Evening star., 1952-11-04

application by the District schools
for the channel was the best pro-
cedure. or whether it should be
by a cooperative association of
institutions.
/ Many Groups of Work.
| While the District schools prob
ably comprise the largest single
institution. he pointed out, many
groups have been working on the
problem since last spring.
I must say, 1t is a little sur
prising to find that one of the
cooperating groups, without ap-
parent consultation. grabbed this
ball and put in single appli-
cation" he said.
Il don't say it is necessarily
wrong" he added, but he ques-
toned whether there would not
be ample time to explore all WAYS
OF handling the matter. He said
the Library would be prepared to
participate in a co-operative
financial venture.
Mrs. c. D. Wright of the Fed
Grafton of Citi7ens' Associations
challenged Mr.. Fisher. !
Il am amazed to see a repre-
sentative of the Federal Govern
ment sit here and try to take
something away from the Dis
trict." she declared.
1T seems to me that the edu-
cation of the children of the
District comes far above the use
OF that station by any agency of
the Federal Government for
propaganda purposes" she said.
MIR. Fisher said he was not try
ing to take anything away, but
merely to explore the problem for
the best solution.
Filing Held Fortunate.
when you get a lot of organ
izations talking about co-operat-
Ing" Mrs. Wright rejoined. ''you
don't get anything DONE"
Miss Hennock said she felt the
boards filing was "a fortunate
thing"
"You might have had meeting
after meeting for several years" !"
she pointed out. Noting that ultra
high frequency channel 26 is a
valuable station, she advised, first
things first. Do what the COM
mercial people do. Get on that
channel and work out your prob
lemS."
She saw the project as "remov-
ing the walls of your classrooms.
opening the doors to your great
educational and cultural institu-
tions and making them available
to everybody"
On the matter of FEC approval
Iof the application, she pointed
out she could not commit the
commission, as she had only one
vote.
Philip Schiff, Washington rep
resentative Of the National Jewish
Welfare Board, applauded the
idea of rallying around the board.
He suggested that the cooperating
organizations be represented by
a board which would be con-
cerned with formulation of the
pOrgram.
G.. u. Support Assured.
DR.. James A. Magner, procur-
ator of Catholic University, ex-
pressed continued support. He
suggested some assurance, how
ever, that the various educational
interests would be in a position
Of collaboration and not merely
standing on the sidelines."
Isaac Franck of the Jewish
Community Council said he was
delighted the board took the step.
He suggested thinking along the
lines of a cooperative board with
policy powers or supervision over
the portion Of the channel not
Including the schools.
Msgr. John S. Spence, director
of education for the Archdiocese
of Washington, declared the board
was the natural body for the
responsibility of applying for al
license. He concurred in the sug-
gestions for some kind of advisory
board.
He noted that from six months
to a year would pass before the
project could begin to operate,
during which time planning could
&C on.
Time to Settle Dfficulties.
Commissioner Renah F. Cana
lier assured the meeting that the
city heads approved the idea that
all educational institutions would
be considered before any program
was adopted. Another applica-
tion. he said, would only serve to
cloud the issue, and there was
plenty of time for difficulties to be
ironed out before the station went
into operation.
He declared the project is
something the Nations Capital
cannot afford to turn down."
Schoo' Supt. Hobart M. Corning
termed the project of vital impor-
tance. He reminded the meeting
that besides the approval of the
FEC, the proposed $400, ,000 appro-
priation by Congress for the sta
ton must be obtained.