The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1938-11-11
General housekeeping in Federal
Communications Board Is Needed
History of Control Of Radio Is Story of Troubled Days;
Public Is Concerned Because Free Speech Is Involved;
Split on Board Adds to General Confusion.
BY WILLIAM BRUCKART
WNU Service, National Press Bldg, Washington ID. c.

WASHINGTON seems among
the inevitable and unavoidable
things that there must be growing
pains when the government starts
execution of any new policy. This
always has been the case. / as
sumo it is going to be true always,
and it does not matter whether that
new policy involves something as
inherently governmental as govern
ment supervision of public serv-
ices or something as inherently po-
litical. as the national emergency
council. The latter institution ought
to have as a part of its title some
words designating its value as the
hod carrier in political emergencies,
such as the recent purge" of DEM
ocrats who insisted on being Demo-
Gratis as distinguished from New
Dealers.
With that preface, we can exam
inc into the situation that exists in
the federal communications COM
mission. AS laymen whose only con-
tact with radio is on the listening
end, or whose only contact with
telephones is to use them for bust
ness and social intercourse, or
whose only contact with the tele-
graph is to send or receive mes
sages, well, obviously we laymen
do not know much about the F. c. c.
But that does not excuse any of us
for lack of interest. For F. c. C..
is just as close to you and me as the
interstate commerce commission is,
and unless I miss my guess it will
be even closer in the years to come.
There has been a measure of con-
troll over radio for years, and they
have been troublesome years, both
for the agency administering the
law and the industry forced to abide
by the law. Within the last few
years, however, there has come into
existence the F. c. c. which is con-
cerned not alone with radio, but
with telephones and telegraphs.
These latter industries, however,
are themselves settled down and out
of their teens. They have got by
the growing pains, but as for radio,
the story is quite different and de-
cidedly more important, because
there are fundamental dangers to
you and me in the situation.
Federal Control of Radio
Story of Troubled Days
The history of federal control Of
radio, as said above, is story Of
troubled days. The bulk of the
trouble has been due to the type Of
personnel selected for administra-
ton of that control. That is to say,
politics is to blame as much as any,
thing. Politicians will endorse any
screwy bird, long-haired theorist or
narrow-eyed half-breed if such en-
dorsement will get him votes or help
hold the royal order of nose-pickers
in line at election time.
And that is why, or largely why,
the federal communications COM
mission at this writing is undergo
ing pains like I used to have when
I allowed my childish enthusiasm to
overcome my judgment and ate ap-
pies before they were ripe. I
wouldn't care how many of the boys
on the government payroll had tum-
my aches about their jobs, or how
many private and bitter words
passed between highups or low
downs in the commission except for
the fact that precedents are being
established that will affect you and
me directly as the years roll by.
The things that have developed in
the F. C. c. concern us because
they involve free speech, involve it
as directly as any attempt to use
censorship on your newspaper or
mine. Besides, there is the certain
ty that radio has been used to TO-
ment or put to sleep some national
issues. It brings the nation within
any small room that happens to
house a couple of good, workable
microphones. If there was ever a
place for establishment of basically
sound and wise policies, it is in the
government supervision OF radio.
1t is hard to get at the facts in the
current dust storm within the COM
mission. There are so many sto-
ries afioat, however, that some
where there must be some truth.
And this belief is buttressed by the
known fact that President Roosevelt
is considering what to do to get the
tangle Strengthened out.
Trouble Shooter Fails
To Smooth Out the Mess
To 90 back a bit, it will be re-
called that Mr.. Roosevelt sought
more than a year ago to smooth out
the mess by transferring Frank Nc
Ninch from the job of chairman of
the federal power commission to
that of chairman of the federal ra-
dio commission. Every one con-
versant with the situation said at
that time that the new chairman
was a good trouble shooter and that
he would get things working as a
highly technical agency ought to
work. But the truth is that Mr..