Evening Star Newspaper, March 3, 1929, Page 61

Part 7—8 Pages ringing the World to Washington for Inauguration Via Radio From an Army dirigible flying over the Capi- tol and other points of interest, an announcer will describe what he sees on inauguration day to the radio audience. Testing the microphone to be placed opposite the President’s 88 reviewing stand. All ks Ready to Start the Greatest Broadcasting Feat in History Tomor- row With Over 120 Stations Linked in America and Foreign Countries Tied In Over Short Wave—Fa- mous Announcers Are Here to Tell the Story—Listeners Will Hear the Voice of Hoover and the Musie and Noise of the Parade. BY HUDSON GRUNEWALD. Station WRC—' %o 00D MORNING, W and gentlemen of the radio audience; this is “This is Station WMAL—" “—in Washington, D. C. The fanfare of bands, the rolling of drums, the footfalls of sol- diers, the footbeats of cavalry horses, the zooming of airplanes, the cheers and rells of vast throngs, the voice of Herbert Hoover taking the oath of office as e thirty-first President of the United States. These sounds will be heard tomorrow in all parts of America, in foreign countries and remote lands, and even in the far Antarctic camp of Comdr. Byrd, 10,000 miles away, when the inauguration ceremonies will be put on the air over the greatest chain of broadcasting stations ever linked together in the history of radio. The world will be brought to the front door of Washington, and the people of all nations will be given a grandstand seat along the line of march to witness the pageant of this momentous day in American history. For the first time the radio audience will be brought within hearing of pro- ceedings on the floor of the United States Senate; for the first time they will listen to & detailed account of an inaugural parade as it passes in review, and for the first time they will be given a bird’s-eye view of Washington on this his-. toric day from an airplane flying over the city's streets. T}ESE are some of the things in store for radio listeners tarough- out the world tomorrow when they tune into what is'actually to be the greatest show on earth. The small boy seated before the loud- speaker at his home on the Pacific Coast, the farmer listening in over his set in the heart of the corn belt, the bed-ridden invalid Xyln’ on & ital cot in some remote city, the storekeeper and the town business man, all will be gathered in front row hox To accomplish this great feat of en- nbnnxml.he g:tgn and the {world to listen in on auguration of Herbert of the National Broad- of communication has been conducted over 8 period of many months and has been planned with the precision and accuracy of a military campaign. At the Capitol microphones will be located for the first ti in history within the . Senate chamber, at the Speaker’s desk, in front of which Charles tis will take ith of office as Phillips Carlin and Graham McNamee, two famous announcers. who will play leading MAGAZINE SECTION he Sundny Star. WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 3, 1929. roles in the inaugural broadcast. Corps, who will enter with their aides. ‘The entry of the Supreme Court will be announced, then that of the Vice Presi- dent-elect, escorted by the committee on arrangements. ‘The Vice President’s oath of office will be broadcast, the proceedings when he assumes the chair, the chaplain’s prayer, and the Vice President’s address. The country will be learning something about its Government. Microphones will be located in the presidential box in front of where Mr. Hoover will stand while taking the oath of office and while delivering his in- augural address, Some 50 feet in the rear, at a point commanding a view of the entire East plaza of the Capitol, an announcer of the National Broadcasting Co. will be stationed and will describe the crowds and give other information. Additional microphones will be located at other points on the plaza so that the cl of the crowds will be heard distinctly by ihe radio aLdience. Other ., | microphones will be located in the band- stand. 1 the announcers at this the White House for the Capitol and as it re-enters the Executive Mansion after the ceremonies at the Capitol are over. Here, also the announcer will keep a continuous lookout toward the “front door” of the White House. He will an- nounce the members of both outgoing and incoming cabinets as they call at the executive mansion. 1t is probable that the first intimation of the membership of the new cabinet will reach the Nation from the lips of important post. The narrow box, used for years by ‘White House policemen who guard the Chief Executives, is so_situated that every caller will be seen. The story from | the sentry box will :efil gsu‘nelrn Just befc eremonies at tl ‘apitol begin Gx'ghnmre n McNamee will be at the micro- hone. puembers of the outgoing cabinet, the Vice President-elect, close President and mem- home, grounds and lives of the Nation’s { eqn Checking installations to be used for the world-wide broadcast of the inauguration ceremonies. FICTION AND | HUMOR An announcer in a sentry box at the White House ‘portico- will give an intimate account of all visitors to the mansion during the inaugural ceremonies. Testing apparatus at the Peace Monument where the start of the parade will be described. President’s will be amplified several million times in the course of the journey from sta- o Y it e or t the program conducted smoothly and without con- fusion in case of unforeseen events, each operator as well as each announcer will be equipped with headphones and wilt at all times be able to hear all an- nouncements made from all points, be- sides being in direct communication with the central broadcasting studio. Two separate lines of wires have been installed to each broadcasting point, one always in readiness in case of mis- hap to the other, and trouble cars uipped with emergency apparatus will be stationed at a central spot ready to go out at a moment’s notice. There will also be special operators stationed in Washington whose sole duty will be to listen for distress signals from ships at sea. In the 8. O. 8. all broadcasting, will, of course, be instantly stopped to clear the air. Included the announcers of o Broadcasting Co. who will | will to describe in- ton service of the system, and M. Leese, manager of station WMAL * ok ok % \ LARGE corps of Washington news- paper men and observers familiar with the Capital and its dignitaries from all parts of the country have been enlisted to aid the regular announcers in describing the events. David Law- rence, president of the Consolidated Press Assnciation and publisher of the United States Daily, will announce for the National Broadcasting Co. from the floor of the Senate, while the Columbia System will be represented in the chamber by Frederic Willlam Wile, na- | i wave lengths. tional political expert. Early this week successful broadcast- ing tests were made by the National Broadcasting Co. from an Army blimp mflx Ar':\ymm-mowred pl.:lne. and, e company’s plans, aircraft will circle the Capitol, White avenue and other S S , & spectacle and comments by some of the guests and society reporters. Senator George H. Moses of New mm chairman of the joint inaugural will be in charge of arrangements of the T g Sil today by engineers of the two broad- casting systems and of the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co., and all has been declared in readiness for the voices of stations WRC and WMAL to take the air tomorrow in presenting to the world the first complete story of a presidential inauguration. From these local stations the great ‘Washington story will be transmitted to the central broadcasting stations of the chain and will then be sent out over the vast network to potentially every home in the United States. It will also be sent to Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, New Zealand, South America and other foreign lands by means of short- * ok ok ok IN commenting on the foreign broad- casting phase of the National Broad- | casting Co.’s inaugural program, M. H. | Aylesworth said recently: “The voice of Herbert Hoover, delivering his inaugu- ral address on March 4, will be heard . |around the world. A detailed descrip- .- The day of international broad- casts has arrived. “Every State in the Union will have delegation nmon‘: Ll:n 20,000 persons the ceremonies. nudienee'm in the United States that e T 3 ef i H g Radio engineers making installations to broadcast the inaugural address. of the occasion when a new President stands with his hand on the Bible and takes the oath of office. “The world will hear the voice of America, and we believe that the world will be :nore closely cemented through such international broadcasts as these.” ‘When President-elect Hoover steps to the inaugural platform on the Capitol steps tomorrow he will face a battery of microphones. A few thousand peo- ple will be gathered before him, but his voice will be carried to ore. Never before will the voice of ong man have been heard by so many. The Presi- dent of the United States wil be talking | through those small instruments before him to all the nations of the civilized in distant cities, who will see well as hear him. Never before perfect a record have been made of the inauguratior of a President. Abraham Lincoln stood at the same spot and talked to the crowd people who had gathered on the Capitol plaza to hear him. They were the only ones who did hear him, and he had to strain his voice so that those oungn;uotthethmxeouum 3