Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-10
RADIO COMMISSION
MAY BE CONTINUED
Congress Action Before December
31-Would Avoid Repetition
of Chaos.

The impression is growing that Con-
gress will act some time prior to De-
cember 81, 1929, to extend the life of
the Federal Radio Commission as an
administrative body for another year,
rather than run the risk of a return
to the chaos which existed Just prior
TO the creation of the commission in
1927 AS the law stands the terms of
all the commissioners will expire at the
end of the present year, and on January
], 1880, the commission will become an
appellate body to listen to appeals from
the decisions of the Department of
Commerce, which is scheduled to take
over the licensing and other admin
istrative functions now exercised by the
commission.
Representative White of Maine, CO.
author of the original radio act, plans
TO introduce bill to extend the life
of the commission as now organized
However, Congress will have to act
with unusual speed to put this legisla-
ton through. 1t Is not expected that
the House will take the matter up
until the regular session, which begins
in early December. and If the Senate,
as now seems probable, is still strug-
CLING with the tariff bill at that time
there will be considerable difficulty
IN the way of putting a radio bill
through.
Those who favor extension of the
commission, however, are banking on
the fact that something must be done
by Congress or chaos will result The
Department of Commerce is not equip
ped at present to handle the work being
done by the commission and Congress
alone can provide that equipment. One
of the arguments advanced in favor of
prolonging the commissions admins
trative life is that litigation is now
pending before the Supreme Court of
the United States which, if decided adj
versely to the Government would dis
rupt the entire scheme of ALLEGATION
. or broadcaStiIg facilities now in opera
ton This Is the case Of station WGY
of Schenectady which has challenged
tbs commissions power to compel it
to share an assigned wave length with
another station. A decision of lower
court favors WGY. It is pointed out
that if WGY should be successful in
the Supreme Court there would arise
a need Immediately for commission
to attempt to unscramble the confusion
that would ensue
Another feature of the situation is
that there still remain many problems
in te- radio field to be solved, quite
aside from the regulation of broadcast
ing. For instance, the commission S
engineers are now experimenting with
the wave band running from $4,000
kilocycles upward, field as yet un-
touched Preliminary results are said
to indicate the possibility that chan
nels in this band may be used success
fully for commercial purposes. More
over there are the problems involved
in television, picture broadcasting, and
whole series of questions involving
various phases Of the short wave situa'
ton.
1t has been hoped that Congress:
might get around this year to per-
manent settlement of the radio regula'
ton problem by action on the bill o.
Senator Couzens of Michigan to set W
Commission on Communications
The Senate interstate commerce COM
mittee, however, has been diverted from
the radio phase Of this bill by compli
cations involving hydro-electric power
and its deliberations e=e expected to b.
prolonged well into 1880 at least.
(Copyright 1929. by the Consolidated Press