Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-14
WILLIAM VILE,
. veteran washington radio

- veteran washington raQlo
political analyst, whose
4 voice is familiar from one
coast to the other, will have the
privilege Of reading to the Nation
Tuesday President Hoover's flrSt
message to Congress.
Almost simultaneously with the
delivery of Mr.. Hoover's message
by the reading clerk of the House,
for the President does not intend
to deliver 1t himself, Mr.. Vile, be-
fore a rnicrophone In WMAL, will
read 1t for the Columbia network.
audience, stretching from the At
lantic to the Pacific.
The rules of the Senate prohibit
the broadcasting of the cere-
monies at the joint session Of the
Senate and House when Mr..
Hoover's message wall be read,
and only special legislation would
have made 1t possible. Such ac-
ton was out Of the question.
: But In order that the radio
listeners might receive the mes
sage as rapidly as possible, Presi-
dent Hoover granted special per-
mission to Mr.. Vile to read 1t to
the radio audience flve minutes
after the reading clerk OF the
House begins In the Capitol.
Mr.. Wile'S special broadcast will
not cancel HIS weekly resume of
the political situation in Wash
ington which will 60 over the CO.
lumbia network at 8 o'clock Tues
day night. He will, however, de-
vote more of his time to an analy-
sis OF the Presidents message.
+ \ y
Alessandro Banfi, chief engi-
neer of the Italian Broadcasting
Co., who has 5uSt completed a
rather extensive study of broad
casting conditions in the United
States, has reached the conclusion
that the American system of
broadcaSting is the best in the
world.
Prior to coming to America, Mr..
Banf1 visited many of the larger
radio stations in Europe, includ-
ing those in London and Berlin.
and in comparing the various
broadcaSting systems he found a
vast difference.
The entire radio broadcaSting
structure, he said, operates on
much more extensive scale in the
United States than in Europe.
Where some of the major sta
tons, particularly those connect
ed with the main New York out
lets of the National BroadcaSting
Co., broadcast approximately Is
hours a day, the italian Broad
casting Co. is on the air only
about seven hours daily. The
broadcasting there, he explained,
is carried on in periods, starting
at IL o'clock in the morning. This
lasts until pm, and the stations
then are silent until 4 o'clock
when they begin a two-hour pro-
gram. They start again at 9
o'clock and continue until mid
night.
Even the method of financing
Mr.. Banfi found vastly different
in America. In Italy and other
foreign countries as well, he
pointed out, broadcaSting is main
tanned by taxation. Every set and
all accessories are taxed, while
the listener himself must pay a
special operators license before
his set can be tuned in. The
Italian Government collects these
taxes annually, retaining 10 per
cent, the remainder going to the
broadcasting company. This pro-
videS an annual income OF ap-
proximately 100000.
The Italian BroadcaSting Co.,
operates six stations. These six
stations have II announcers, all
women, and although they never
sing It is required that they
be contraltos. The majority OF
Italy's programs originate in the
theaters, 1t being one of the coun-
try's laws that each theater per-
NIT at least one broadcast each
week from its stage.
John Irving Fisher, pianist ex-
traordinary and master of cere-
monies at the Fox Theater, tells
the story of parlor soprano who,
after her debut before the micro
phone, received a telegram from
a radio listener in a distant city
which read:
"Your voice makes static a
pleasure"
4 4 + 4
Emo Rapee, well known SYM
phonic and operate conductor,
whose orchestra is playing under
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