Evening star., 1936-08-30

SO quiet, in fact, that the lull seems to-
presage an oratorical storm ahead.
The best guess is that the storm won't
break in all its partisan ferocity for
several more weeks. Then the can
eidates themselves as well as their
spokesmen will go in the air more or
less regularly.
President Roosevelt is being heard
occasionally, but he is speaking not as
a candidate for office, but as President
of the United States. He has indicated
that he will not open up politically
until early in october, and his repre-
sentatives have stated that any talks
he makes during his current tour of
the drought areas will be entirely nom
political in character. Gov. Landon'S
first three speeches from Middlesex,
Pa, and from Chautauqua and Albany
last week were political broadcasts,
and as such had to be purchased like
regular commercial time from the net
works carrying them.
RUT President Roosevelt and Gov
Landon are not the only national
candidates. Commanding far less at
tention, but nevertheless in the radio
running as duly registered candidates,
are Norman Thomas, Socialist; Earl
Browder, Communist; William Lemke,
Union; John w. Aiken, Socialist Labor,
and D. Leigh Colvin. Prohibition.
Each will presumably buy whatever
radio time his party can afford, and,
in fact, the Communists have already
purchased a schedule of eight IS
minute periods on the N. B. C. Red
and N. B. c. Blue networks starting
September and heard weekly until
the eve of the elections.
Considering the huge war chests
available to the Democrats and Re-
publicans, who have frankly stated
they will spend much more of it for
radio time, and considering the fact
that five other candidates for the
presidency must be given equal oppor-
tunity on the radio under equal con-
ditions (Which means and equivalent
right to purchase time, limited only
by their pocketbookS), it is surprising
that such small amount of time on
the air is being consumed for poll
tics as yet. Add to the presidential
candidates an equal number of vice
presidential candidates, not to forget
the party chairmen, who will speak or
are already speaking, and then add
to these the various other quasi
political organizations who want to
broadcast their meSsages-and you
have some idea of the brainStorms
ahead for those who handle radio
time clearances.
Whether the radio networks and
stations will sell liberal amounts of
time to these other groups has not
been decided, but in several instances
their central figures will undoubtedly
speak under regular party auspices.
Thus DR.. Townsend's> Old Age Re-
volving Fund, Father Coughlin's Ma
tional Union for Social Justice, Rev.
Gerald Smiths Share-the- Wealth or
ganization, the Liberty League and
the recently formed Jeffersonian
Democrats may all seek time on the
air. At least, most of these have
radio directors" whose duty is to
get their principals on the air as
often and as widely as possible.
THUS the months of September and
October will be different ones for
radio, to say the least For the most
part, the party leaders seem quite
willing to take open time for their
broadcasts, and already the Republic
ans and Democrats have purchased
fixed periods on the networks, but
when the campaign wakes hot the