The Washington times., 1931-10-28


graphs sent by telephone for parallel And the sec
ond parallel is instructive because within few months
after these first dotted pictures appeared eephoned
photographs became almost perfect in newspaper re-
productions
Natural Defects
This particular system of teevson projecting on a
ten-foot SCREEN is being simultaneously rushed into
theaters and into the stock markean entirely natural
development, quite like the exploitation of the first
takie mechanism. think it is idle to criticize the ad
mtted imperfections of the instrument. But there
two circumstances which bear thinking about and
am afraid that while the exploters will think and
talk great deal about one, they will probably neglect
the other entirely.
The Miracle
The first let call the miracle. We were told while
the apparatus being arranged around the
that we were witnessing something momentous COM
parable to the first flight of the Wright Brothers. the
first squawkng sounds over the radio; the first hating
flickering movements of the early silent movie. Well
this miracle made for money both impressed and did not
We in effect seeing through several dozen brick
walls fagrant violation of probability than hear
ing at distance of mile From the time of Stentor
it has been known that the human voice beyond
the average distance, and the who first cupped his
hands to his mouth showed that the sound could be
enlarged thrown farther later the sound duplicated
Even the movie not trick with sight was rapid
magic lantern and children we knew its principle
when fipped the edges of series of little photo
graphs to get the effect of cooch dancer.
Chost|y Visitations
Television is brilliantly against nature flying.
heard few months of Japanese engineer who was
taken to the Bell laboratories and invited into the tee
vision booth there An explanation had been given to
him. but his understanding of English imperfect and
he obviously expected only Improvement ordinary
telephony After he had been in the booth moment he
came staggering out, pale, terrified the phrase as if
he had ghost exactly describes his appearance and
received televsion the other day. We didn't We were
sympathetic with the difficulties of the engineers and
scared or exalted by the actual miracle we saw The
radio and the alke had taken the edge off excite
from will take the edge off the next STEP which is
instant audible and visual communication with anyone,
at anytime anywhere in the world.
To What Base Use?
Yet ourselves and calousness about miracles were
not entirely to blame think did recognize the great
of the achievement; willing to foresee
central theaterperhaps only stage with audience
and all over the country ten thousand other theaers in
which the elevsed reproduction from the central stage
would be observed 1t then that the second point
came ln
To what will teevision be put? Obviously to
the exploitation of visual beauty to the showing of
everything interesting to the eye. That is proper
Teevision runs hand in hand with radio is the movie
version of radio just the takes the radio version
OF the movies. And am pretty that for the next
ten elevson will be used for all the least inter-
ssng purposes, for all the cheapness and vugarity
which radio and the movies trying, little half
heartedly to eliminate.
a Sample Program
The first program had a five-minute scene from an
excellent serious play, "The House of Connolly" The
rest the most ordinary rehash of the talke short
and the radio broadcast of cheap songs, wisecracks
from the announcer, plugging; at the end trained
parrot which, under proddings, answered questions
Two personable young women sang. What is the
name of your song?" asked the announcer. always
in Your Arms" the answer or something like that
II wish it true, replied the announcer (Cue for
laughter) You will hardly believe that all this is even
more disaseful in television than it is the radio.
You probably imagine that nothing could be-
Hoovers Error
read some time ago the most serious criticism of
Herbert Hoover 1t not that he has made an in
effective President; can't be of that yet It
that when he had the power to regulate radio he
refused to do anything about it. because he said the
American people would stand for plugging of ad-
vertising the radio. So gave over this
miraculous instrument to commerce; we put it in the
hands of advertisers and must say that under PES
they have given us some fine things, but IMP.