Evening star., 1933-11-26
RADIO ''OUTLAWS"
ON RUN IN TEXAS
Government Sends DaIrympIe,
Formerly of Prohibition
Bureau to Wage War.
BY MARTIN CODEL:

IeXaS WnGTe some 4U 10 ~ uIl-
~ licensed broadcasting stations
have sprung into being this
year, in almost as many of the States
far-f!ung communities. When the Of
tenders are ferreted out, which is rela-
lively easy with modern radio methods,
they not only show fight, but local
juries are inclined not to convict under
the radio laws heavy penalty OF a
$4,000 fine or five years in prison. or
both.
Two disagreeing juries last week
one in the case of the Government VS..
Rev. Sam Morris at Stamford, and the
other against Curry jackson at Abb
lene-Will not deter the Federal au-
thoritieS from their determination to
wipe out what they acidly refer TO
here as radio bootleggers," or Texas
outlaws" Prosecutions will continue,
1t is said, until each and every alleged
violator is off the air.
The Department of Justice, working
in collaboration with the Federal Ra-
dio Commission, has dispatched Maj.
A. v. Dalrymple, who was head of the
Prohibition Bureau until it was abol-
ished few months ago. to Texas to
work with Radio Commission lawyers
and engineers and with Federal dis
trict attorneys to clean out the out
law nests" Maj. Dalrymple last week
Joined Ben S. Fisher, assistant chief
counsel. ard Andrew D. Ring. broad
cast engineer of the Federal Radio
Commission, to map out q campaign.
Mr.. Ring was set to testify as tech
nical expert.
To Fight 1t Out.
They will fight 1t out above the Rio
Grande If 1t takes several Winters, ac-
- I'll
pie will probably stay in Texas after
the others return to their Washington
duties. He Is new to radio, but Wash
tngton thinks the cases against the Of
tenders are so clear that it is only
matter of time before the whole situ-
alton is cleared up.
The Texas trouble grows out Of the
inability of interests there to secure
wave length licenses from the Radio
stations are fairly easy to build, they
have "squatted" on wave lengths that
seem to them free of outside interfer-
ence and gone ahead operating like
any other privately owned stations, car
rying the usual gamut of phonograph
records local talent, commercial blurbS
and the like
The 80 or more existing stations in
Texas have complained and so have
many listeners thus shut off from tun-
ing in favorite distant stations The
commission says it cannot authorize
more stations in Texas because the
limited number Of wave lengths is al
ready overcrowded and because Texas
IS already 43 per cent overquota in its
due allotment OF broadcasting facili-
ties. 1t charges the outlaw" stations
with interfering with the operations
OF other stations in interstate COM
merce.
It is this interstate commerce argu-
ment that the Texans dispute. They
insist that their local stations are Of
such low powers that they cannot pos
sibly be heard outside the State. There
fore. they argue, their operations are
purely intrastate. AT least one United
States commissioner in Houston has re-
fused to bind over for indictment and
one Federal district attorney has re-
fused to ask indictment on charges
from Washington. Meanwhile, the
Texas operators have banded together
and built up war chest to see their
respective htigations through.
Washington insists that any station,
however small, inevitably falls in the
interstate category, and quotes the Fed
eral courts and a recent decision of the
United States Supreme Court to up
44OAO 40 F4C" 4SO OSdlC Lilies, Sdlu
the Supreme Court decision, divide the
radio waves and national regulation is
not only appropriate, but essential to
the efficient use of radio facilities. In
view Of the limited number of available
broadcasting frequenceS (Wave lengths) :,
the Congress has authorized ALLEGATIONS
and licenses The Radio Commission
has been set up as the licensing au-
thority and invested with broad powers
OF distribution in order to secure rea-
.sonable equality of opportunity in radio
transmission and reception"
Cases Against "Squatters."
Thus the radio authorities here say,
and the Attorney General concurS, that
they have clear-cut cases against the
"squatters." They maintain, moreover,
that no matter how low powered a sta
ton may be, its interfering effects may
be felt by other stations on the same
wave lengths in other States because
radio waves travel erratically and the
so-called SKY wave" may bounce back
from the upper atmosphere into almost
any place.
The criminal prosecutions against
Morris and Jackson were intended to
set examples for the others. The
Washington authorities are more in
clined to pursue permanent injunction
proceedings to shut down the stations
and forgive the offenders If they were
enormously advised by their lawyers.
One injunction proceeding Is awaiting
decision of master in Federal Court at
Fort Worth. 1t was prosecuted for two
weeks recently by the Radio Commits
sions general counsel, George Porter.
This particular case, Mr.. Porter says,
will also be prosecuted criminally next
month, the alleged offender being one
Henry Clay Allison, who operate Sta
ton KYRO IN that city without IL
cense.
The jury cases at Stamford and Abb
lene will be tried again, and big docket
of other equity and criminal cases is
that may take the whole Winter The
Radio Commission and Department OF
Justice won't give up until every last
one of the 40 to 70 stations Is taken of
the air. and even if their mushroom
growth continues, according to Mr.. Por-
ter. He confidently expects test de-
cision or two, both in equity and crlmi-.
nal procedure, to prove the Feoeral
Governments position.
If We can't get jury conVlctlons IN
Texas" said Mr.. Porter, I'VE VIII enJoln
each and every single operator OF an
unlicensed station even If 1t takes us 10
years and we have to file 10000 bllis
Of complaint It is physically impossi-
ble," he adds, ito operate any radio
station In intrastate commerce"