Evening star., 1949-08-22
WARL Starts
Gift Broadcast
Series.Tonight
Silver Spring Man
Misses SIG, 900 on
National Network

tonight will inaugurate a new
mystery tune series of broadcasts
providing gifts to listeners, which
the Federal Communications Com
mission seeks to baniby October l
Ray w. Baker, manager al
WARL. said the station had de-
cided to proceed "at least until
October /" with the Embarrassing
programs for Arlington Hospital
in which $1,000 in prizes will be
given away.
The decision came about the
time publicity was, given to ar
FEC order which blocked another
type of giveaway program orig.
mated at WARL. This series
known as Dollars for Answers,
was abandoned in March, 1948
however.
In that case the FEC estimated
that each telephone subscriber in
the Washington exchange area
might reasonably expect to win
dollars for answers in 1,150 years
except "for the uncomfortable
caprice of chance and the in
evitable fate of the mortals."
Misses $4,000 by Minutes.
Meanwhile, it was learned that
a Silver Spring resident came
within a few minutes-and one
telephone call-of winning $685.
900 giveaway last night on the
American Broadcasting Co.'S "Stor
the Music" show. The big prize
was won by Mrs. Dorothe Pappen-
fort of Columbia. Mo-. who was
called from New York Immediately
before the sponsors telephoned
. Louis Allinger. 904 Gist avenue
Silver Spring, a compositor at the
Government Printing Office.
Mrs. Pappenfort, wife of Mis-
souri, highway engineer and tile
mother of two children, won the
grand award because she kneW
the mystery melody was "Butterec
Peas" That cleared the boards
and a new mystery tune contest
was started. Mr.. Allinger, who
said he knew the song, "Buttereo
Peas" was the first person called
For knowing the title of a popular
tune, he won a $400 bedroom suite
and qualified for a guess at a new
mystery song, but he was un-
familiar with that one and lost out
on a chance for a $4,000 award.
WARL Plans 13-Week Show.
Mr.. Baker said the 15-minute
Arlington Hospital programs,
scheduled at $50 pm. daily, were
booked to run for Is weeks, or
well past the FCC's ban deadline.
Whether the company will at
tempt to carry the series the full
time is yet to be decided, the
manager indicated. =
Under the hospital program
plan, listeners are askd to make
donations and, at the same time,
to guess the title of a mystery
tune. From the donors each day.
three letters will be picked at
random. Each will receive an
award. The writer's will be called
by the station and asked to iden-
tify another tune, on which the
grand award will be based.
In the FEC ruling on Dollars
for Answers" the mathematical
possibilities of becoming a winner
were explored at length. This pro-
gram, sponsored by Zlotnik, was
discontinued about four months
after the commission began an in
quiry into it's operation.
Mathematical Chances.
"A theoretical estimate of 5000
calls per year and 100000 Wash
ington telephone subscribers in
dicates that every one might be
called within 80 years except for
the element of chance selection
which would result in some multi
pie and some omitted calls" the
commission said. "The probabili-
ties might interest the mathemati-
cally inclined.
"For example, if the experience
indicated rate of WARL winner
production should be maintained
at 1913 per 200 days. then all of
the assumed 100000 Washington
telephone subscribers might ex-
pect to become winners in slightly
more than 1850 years, except, of
course, for the uncomfortable
capries of chance and the inevi-
table fate of mortals."
Summarizing the evidence taken
during a hearing. the FEC opinion
noted that between April IA and
October 81, 1947, Station WARL
broadcast 4,391 Dollars for
Answers" programs. Calls were
completed to 2,722 persons. OF
these, l28 answered the questions
correctly and Of the winners, II
said they were listening at the
time.
Manager Couldn't Answer.
The, preponderance of failures
(among unprepared contestants)
was demonstrated by quizzing the
station manager, the opinion said.
The opinion stated that the man.
ager was unable to answer any
one of 81 questions selected from
the list broadcast during the
series.
Meanwhile, Representative Wig
ellsworth, Republican, Of Massa-
chusetts accused the FEC OF
attempting to censor radio
through the new rules against
giveaways.
Mr.. Wigglesworth said in 9
statement that "once again the
commission is apparently using it
power to license stations as Q
life-or-death club toward contro
of what the people will be per.
mitted to hear"