San Francisco.
First Link Of Network.
This is the first link of a radio net
work covering large cities of the United
States and competing with the land
telegraph systems, for which radio chan
nels will be sought from the Radio
Commission at a hearing next Wednes-
day.
Progress on its Nationwide network
covering ITO cities is reported by the
Universal Wireless Communications Co.
Present indications are that it will have
it's first circuit in operation between
New York and Chicago by June is.
First competition on the Atlantic
seaboard with the Radio Corporation
of America in the ship wireless service
has also just started. Two radio sta
lions of the Mackay Radio & Telegraph
Co., subsidiary of the International
Telephone 81 Telegraph Co., have been
placed In operation for shore-to-ship
and ship-to-shore business on the At
lantic. One Is the old German sta
ton at Sayville, Long Island. and the
other Is located in New York City.
The Mackay interests are already
operating point-to-point, ship and
transoceanic radio services on the Pa
ciflc Coast. They propose also to go
into the domestic radiotelegraph bust
ness as an adjunct to the Postal Tele-
graph Co.
The parent of the Mackay and Post
al companies, the International Tele-
phone g. Telegraph, is the corporation
that recently offered to buy out and
merge with its own system the ship and
transoceanic radio services of the Radio
Corporation Of America, provided sec
ton II of the radio act of 1927 will be
amended. This section prohibits cable
and radio mergers, and the unification
is proposed in order to strengthen the
American position in the international
field.
Copyright, 1929, by North American News
paper Alliance)