Evening star., 1934-05-16
WIRE CODE'SF0ES
ATTACK METHODS
AIRED AT HEARING
N. R. A. Questions Extent of
Propaganda Employed to
FruStrate Control.
WESTERN UNION HEAD
SOUNDS REVOLT CRY
Says Company Will Not Willingly
Accept Terms-Sarnoff
Favors U. S. Rule.

BY the Associated Press.
Whether Western Union Telegraph
Co. engaged in an unfair use of
propaganda against the proposal to
impose a code on the telegraph in
duStry became the center Of dispute
today at an N. R. A hearing.
Howard L. Kern. Postal Telegraph
executive, contended Western Union
had done so.
j. C. Willever, first vice president
of Western Union, testified he had
left it to the discretion of our local
people to advise those who would be
affected by the proposed code"
Meanwhile, at the Capitol, David
Sarnoff. president of the Radio Cor
poration of America. told the House
Interstate Commerce Committee he
hoped Congress would establish a
central commission with full control
over communications.
Senate Approves Bill.
Legislation to create a commnica-
tionS commission was passed yester-
day by the Senate. House approval
is expected shortly.
At the N. R. A. hearing before
Leighton H. PEBBLES, a deputy ad-
ministrator. r. B. White, Western
Union president, said his company
will not willingly agree" to the pro-
posed code. Postal favors it.
PEBBLES questioned Willever at
length concerning kilograms sent by
the company to clients for the pur-
pose of eliciting protests against the
code.
PEBBLES asked if at least 10000 tele-
grams had not been sent out.
Il think that is grossly exag-
gerated," replied Willever.
PEBBLES said he had received copies
of such messages which had been sent
to persons whose telegraph bills did
not exceed 81 month.
Maybe" observed the telegraph
Official. II cannot account for indis-
cretions of subordinates."
Holds Terms Unbearable.
Willever maintained that the pro-
posed 40-hour work week with mini
mum wages, following the usual Presi-
dents unemployment agreement scale,
based on SIS in the larger cities, would
be financially unbearable on the basis
of present earnings"
Western Union, he said, would be
driven Immediately into heavy deficit.
A tentative estimate, which he said
probably was incomplete, placed the
I,a- l. -
at least s8,000.000 a year"
Willever contended the present 48-
hour week averaged over four weeks,
instituted in response to the Blue
Eagle campaign, was working great
hardship on the company at periods
when heavy files of low-rate messages
had to be moved.
White was the first witness among
the more than 100 business represent
atives who had applied for hearing,
most Of them in opposition to N. r.
AS proposal for an imposed code.
I'VE most strenuously object" said
White Ito injecting in the long-estab-
liShed rate arrangement of this coun-
try provisions which We know will add
unnecessary and increased burdens to
telegraph users, will bring no increase
in revenue. and seriously injure the
telegraph system by driving a large
number of users from it entirely"
Postal Plot Charged.
The Western Union head said Postal
Telegraph, the one company urging a
fair competition code, was doing SO
"in the hope they will produce a stu
alton which will either force a con-
solidation of the telegraph companies.
now prohibited by Federal law. or for
the Government to take over the
properties from their present owners
at the expense of taxpayers"
N. r. A., although not finally
committed to forcing telegraph code
has taken the line that if labor cannot
obtain better wages, shorter hours and
more jobs as things are, perhaps dras-
tic action will help.
In the matter of an N. r A. code
Postal Telegraph insists that abuses
of fair practices exist in communica-
tions. Principal points of attack in
the code under hearing today in
cluded:
A. T. & T.'s unregulated teletype
service, leased to private corporations
for unlimited telegraphic use and ex-
tended free by many of the clients to
their customers; Western Unions ex-
elusive use of many railroad terminals
and rights of way. with concessions
at hotel lobbies and other public
places from which Postal is excluded.