Evening star., 1932-04-03
TOW many of the great pub
4 licists Of the world-men

l. and women VINO are OICeIl
heard on the radio and
command instant audiences be-
cause of their personalities or
positionS-Would be engaged as
radio announcers if by some turn
of the wheel of fortune they
should need jobs and turn to
radio? This is a favorite Specula-
tive query addressed to officials OF
the broadcaSting networks when
questions arise concerning radio
voice quality or the relative merits
of various announcerS.
John Carlile, production direc-
tor of the Columbia Broadcasting
System, has some interesting opin-
ions of the radio voices OF many
of the worlds great who have been
heard on the air. And he speaks
with authority, since it. is part OF
his job to select new announcers.
"One of the finest voices on the
radio is that of Gov. Franklin D.
Roosevelt of New York" said Car
lille. "It is pleasant and clear,
with a pleasing infection. But,
above all, it has a tone of perfect
sincerity-a quality we consider
supremely essential in the voice
of any one aspiring to be a radio
announcer.
Former Gov. Alfred E. Smiths
voice is one entirely his own, and
obviously would not do on the air
for any one else.
Mayor Walkers voice probably
is one of the most colorful we have
ever observed. 1t is a free voice,
as ready and apt in the sounding
of sentences as is its possessor in
the framing of them.
President Hoover's voice Is
typical of a kind Of man who is
so often inarticulate as public
speaker. The engineer type, gen.
orally speaking, is seldom an in
teresting talker on the air. The
President has improved vastly
since his presidential campaign
days, but he still speaks to a
large audience with a deliberate
effort, which Is betrayed by the
acute microphone. The impor-
tance of a Presidents utterances,
however, will always insure the
largest possible kind of listening
audience, no matter what the
quality Of his radio voice may be-
Leopold StokoWSki'S voice is in
teresting and compelling through
the use of skillful deliberateness
Naturally, StokowSki's accent,
were it to come to us as part of
an unknown persons equipment
would initiate against his &C
ceptableneSS as an announcer"
IF Congress adopts the proposals
= of Senators Dill of Washington
and Howell of Nebraska, that its
halls be wired for broadcasting,
the United States will be the sec
ond nation in the world whose
federal lawmakers permit their
verbal deliberations to be heard
on the radio. The British Parlia-
ment and the German Reichstag
in recent years have definitely re-
jected all proposals that they
broadcast their proceedings. But
not so Russia, whose All-Union
Congress of SovietS is heard on
the air every time it meets for its
biennial sessions.
Prospects for broadcasting the
Senate loomed bright following
hearings by the Rules Committee,
at which the Dill-HoWen proposals
were heard. Practically all the
members of the committee, which
guides legislation in the Upper.
House, were favorably inclined to-
ward the proposition. Network
officials and engineers told them
the plan was entirely feasible
using parabolic microphoneS hid
den in the walls, and the networks
promised the members time on the
air without cost. The only ex-
pense involved would be about
$4,000 for equipping the cham
ber.
Whether legislation can be
enacted this session authorizing
the installation of radio facilities
Is problematical, although Senator
Dill expects to press for it. He is
confident that the Senate, if not
the House, will 60 on the air with
in the next year or two. The Sen
atorS indicated they did not ex-
pect to monopoliZe the ether to
the exlusion Of other programs
while they were in session, but
would be satisfied to use the radio
only on special occasions.
FORTY international broadcaSts,
presenting Presidents and
premiers, prominent ecclesiaStics
and scientists. economists and