Evening star., 1933-12-14
WIRE AND RADIO
MERGER STUDIED
Fewer EpochaI Changes
Seen by Administration
Than Indicated.
~ the Associated Press.

~ Lie hsSoSldISQ EEeSS
The proposed welding of national
communication facilities into a single,
tntegrated system appeared to admins
tration officials today to call for fewer
epochal changes than the significance
Of such step would indicate.
AS a report suggesting consolidation
under Federal supervision, made to
President Roosevelt by an Interdepart-
mental Committee, was studied carefully
in interested administration quarters
there was no denial that such action
would encounter formidable obstacles.
Virtual Monopoly Seen. PM
But attention was directed toward q
virtual monopoly already existing in
telephony and to previous careful con-
sideration of unification by some of
the powerful companies in other COM
munication fields. ....,
Antitrust laws prevent an absolute
monopoly at present in telephony,
radio and telegraphy, but have not stop
ped a concentration. Competition has
been preserved. yet there has been a
distinct Intervening of facilities.
American Telephone & Telegraph
Go. dominates telephone communica-
t1on, controlling with its investment
of some $4,o00,00O,0 900 all but a small
percentage of the nearly 10000, 900
telephones in the country.
Western Union and Postal Telegraph
occupy almost alone the domain of
telegraphy. Radio Corporation of
America, with it's subsidiaries, it out
standing in the one remaining medium
Linking the three communication
fields into a semblance of unity even
phone wires to telegraph companies
and the Radio Corporation. the lease of
telegraph wires to the latter.
Whether this community of interests
might be used as a basis for bringing
all three systems into one govern
mentally supervised service will not be
determined until the Interdepartmental
Committees report has been carefully
scrutinized by Chairman Dill of the
Senate and Chairman Rayburn of the
House Interstate Commerce Commit
tees These committees would handle
any measure looking toward COM
munication merger.
Government Monopoly Gets o. X.
The Interdepartmental Committee
has not yet made final recommenda-
tionS but leans toward the view that
monopoly under strict Government reg
ulation is preferable to outright Gov
ernment ownership of communications
or continuation of present conditions.
That legislation demanding a COM
munication unification will be proposed
In the impending session of Congress
is taken for granted. Whether it will
have administration backing Is the
question.
Secretary of Commerce Roper, chair
man of the Interdepartmental Com
mittee, agreed with the White House
that an assembling of the evidence
gathered would show that almost every
one of the IL committee members ia
vored trend toward monopoly SUBJ
jected to strict Federal supervision.
The other alternatives listed in the
report to Mr.. Roosevelt were continu-
alton of the present arrangement, or
outright Government ownership. It
was indicated the facts gathered would
show change was needed, but that
the chance should not put the Gov
eminent in the communications busi-
ness.
Members of the Interdepartmental
Committee, in addition to Dill, Ray
burn and Roper, are DR.. w. M. w.
Splawn, communications expert of the
House Interstate Commerce Commit
tee; DR.. Irwin Stewart of the State
Department, Lieut.. Comdr. E. M.
Webster, Treasury Department; Maj.
Gen. Irving Carr, War Department;
Capt. S. C. Hooper, Navy Department;
Maj. Gen. c. NICK. Saltzman, Com
merce Department; DR.. j. H. Dellinger,
Bureau of Standards, and Herbert L.
Pettey, Federal Radio Commission.
The views of David Sarnoff on
Americas communication system prob
ably Will be reflected in any permanent
legislation on that subject.
Many of the changes that the AZ
year-old president of Radio Corporation
of America has long urged may be
found In the Interdepartmental Com
mittee's report.
United States Control Advocated.
Sarnoff, who began his career as a
messenger boy for a cable company
back in 1906, has consistently advocated
q single governmental agency to regu-
late telephone, telegraph, and radio and
other measures to eliminate wasteful
competition. He was at the White
House recently and that gave him an
opportunity to present his ideas to the
President.
He outlined his ideas in an address
before the Army Industrial College last
May f.
Briefly he suggested that:
l. Voice communication by telephone
be maintained as a separate unified
system using wires, cables or radio.
2. Internal and external communica-
tion of record be merged into unified
system using wires, cable or radio.
g. A single governmental agency
should be established with sufficient
power to regulate American commune
cation companies, in the public interest.