Evening star., 1930-11-30
RADIO ANTITRUST
CLAMOR RECEDES
Claim of Major BroadCasters,
Who Anticipate No Further
Legislative Correctives.
BY MARTIN CODEL.

BY MARTIN CODEL.
;, Americas Fifth Estate" approaches
the forthcoming short session of Con-
gress, which convenes tomorrow and
expires March 4, with little of the
trepidation that has marked its previ-
Gus attitude toward the legislative rulers
of radio
For one thing, the major broadcast
erS-nearly 200 of them-are more than
ever homogeneously organized in their
National Association of Broadcasters,
which concluded it's recent Cleveland
convention by appointing Philip @.
Loucks, young Washington attorney and
former newspaper man, as its manag-
ing director and ordering its heldquar-
terS removed from New York to WASH
ington.
For another, the hue and cry over
the radio trust has been hecded by
the Department of Justice to tho extent
that an antitrust case is being prose-
cuted in the Federal Courts. Conse-
quently, that industrial aspect of radio
is more or less out Of the hands of
Congress and may no longer be expected
to obscure the pressing problems Of
broadcasting, which are much nearer to
the interests of the average citizen.
Facing Crucial Season.
Radio broadcasting. nevertheless, faces
q crucial interval between the opening
of the lanle-duck session and the Or
ganization of the Seventy-sec0nd Con-
gress in December, 1881. Many and
complex are its domestic and interna-
tional problems, and these are consider
ably ramified by the political situation
which will determine whether there will
be new outcropping Of radio leaders
In Congress.
The recent elections have by no
means definitely settled the congress
sional leadership. While Senator Couz-
ems, progressive Republican, of Michi-
gan, is more than likely to retain his
Craftsmanship of the Senate committee
in charge of radio. there is a surety that
the House committee chairmanShi will
pass from Representative Wallace White.
jr, of Maine, who has been elected to
the Senate.
Republican control of the House
would give the important House COM
mittee assignment to Representative
Frederick Lehlbach Of New Jersey, an
advocate of high-power brosdcasting,
but not to the exclusion OF smaller local
or regional stations-for Representative
Lehlbach and his State have strong
views on State rights over radio. Demo-
cratic control of the lower chamber
will automatically give the chairman
ship to representative Even Davis OF
Tennessee, author of the Davis zone
and State equalization amendment.
opponent of high-power brCadcastlng
and profound critic of the Federal
Radio Commission.
If perchance the Democrats should
organize the Senate, the ranking Dem.
ocrat who would become chairman OF
Senator Couzens' Committee on In
terstate Commerce is Senator Ellison
D. Smith of South Carolina. Then
there is more than probability that
Senator-eIect White will try to get an
assignment to that committee because
of his previous connection with radio
in the House; wherefore there VIII be
an interesting and merry battle over
radio leadership in the upper chamber
between Senator Dill, Democrat, and
Senator White. Republican, with Sena-
tor Couzens' influence as progressive
by no means slight.
Shifts Not Due at Early Date.
However, al these shifts will not
take place for a year to come and
even the intervening lame duck session
will not be without its interest in radio.
On the international side Congress in
evitably must take cognizance OF the
growing opposition of Canada and
Mexico. particularly the latter, against
the "squatter sovereignty" exercised
over the major portion of the broad
casting spectrum by the United States.
American dominance Is readily eX-
planned: American inventive genius
and business enterprise have been
quickest to realize the potentialities
of radio.
on the other hand, the lights of other
nations to a share of the broadcasting
facilities cannot be di-missed as mere
academic theory. In fact, Mexico
already is building stations on the
channels now occupied by stations in
the United States and Canada, with
much resultant interference to the
latter. Canada has been more passive
in its demands. But the TACT remains
that diplomatic negotiations for new
division of facilities must soon take
place between the North American ma
tions-and the fact also remains that,
unless new facilities are somehow
found, they may be taken away from
this country.
Some see the widening of the broad
casting band to include more chsnneS
as a solution; others think technical
advances, such as synchronization OF
chains of stations on identical wave
lengths or narrowing the paths OF
broadcast transmission, may solve the
problems before the legislators and
diplomats need to be called upon.
Domestic Phase Considered.
On the domestic side the problem OF
high power, overcrowded channels and
sectional rights have been complicated
by the demand of organized educators
for more and better broadcssting as
signments in the interests Of educa-
tional programs. They intend going TO
Congress to recommend the permanent
assignment to them exclusively OF az
least Is per cent of all the broadcast
wave lengths, which means, again, un-
less new technical advances come soon,
that these must be taken away from
those who now have them.
The Broadcasters' Association nat
urally opposes the educators demands
and q merry fight is in prospect here
a fight between those now intrenched
in broadcasting and sustaining them
selves by selling time" and those who
want to gain new or stronger footholds
in broadcasting because they think
they can do a superior job in the non
entertainment fields. Among the latter
aIso-ard they are no inconsidereble
facter-Sre the lahor people and the
agricultural interest, not to say re-
ligious interests, who feel that they,
too, should be recognized with allot-
nents Of channels that will give them
radio outlets