Evening star., 1936-08-16

intends to take advantage of the law
to secure time on the air-and 1t Will
pay for it just as the Republicans and
Democrats are paying for political
time.
Already the Communists have
booked time on the two N. B. c. net
works for a series of nine weekly late
evening periods starting September Z,
and have announced their intention
of seeking local time on local stations
for their candidates now on speaking
tours. 1t is more than likely that N
B. c. studios will have to be guarded
by police and plain clothes men while
the Communist broadcast, just as the
c. B. S. studios were guarded against
demonstrators who picketed them the
night Browder spoke.
AN INTERESTING sidelight on the
extreme sensitivenesS of radio to
public reaction was afforded last week
when N. B. C. anonuncers, ordered by
the network executives to distinguish
between the Red and Blue networks by
reading statements to the effect that
This is the Red cor BlueG y Network of
the National Broadcasting Co." re"
ceived several telephone calls asking
whether the company had gone Com
munistic" One inquirer asked if the
N. B. c. was devoting one of its net
works to the Communist party and an
other wanted to know whether the
Red Network was a Communist chain.
Recently book was published titled
'The Red Network" which had to
do with alleged Communist activities
in this country, and this is said to have
accounted partly for the inquiries. At
any rate. it is unlikely the announce
ments will continue-certainly not dur
ing the sponsored political programs
carried on that network by the Com
munist party.
K EEPING pace with the rise in
broadcaSting revenues, which
amounted to a record total of about
S8750O.0O last year. the production, Q.
radio sets will reach a new record ol
5000 900 units during 1886, according
to trade survey by Dun & Bradstreet
During the first six months of this
year. the New York credit agency re-
ports. the peak of 1885 was passed
production of radio factories running
ahead by IS to 25 per cent. while dis
trlbution increased Is to 80 per cent.
Dun & Bradstreet attributes this
rise to the recent distribution of bonus
money which went for radios, to
wider industrial employment and con-
sequently purchasing power and to
increased building activity and the re-
sultant need for more home radios.
Meanwhile, the radio industry was
turning with great optimism toward
the Fall and Winter season for radio
set sales, with new models already
beginning to appear on the market
featured by high fidelity tone, fancy
dials and in some cases streamlined
chassis. The presidential elections,
always hailed as harbinger of radio
business because of radio speeches,
are expected to prove boon again
this year.
nUN & BRADSTREET marks the
fact that the first half of 1886
indicates a continuing rise in radio
production during the last four years.
Floor and console models, its report
states, now comprise the bulk OF the
volume as interest in midget and
cheap table sets Wanes. The increase
in automobile radios was abrupt, run
ming from 80 up to $50 per cent. The
rise in the sales of battery sets in
farm districts, where electric power
is not available, was nearly as large
The most outstanding increase has
been in the automobile field. During
the first six months of this year auto
mobile radio speakers equaled the
entire 1885 production. Against II
per cent of the automobile registra-
tions, or 100000 passenger cars, at
the end of last year, it is expected
that the number this year will reach
100000.
TEN THOUSAND Americans in
China, as we'll as perhaps a mil
lion Chinese who have been Amer
tcanized," are hungry for news from