Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-13
L NEW STATIONS
SEEK AIR SPACE
Requests Come as Commits.
sion Tries to Fit 600 Broad.
casters Into 80 RoadWays.
BY ROBERT MACH.

AS the Federal Radio Commission
spars with the problem of trying to
make more than 900 broadcasting sta
tons At into 90 roadways of the ether
without squawks and howls for the
listener, a big parade of applicants who
aspire to operate new stations Is form
ing.
The high-Water mark was reached
Wednesday. No less than IL applicants
from various sections of the country
swarmed into the commission ONCE.
And, although that board acts upon
these requests as rapidly as possible,
almost invariably denying them, there
are some 200 pending.
The high record, by strange twist
! of events, came just as Commissioner
Harold A. Lafount was deploring the
congestion in the broadcast band. In
speech Wednesday night before the
"inquirendo," q club of high officials
of the Government, the diplomatic
corps and professional men, he traced
all Of the broadcaSting ills, economic as
well as technical, to the jamming OF
stations into the very limited number OF
ether channels.
The commission has never seen the
| wisdom of an arbitrary reduction in the
station population, although engineers
say it is the only practicable remedy.
There would be tremendous repercus-
sion from the folks at home" which
would reach the commission by way OF
Congress. And that is to be avoided
| always.
Suggests More Elbow Room.
All of the heterodynes and squeals
F. that harraSs the listener, Mr.. Lafount
said, could be eliminated II there was
more elbow room. Broadcasting Is not
generally profitable, he stated, because
Of the fierce competition between sta
tons in certain localities, and has re-
suited in the presentation Of mediocre
| programs with an excessive amount OF
advertising"
Radios grasp on the people, its
powerful influence on public opinion
| and q general lack of understanding as
to the expense and obligations involved
| in operating a station are the factors
which unite in the ever-increasing de-
mand for licenses. There invariably Is
| the idea that easy money is to be made
in operating a station, and in some in
stances stations have panned out "a
gold mines"-but they are few.
Eleven Seek 1,OO0 Watts.
The applications for new stations
usually are for small local transmitters
although power up TO 1000 watts is
asked now and then. For example
three of the ii applications in the lat
est batch were for 1000 watts. The
odds are overwhelmingly against the
licensing of new stations of this order
of power, since virtually every State Il
over its broadcasting quota in regional
stations.
1.-THE commission is continuous!
working on the problem of improving
the ALLEGATION of stations" he said. II
has been suggested by some that larg'
number of local low power stations
would best serve the listening public
Others insist that cleared channels ar
wasteful and should be abolished, ant
regional stations allocated in their stead
This would result in reducing the aver
age number of stations operating OF
regional channels from four to thre
per channel.
st predict the day of even NOR
cleared channels with stations not Q
$4,000 watts but Of 100000 watts"
Copyright, 1880. by the Consolidated Press.