Evening star., 1934-06-17
JULY | WILL SEE
NEW COMMISSION
President Awaits Adjourn.
ment to Appoint Com
munications Group.
BY MARTIN CODEL.

States. 1t is as though Uncle Sam,
tired OF his old car. in this case the
Radio Commission, has ordered a new
and higher powered machine, with
the modern appurtenances and CAD
gets that go with 1t.
Delivery" Of the machine Is
scheduled for July /, when the Radio
Commission "a very much used and
abused car" that has been hard
driven, especially in political sense,
for exactly seven years and four
months) goes into the discard and
the new Federal Communications
Commission goes into operation under
the law finally enacted by Congress
Hast week end.
| The questions now arise, who will
drive this machine, what are its
powers and whittier will 1t head?
President Roosevelt has let 1t be
known that he will not make any
appointments to the new seven-man
commission until Congress adjourns.
When he does name them the law
calls for commissioners with respec-
tive terms of one to seven years. After
each term expires the appointment
In each case is to be for seven years.
This will make for security of tenure
then, but the mere fact of recess ap-
pointments lends to an immediate
uncertainty Of tenure that may open
the new commission to the same
charges Of political duress that have
been leveled at the Radio Commits
sion for the last few years.
Commissioners Uneasy.
Right now the sitting members of
the Radio Commission, all eager for
appointment to the new body, are on
tenterhooks, as is nearly every one of
the 100 or more members Of the
Radio Commission staff, in spite of
the natural presumption that the
civil service employees will be taken
( over. The new law calls for four
| Democratic and three Republican
commissioners. each to get $4,000 a
year, with the President naming the
| chairman. The other non-civil
service or political jobs. appoint
mentS Of the commission itself but
usually made with the assent of the
administration. are to be the seven
/ commissioners secretaries at $4,000,
a general counsel and chief engineer
at $1,000, three assistant counsels and
engineers at $500, the secretaryship
Of the commission at $500 and the
| divisional directors at $500.
Under the law the commission will
| divide itself into natural divisions.
probably D broadcasting. ~ wire
and radio telephones and 81 wire
and radin falanranhe
heads will render decisions, but re-
hearings and final determinations
may be sought from the full COM
mission. -s,
President Roosevelts intentions
with respect to the new commits
sioners are known only to himself.
The outgoing radio commissioners
Sykes and Hanley. Democrats. and
Lafount and Brown, Republicans
are candidates Each has strong
backing, in several cases bipartisan.
and their chances are enhanced by
their experience and the fact that
the new commission is to be composed
of seven men.
Representative Prall, New York.
Democrat, who was appointed some
AAANAiOAAc oSO W LII l4lC NdOdhOl Otl lllC
Radio Commission but preferred to
finish out his term in Congress and
so never took Office. is practically
certain OF appointment to the Com
munications Commission. He is
backed by Senator Wagner of New
York. He will not be a candidate
for reelection to Congress. He must
wait until next year. however, before
he can take office, inasmuch as the
law does not permit a member of
Congress to go on a commission Gre
ated during his legislative tenure /
Other candidates include:
Capt. S. C. Hooper, chief of naval
communications, a native Of Cali
fornia. political afflliation unknown.
Capt. Hooper has for three years been
eligible for retirement after 80 years
of naval service. and is one of the
country's outstanding authorities on
both wire and wireless communities
tons
Public Service Official.
Milo r. Maltbie, chairman of the |
New York State Public Service Com
mission, to which he was appointed
by the then Gov. Roosevelt. He |
served on that commission also from
1907 to 1915, after Which ne was
for three years chamberlain of New
York City. During the war he was
with the War Industries Board and
Shipping Board in Washington. He
is one of the Nations outstanding
authorities on public utilities.
-
from 1929 to 1881 was special counsel
for the Senate Interstate Commerce
Committee investigating radio. Backed |
by Senator Nye. he is a liberal Re- |
publican, who from 1928 to 1928 was |
an assistant United States district at |
torney at Fargo, N. Oak He also is |
indorsed by independent telephone |
interests |
j. H. Buckley. chief accountant of |
the Wisconsin Public Service Commits |
sion, said to be backed by Senator |
La Toilette. He was once an account |
ant with the Federal Trade Commits |
sion.
Irwin w. Stewart international !
radio expert of the Department of |
State, a former instructor at the |
OuAfCAolty VI 4CAdo, odiu w VIC III
dorsed by Representative Rayburn,
co-author of the new law.
Orville Smith, Cleveland attorney,
former judge of the Common Pleas
Court of Henry County, Ohio. Judge |
Smith is a Republican, who in 1926
was chairman of the Ohio Campaign /
Committee. Senator Bulkley Of Ohio
has indicated support for him unless
an unnamed Democrat he prefers is
favorably considered by the Presi-
dent.
Homer Hoch of Marion, Kans., for
mer Republican member of Congress,
defeated in the 1882 Democratic land
slide after seven terms In Congress
He is regarded as an authority on
public utilities.
There has been some talk of Gov.
William c. Comstock, Democrat, of
Michigan, who, however, is definitely
slated to run for reelection to the
governorship. Mentioned as a posi-
bilitV also is Even 7, Davis nf Ten /