Evening star., 1936-02-02
Bv the Radio Editor.


r TUEY LONGS voice came
sounding over the Louisiana
wave length the other night
4 4 one of the late Senator's
typical radio speeches, tnterspersed
with his campaign song, Every Man
. King'-and it probably had a lot
to do with holding the State for the
Long machine in the Democratic
primary. Voice and music came from
. recording made shortly before Sem
ator Long was assassinated last Sum-
mer, q recording whose utilitarian
value in the Louisiana primaries
offers some hint of the historical value
of so-called recorded libraries" Of
voices of other world notables both
living and dead.
Yet, oddly enough, the American
radio people have been tagging far
behind those Of other countries,
notably the British and Germans, in
building up archives Of recordings
from which they might some day re-
peat momentous broadcasts not only
of speeches, but of exceptional pro-
grams of all sorts, including descrip-
tions of historical events reported
by radio commentators.
Only now are the radio networks
and stations beginning to install
recording machines, but they don't
say much about 1t. On the part OF
the networks, the reason apparently
Is their continued aversion toward
recorded programs as against 1--WE
talent" The big networ1 organiza-
tions have rigid rules that recordings
may be used onlv as incidental sound
effects" or background to live" pro-
ductions, although individual stations
are turning more and more toward
so-called electrical transcriptions as
Q source 0. program supply.
Il ING GEORGES recent death and
the accession of King Edward to
the British throne recalled to Lewis
Windmuller, operator of recording
service in Washington which has
transcribed some of Longs speeches,
that his company's library includes
complete file of last years jubilee
broadcast from all parts of the empire
in honor of the reign of the late
monarch. The recordings include
King Georges speech and those Of
other world notables as they were
heard ON the American radio and
recorded "off the air."
Windmuller also has record Of
fthe late Rudyard kiplings last broad
cast speech to America, and not long
ago the Belgian Embassy in Wash
tngton procured from him disk Of
the last broadcast speech of the for
mer King Of the Belgians. The COL
lection of recorded speeches and events
In Windmuller's library has also sup
piled similar requests from the Rus
sian, French and Japanese Embassies.
WHY haven't the radio companies
preserved their more important
broadcasts for posterity, especially for
possible repetition in later years as
historical programs? The answer is
that they are now getting around to
it-years after the British and Ger
man broadcasting companies pointed
the way. From England comes a re-
port that the British Broadcasting
Corp. has even acquired mobile
recording unit which can be rushed
to the scene of big public events in
order to record the words and sounds,
for the British radio impresarios do
not share the antipathy toward
canned program" heretofore dis
played by their American brethren.
The B. B. C. explains in its an
nual review for 1885 it has acquired
this equipment "to enable events or
speeches which cannot be broadcast
at the time they occur, or which war
rant reproduction at better listen
ing hour, to be cut, edited and re-
produced later as q summary impress
sion Of the whole. This method Of