Evening star., 1934-11-18
BY THE RADIO EDITOR.

RETURN to the silent nlghts
n of eight or ten years ago-but
Il for reasons different from
4 A those that impelled broadcast
ing stations to shut down Ger
tain evenings SO that diStance-dlalers
might try their luck at reception from
far-away stations-is advocated as a
necessary and proper curb upon radio
by Irving Caesar, Broadway song
writer and music publisher.
Upon the stay-at- home habits al
iegedly induced by radio, Caesar
blames much Of the diminution OF
purchasing power that causes depres-
sions. He insists that because they
prefer to sit comfortably before their
radios at home, people wear out less
shoes, suits and evening gowns, con-
sumo less gasoline and tires-and, not
of least Importance to Caesar, attend
theaters less frequently.
Caesar discussed the subject before
the Federal Communications Commits
sion last week. THE Lethargy of Ra-
diocracy" was really the theme of the
paper he delivered before the three
broadcast commissioners by this able
citizen of Tin-Pan Alley, although he
chose to title it more prosaically: "Ra-
dio and Its Reaction on Buying
Power"
His whole thesis was that radio in
duces the sedentary habit, and he
wants Uncle SaH to do something
about it. His conclusion being that
''silence is indeed golden he sug-
gested occasional 24-hour periods of
abstinence or holidays" from dial
spinning. Thus, he AYERS, our Nation
of "sitters" might find time to take
more walks and rides, to window shop
and to buy and wear out more cloth
ing.
Supported by Figures.
It was a learned and philosophical
discussion that the officials heard, bull
warked by imposing tables of statis-
tics derived from the Government S
own as well as from industry sources.
For example, computing an hours au-
dience of all radio stations and net
works as 40,000000 persons, We get "a
total of 4O,000,O00 hours spent mac
lively as the price paid for this one
1ICC CIllCI ctSSoA NAA
to Caesar. Reckoning that 10000, 600
people devote 2la hours each day to
their radios, we get 100,000,000 hours
per day of inactivity that might other
wise be spent in consuming goods
indeed, in consuming the goods adver-
tised by radio itself!
Take the shoe industry. Caesar
took it and estimated, more conserv-
atively, the loss Of 100000 shoe
hours" daily. The life of pair of
shoes being $500 hours, he calcu-
lated that the shoe industry thus
loses a market for 5000 pairs of shoes.
Take the clothing industry. Caesar
took it and, reckoning the life of a
SIS suit as 5000 hours, the clothing
industry loses a potential replace
ment demand of 5000 suits worth
$4,000.
Even more obvious to Caesar is the
example of gasoline consumption. As
suming that of a 100000 radio
audience, 100000 car owners have
kept their machines inactive, the gas
oline industry loses a potential de-
mand to replace about 100000 gal
Ions of gasoline. Like calculations"
he continued, may be made 'mutatis
mutandis' with respect to a variety of
other industries that fall within the
same group"
Music Dies Quickly.
Even the fact that the radio in
dustries employ hundreds of thou
sands of workers does not compensate,
in Caesars mind, for the loss in the
production and consumption of con-
sumner goods traceable to "the 1eth-
argy of radiocracy" Nor, of course,
is it any secret that attendance at
theaterS and motion picture palaces
has been curtailed to the point CT
throwing ownerships into bankruptcy
and hundreds of thousands of stage
hands, musicians. electricians, actors
and ushers out of employment.
1t is even less of secret among
the radio fraternity that the rapid
consumption" of popular songs, such
as Caesar writes and publishes, Is
blamed upon radio, with resultant
loss in sheet music sales and COM
poser royalties.
Whether the Washington powers
can remedy the situation by fiat, is
something else again. Silent nights"
on the air, in Caesars opinion, have
their precedents in national edicts
calling for "gasolineless Sundays" and
''meatless Mondays" and "sugarless
Tuesdays" so to speak. Mr.. Average
Citizen cannot be trusted to break
himself aWav from the Sedentary
habits induced by radio: therefore, it
is argued, Uncle Sam might period
ically remove the temptation for the
benefit of Government. of industry
and of the people themselves, for
they really don't know what is good
or bad for them.