Evening star., 1934-07-15

White House executive offices. n
radio only 10 the most urgent m
importance that escapes his at
from land he may be, thanks TO
Regardless of the position Of the
Houston Il can radio direct 20 naval
Communications a. Warrington and
II can be reached directly from the
naval radio station At Arlington, just
across the Potomac from Washington
II President Roosevelt wants 70 fash
q rsdiogrsm n Secretary Mcintyre
or any one else in Washington. all
he does Is lot It down, hand il 10
his aide Lieut.. Harold c Pound. and
II is transmitted forthwith He can
get a reply within a matter Of min
utes. 50 complete and efficient is the
radio set-up at both ends
24-Hour Watch Maintained.
Lieut. Pound. in fact, was detailed
as White House aide from the Office
of naval communications, where he
IL STAFF officer. On board the
Houston he works in collaboration
with Lieut.. Comdr. r. p Briscoe
WHO ~ Ltt snip > bEAliio
officer and under whom the compile
ment Of radio and signal men work
At Washington. as on board the
Houston. a 24-hour radio watch is
maintained The contacts are via
short waves. all in the dot and dash
Morse code Messages are In plain
En-. hsh, except occasionally secret
message is in code to protect
against unwarranted tuners-in who
may be sble 10 read the ordinary
dots and dashes There is a heavy
penalty against unauthorized listen
inR-in II the messages are used for
private purposes.
So complete Is the Presidents iso-
iation that even the newspaper men
of the three press associations ac-
companying his party are not aboard
the Houston but are on the destroyer
Gilmer following II. Their stories are
carried via the Gilmer's radio to the
Houston and thence dispatched TO
the nearest shore radio station, from
which they are relayed via telegraph
TO their home Offices. The Gilmers
radio is not powerful enough. as is
the Houstons, to carry their files"
direct to Washington,
Does Not Lack for News.
With all this privacy President
Roosevelt does not lack for news
Complete digests Of the days news
are transmitted to all ships OF the
Navy wherever they may be every
morning at 2 o'clock. These are
mimeographed and made available
reads a news dispatch during the day
that he thinks his chief should also
read at once, he can file it on the
White House wire to the Office of
naval communications and it is
transmitted Immediately.
Nor does the President lack radio
entertainment If he chooses. In his
quarters aboard the Houston a high
power all-wave broadcast receiving
set has been installed, enabling him
10 tune in broadcaSting stations
within range. whether on the long or
short waves. There are numerous
broadcasting stations whose wave
characteristics enable them to be
heard especially well at sea. The
relay short waves are always available
as a standby, and the President can
tune in European and Far Eastern
stations quite readily if he chooses.
There is some talk of rebroadcast
over the networks of the Presidents
speech at Honolulu, though this has
not been definitely arranged as yet.
is oifnuafh
both of Honolulus broadcasting sta
tions are lirked via short waves with
the two big networks.
A. b. s. Soon Full Pledged.
TrHE name american BroadcaSting
l. System" will flash across the
ether as a full fiedged network by
the middle of August, feeding pro-
grams competitive with those of the
established networks to a group of
stations covering major cities. That
Is the promise of the sponsors of the
newest third network" project. This
time the promise is not regarded as
lightly as former enterprises of this
nature. for the men behind it are
practical broadcaSterS.
For several months A. B. S. has been
operating modeStly Sustaining pro-
grams have been supplied to a half
dozen stations along the Eastern
Seabosrd There has been a minimum
OF ballyhoo about the venture. lest the
wrong impression be given.
Now, however, George b Storer,
prominent broadcaSter from the Mid
die West. who is president of A. B. s.,
has formally announced to the in
duStry that A B, S. plans to begin
commercial operation of a complete
basic chain" by the middle of August
Arrangements are being made with
stations in major markets to serve as
A. B. s. outlets he said. but their
identity has not vet been disclosed.
Because Of the many other Ill
starred third chain" ventures, Mr.
Etorer has rubliSheS o brochure ont