Evening star., 1938-02-20

broadcasters unanimously agreed to cl
by setting up . board Of 23 members,
representative Of all areas and all fac
tions, to select the man who rs paid
presidential $4,000 to $4,000 per
year-will be expected to provide radio
with the sort Of leadership Will Hays
gives motion pictures and Judge
Lands gives baseball.
Dozens Of names already have been
advanced, but the directors them
selves, after = meeting following the
conventions closing, stated they
didn't know who the man will be and
indicated they would not entertain
any nominations until their next
meeting on March II. Among those
merely rumored are Pat Hurley. sec-
retary Of War under President Hoover;
Stewart Mcdonald. chairman Of the
Federal Housing Authority; John @.
Winant, former Republican Governor
of New Hampshire and former chair
man Of the Social Security Board.
and c. c. Dill, former Senator from
Washington, who was co-author Of
the radio and communications law.
THESE men and others may be
considered, II they are available,
but no sentiment favoring any indi-
vidual Is as yet discernible. II some
one from the radio ranks is consid-
cred, which seems unlikely at this
writing, there has been some talk in
favor of M. H. Aylesworth, until
few years ago president of the Ma
tional Broadcasting Co., now an ex-
ecutive Of the Scripps- Howard News
papers.
The presence on the board Of
youthful Elliott Roosevelt, son Of the
President, who as president Of q radio
organization and head Of its 10 sta
tions, was elected one Of the six di-
rectors at large as distinguished from
the II district directors. has given
rise to conjecture that the scion Of
the First Family, particularly in view
of the strict regulation Of radio by
the Government, may dictate his
fathers will when the time Of selection
arrives. This, like the speculation
on individual names. Is also pure con-
lecture. although Mr.. Roosevelt has
taken q prominent place In the radio
industry in the three years or less OF
his identification with 1t.
His voice may carry weight in the
deliberations Of the associations new
ly constituted board, but the fact is
that he holds only one vote in 23-
and among the % others are leaders Of
all classes and kinds Of radio stations
and networks. men of every shade of
political prediction and men OF con-
siderable prominence in their COM
munities. Nine Of the directors come
from radio stations whose ownership
is identified with newspapers, includ-
ing both pro and anti-New Deal news
papers Young Mr.. Roosevelt himself
is identified with radio organization
owned by one Of the most powerful
anti-New Deal publishers in the
country.
Within the industry the chief bones
OF contention pertain to economic dis
PARTIES, with the big fellows, the
powerful stations serving wide areas,
under constant attack from the little
fellows, the local low-power stations
serving only their immediate areas.
Among the big are the networks,
whose ownership of both powerful and
semi-powerful stations has been criti-
cized both from within and without.
How the new paid president" will
reconcile their differences. which hit
the pocketbook while being interviewer
with the technical structure of radio,
no one possibly can fortell.
THE associations convention itself
gave the broadcasters a foretaste
Of what they may expect in the way
Of scrutiny and criticism from the
Government and the public. Senator
Wheeler launched forth against Mon
opoly." "superpower" and other trends
which he opposed. although he re-
Trained significantly from repeating
his attack Of last year against news
paper ownership Of radio stations
This attack, it was said then. when
he proposed to introduce a bill re-
quiring complete divorcement, was
originally inspired by President Roose-
velt himself. Since that time, how
ever. the President and the Senator
from Montana, chairman Of the Inter-
state Commerce Committee in charge
of radio legislation, have broken over
the court-packing bill.
From Chairman Frank r. McNinch,
appointed last fall to clean up" the
politics ridden Federal Communica-