Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-01
Behind the Microphone
BY THE RADIO EDITOR.

| tons which will start or stop the
radio or photograph, adjust their
volumes, switch on or of any one
of four loud speakers and tune
any one of eight stations. The
control box is connected to the
instrument by a flexible cord or
may be built into the wall.
X \ y
A FEDERAL sales tax on radio
receiving sets to aid in boil
stering the Nations depleted rev.
enues is under consideration by
the Treasury Department, and
may be proposed to Congress next
December in new internal rev.
enue schedule.
With several million sets sold
annually, internal revenue ex-
pertS have decided that a small
tax on set sales would yield sub
stantial revenue and yet not be
felt either by the public or the in
duStry. They are inclined to
classify radio as q Semi-luxury,
like jewelry, automobile, and con-
fections, and in these times, when
the Treasury faces q deficit eSti-
mated at $4,000, 000, 900 for the
current year, it is deemed desir-
able to levy an excise duty Of this
nature. Congressional action, Of
course, Is necessary.
| A sales tax, it was emphasized
at the Treasury, is not to be con-
| fused with O license tax on re-
ceiving sets. There is no thought
Of levying annual license fees, as
is done in most every other coun-
try to defray the costs Of main
tanning the governmentally Op-
Grated systems. If adopted, the
tax here simply would be on the
retail price OF the new set.
$3.50
EXCEEDING even the giant six
= foot tubes used by KDKA,
Pittsburgh, in testing radio powers
up to 40O, 900 watts, the highest
| ever used in broadcasting, is the
SOC, 000-watt tube that has been
constructed for the British Post
Office Departments transatlantic
station at Rugby. Described as
"a continuously evacuated valve, y
the British tube, q giant counter
part Of the ordinary receiving set
tube, but used only for high
power transmitting purposes, is
said to be the largest in the world.
It was recently displayed at the
Faraday Exposition in London by
the Metropolitan Vickers, Ltd,
its manufacturers.
Photographs Of the tube reveal
that 1t stands not much higher
than q man. It does not stand as
high as the Westinghouse tube,
but appears to have at least
double the diameter. Claims
made for 1t far exceed those for
the Westinghouse tubes, which
are rated at 100000 watts. The
latter are rated as 400 times as
powerful as the tubes used In the
average radio station and $4,000
times as powerful as ordinary re-
ceiving tubes. Westinghouse has
conducted it's superpower expert
ments after midnight on the
KDKA wave length.
~
ECHOES Of the day not long ago
when certain Self-Selected
sooth-Sayers blamed the drought
on radio waves and asked the
Weather Bureau to declare q
moratorium on all radio trans
mission have been heard by the
League of Nations. Some one has
written to Geneva asking that all
European hroadcasting be stopped
for five or six weeks to determine
whether radio IL responsible for
the prevailing wet weather. The
signer Of the letter urged the ap-
pointment Of competent COM
mission" to make observations of
the climate conditions during the
radioless lull and then to publish
a report that would either con-
denim or acquit the radio waves.