Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-22
WAVE LENGTH WAR
WITH MEXICO NEAR
New Stations Across River
May NeCessitate Calling
of Radio Farley.
BY MARTIN CODEL.

V v VAR en- the wave lengths I'M
pends with Mexico. Chao:
NV in North American broad
casting may result not only
from the 75,O00-watt station
recently placed in operation just acros!
the border from Del Rio, Tex, by DR.
John r. Brinkley, the former Kansa!
medico- broadcaSter, whose license wa!
revoked by the Federal Radio Commits
sion. but from the half dozen or more
other stations now reliably reported tt
be in the course of construction on the
Mexican side of the Rio Grande.
American and Canadian radio ON
Gals now have a ''gentlemen's agree
ment" between themselves as to dlvl'
sion of the limited number OF radle
Wayes-an agreement to which Mexico
is not a party, for the reason that II
has consistently failed to send delegates
to the North American radio negotia-
lions of the last five years. AS matters
are now developing. the United States
and Canada may be forced 10 1nVlte
parIey with Mexico regarding the radio
situation.
Built by u. S. Capital.
An interesting aspect of the pending
war of the wave lengths is the fact that
American capital is largely responsible
for the erection or proposed erection oil
the new stations on the Mexican bor-
der. These stations are ostenSibly fol
service to the Mexican populace, but
obviously they are designed to be heard
by Americans far and near. The num-
Der of radio sets in all Mexico, from
best available data, does not equal the
more than $1,000 sets reported In the
recent radio census In the state OF
Texas alone.
Mexico appears to be licensing new
corners without let or hindrance, plac-
ing them on midchannelS of the 10
kiiocycle separations now in force be-
tween stations operating on adjacent
wave lengths in the United States and
Canada. The Brinkley station. Tor ex-
ample, can be heard regularly in many
parts of the United States on the 1885,
SilocycIe channel, which Is midway be-
tween the 730 kilocycles of CKAC, Mon
treal, and the TAO kilocycles of WSB,
Atlanta. Reports are that it is inter-
fering with both these stations, and
engineering advice is that 5-kilocycle
separation Is not sufficient, at least
where such high power Is used.
Some of the builders Of the new
Mexican stations, like Br1nkley, are
Jealous in their purpose Of operating
them as advertising media for a profit.
Others are suspected of playing sort
Oh IuJdCk bdL1Cp LhdO ASI NtAOJ o. =
building cheap outfits, which they
threaten to place on or near wave
lengths being used by prosperous Amer
lean stations in the hope that they will
be bought off.
Mexico o. KID BrinkIey.
The names of the builders Of the
additional stations along the Rio
Grande are not known, nor are reports
available as to the locations or the
wave lengths to be used. Federal
agents, however, have been watching
developments, and are reporting to the
Department of Commerce, the Radio
Commission and the State Department.
These are the American agencies that
must shortly join with Canada to con-
fer with Mexican officials to clear up
the situation.
In the meantime, however. the agents
are powerless to act, for the Mexican
government is a sovereign power. Mex
leo has readmitted Brinkley, who is now
on the air regularly over his XER, at
Villa Acuna, despite the fact that the
Mexican government was informed by
the American State Department that
Brinkley was ordered off the air be-
cause his medical advice broadcastS
were regarded as inimical to the public
health. Brinkley has resumed his
medical question box" over XER, and
the letters he gets come mainly from
listeners in the States.
Now that Brinkley Is again persona
grata" with Mexico-for he was barred