Evening Star Newspaper, April 21, 1929, Page 91

! THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, APRIL 21, 1929—PART 7. 5 Harbord Visions 1950 Homes in Touch With New Radio Marvels l Television to Play Important Part, with Talking Movies, Athletic Events and Public Meetings as Attractions—Newspapers May Be Read Across Oceans— WITHIN THE NEXT TWO EVENTS, PROMINENT SPEAK CATASTROPHES WILL BE SEl ORDING TO GE? HA Action in World to Be Seen at Fireside—But Thrills of Attending Actuat Events Will Not Be Lost. DECADES NEWS AND SPORTING 5 AND PERHAPS EVEN WORLD N AND HEARD IN FAMILY CIR. RBORD’S PREDICTIONS. FORECAST BY GEN. JAMES G. HARBORD, President Radio Corporation of America, As Told to Haydn S. Pearson. STARTLED world gasped with amazement when it read the fabulous adventures of Aladdin with his wonder-working lamp. The imagination of mankind ‘was fired when Jules Verne looked down the murky-arched vista of futurity and prophesied that men would saddle the forces of nature and drive their ships beneath the surface of the ocean and | their chariots along the broad Appian trails of the skies. But the fires kindled in the minds of men died away and the cold, drab ashes of reaction, calumny and vituper- ation were heaped on those whose only sin was & God-given gift to read the future. For decades the clammish chill hand of tradition shackled man’s progress. About half a century ago the chains were unloosed. Science came into own. Epochal inventions followed one another in rapid succession until the course of the river of life has been com- pletely altered. The startled astonish- ment of the first decades has become matter-of-fact expectancy. Truly the humblest workingman of this new Western Nation has luxuries and com- forts of which the mightiest emperors of Rome never dreamed. Steam trains and boats, telephone, telegraph, cable, the harnessing of electricity to the myriad needs of humanity, autemobiles, airplanes—we accept them all without ]n thought as part of our routine of iving. Thgus it was with radio. It has be- come part of the very warp and woof of our daily existence. In many re- speets radio is the most marvelous of all inventions, Through its daily inti- mate contact with millions of people its influence is incalculable. * K ok ok HAT of the future? What is radio going to be in 19502 To find the answer to this question I went to Gen. James G. Harbord, president of the Radio Corporation of America. “Can you tell what radio will be doing in 1950?” I asked him. Gen. Harbord smiled. It was a large order. “He would be a bold man or a fool who would hazard a guess regard- ing the future of any art or science,” he answered. ‘“Particularly with a repidly-developing technique such as radio, whose basic principles yet remain to be fully understood and mastered. It is impossible to speculate with certainty on the attainments a few years hence, much less a decade or two away. its | “Yet today, due to organized research and engineering development, the future is to a considerable degree molded along definite lines rather than left to chance discovery or accidental invention. It becomess possible to look into the future, which is largely of our own nuklu&. from the vantage point of present tren {and tendencies. 'We may, therefore, speak of the probable achievements of 1950 with much the same security that the artillery offieer, knowinf how his gun is pointed, can discuss the remote and even invisible target which he is going to hit.” “What are the things for the average interested man who has a radio in his home to look for?” I inquired. “The main developments we may look | for during the next two decades,” ex- | plained Gen. Harbord, “are the fruits cf intensive research and engineering de- velopment. Progress in radio today is based on a study of definite problems, | followed by their systematic solution. | Vast research laboratories in which al | mobilized unlimited personnel and ma- | terial forces are seemingly mvlnrc‘ig{z |in the solving of any and all | problems if given sufficient time. | “It's really & matter of logical prog- | ress. The experiments of today are re- duced to the definite formulas of to- marrow. Freak performances of today become clearly understood and fully | mastered principles of tomorrow. Natural obstables are studied for their weak points and finally mastered. Our personnel, trained in the broad field of radio technique, becomes divided and subdivided into highly specialized bodles for the intensive study of every phase of radio, assuring us of developments far beyond our fondest expectations.” * k ok X ¢\V/HEN we turn the dial on our radio in 1950,” I asked, “are we going to be able to see as well as hear the program?” “Television must eventu: come to supplement sound broadcasting,” he re- plied. “Eventually the family circle must, see as well as hear the radio en- tertainment. News events, sporting events, prominent speakers and other subjects will be flashed on the home television sereen. ““Television, or seeing at a long dis- tance, is a worthy problem for modern research and engineering. It is a problem filled with obstacles that stand in the way of its immediate application to home entertainment. The principles of television are firmly established today, and, for that matter, have been for several decades. Tele- vision, as we have it in the laboratory, is largely a matter of gathering and ap- ic | continued Gen. Harbord. ments. With the co-ordinated research and engineering facilities at our dis- posal, it would appear to be a question of time only when the multitudinous problems of television must be solved and we may enjoy seeing as well as hearing the events of the world at our home firesides. “Will we enjoy home talking movies as well as television?” was my next question, “Yes,” Gen. Harbord answered. ‘Home talking movies will be cne of the outstanding developments of the next two decades. By home talking mo- vies 1 mean perfectly synchroni: pic- tures and sounds. Today the talking picture is being developed for theater use, on the necessarily ambitious scale in which equipment and costs are of secondary importance to the realistic results obtained. “For the home application, however, the questions of equipment and cost be- come paramount. Many intricate tech- nical problems must be solved in pro- viding the simple and inexpensive out- fit that can take its place alongside the broadcast recelver and the per- fected phonograph. Ingenuity of a high order is already at work on problem of home talking movies.” ! * K ok k all this becomes true, won't the public lose its interest in the actual event?” “There are apprehensions, at this early date, in regard to this aspect,” “There are some who fear our future prize rings, base ball diamonds and foot ball grid- irons may be deserted except for a bat- tery of television camexas! “Perhaps we can find the answer to “ plying well known principles, followed by unending refinements and improve- such fears in present broadcasting and motion pictures. Present broadcasting “§t_and By” for This: 1. Television will supplement sound broadcasting—soon we will see as well as hear radio entertainment. 2. Home talking movies will be an outstanding develop- ment of the next two decades. 3. A vast expansion in radio circuits and trafic volume impends—short waves will provide many more channels. 4. With increased communication we may expect radio- gram service to all parts of the world. drawings, fingerprints and commercial documents will be flashed across oceans and continents. 6. Londoners will read New York newspapers the same day, whole newspapers being flashed around the world. Our present- day dot-and-dash telegraphy may be dcomed. 7. Radio telephony as a public or toll service is certain to thrive during the next 20 years. 8. International exchange of broadecast programs for the near future seems assured. 9. Radio, as an art and science, offers a most attractive field of endeavor for young men and women. 5. Photographs, “The average man, Gen. Herbord, is home in the form of gripping word- | mightily interested in watching from gllctureu, Yet the promoters of sport-|the sidelines the struggle between the g events apparently suffer no loss of | big companies for wave lengths. He is revenue. The crowds are greater than | also interested in the big, Nation-wide ever. Motion pictures portray famous | networks. What is going to be the fu- stage folk, yet the same play can re- 1 ture in these subjects?” I next ques- turn to the legitimate stage at any time | tioned. and score huge successes. It would| “During the next two decades the seem, then, that there will always bz [ commercial side will witness a vast ex- a novel thrill in seeing and hearing the | pansion in' radio circuits and traffic actual event. This special thrill cannot | volume. The steadily increasing ex- be supplied by proxy, no matter how | ploitation of short waves, erticu!lfly realistic it may be. Hence the world of | the virgin fleld of ultra-short waves sport or the theater or the lecture plat- | now being studied in the research lab- form has nothing to fear from tele- | oratory, must provide many more chan- vision.” nels than are now at our disposal. brings many sporting events into the' | GEN. JAMES G, HARB! R ORD, PRESIDENT OF THE RADIO CORPO- ATION OF AMERICA. ‘ “It 1s quite possible that new meth- ods of wave propagation and reception . may provide additional channels, even | inmcnz existing wave bands, together | with still greater freedom from static and natural interference. With in- creased communication channels, we | may expect radiogram service to all parts of the world, even to the smallest j countries and far corners not now co cred because of the husbanding of val- | uable radio channels for the more im- portant traffic.” |, “Is telegraph by dots and dashes doomed?” I asked. | “If the present trend in facsimile | tranamission and reception continues its steady progress, the time-honored | telegraph operator with his cumbersome | dots and dashes dating back to the ex- periments of Samuel F. B. Morse, ‘father of telegraphy,’ may disappear by | {1950,” he answered. “We may then ex- | pect all radio messages to ke handled i their original handwritten or type- | written forms, without recourse to the | curt words of the present radiogram and without the delays and complica~ | tions of the coding and decoding process of telegraphy. “Phowfnphs, drawings, fingerprints, commercial documents and other items | will be flashed across the oceans and | continents as a matter of hourly rou- tine in 1950. It is even possible that | newspapers may be flashed across the ocean and reproduced in their entirety, |80 that New Yorkers will read London | newspapers and Londoners will read New York papers the same day, &s & | further step in cementing the bonds | between English-speaking peoples.” “Another point that the radio-owning citizen is very much interested in, Gen. Harbord, is whether he is going to be | | eble to converse with any one, any time | and anywhere. Is this dream to come true?” “We are often asked that question” he answered. “This idea presumably calls for a simple radio-telephone equipment for individual use. The gen- eral dpubuc, however, does not under~ stand that it is the number of avail- able channels which is the limiting fac- tor, and not equipment. Even in 1950, with marked progress in creating more channels, it is quite unlikely that in- dividual radio-telephene service will be realized. There must always be a limited number of radio communication chan- nels, and these will always have to be applied to the best interests of the pub- lic at large. “But, on the other hand, radio telephony as a public or toll service is certain to_thrive during the next two decades. The international telephone service is being steadily expanded. Ex- periments with short-wave radiostele- phone links may point the way to a vast increase in the number of chan- nels available, in which event the serv- ice must ultimately extend to all parts of the world.” * ok ok " HAT are the chances for out get- ting into communication with other planets?” I inquired. Gen. Harbord smiled. “Attempts, both serious and otherwise, have been made to establish communication with other planets, yet the technical and general problems are so involved, while the rewards are so uncertein, that fu- ture radio-communication activities sesm certain to bes confined to the 5,000-mile circumference of Mother “What does radio offer as a vocation to young men and women today?” “Radio is firmly established as an art and science in its own name, and is a most attractive field of endeavor for young men and women,” answered the president of the Radio Corporation of America. “However, it should be realized that radio is & highly specialived fleld and demands carefully trained workers. It calls for radio engineers, trained in radio technique. It calls for business men, fully conversant with the pecu- liar problems of radio. Radio broad- casting, with its insatiable appetite for microphone talent, offers exceptional opportunities to gifted persons to be- come national figures almost overnight. The very romance of radio must always attract “an overabundant '“”:K of willing workers. Yet only those with the necessary training and qualifications ean hope to find lace in the future mareh of radio, for the pioneering days are over and the race will henceforth be to the swift!” “Is there any likelihood of reaching & saturation point with radio?” was my next question. “Broadcasting has every promise of continuing on an ever more lavish scale in entertaining the American family on the one hand and providing & re- markable publicity and good-will me= Gium for progressive industries. “International exchange of it programs seems assured within the Inext two decades, despite the many | cbstacles in spanning several thousand miles of ocean with a fair degree of regularity. “The present high attainments in radio broadcasting seemingly leave little to be desired. e magnificent pro- grams and remarkable reproduction by the latest achievements in broadcast reception already have reached such heights that further progress_seems impossible. Yet it must be noted that only a very small proportion of the guhllc actually enjoy the latest bene- ts of broadcasting. In many bomes today the pregrams of 1929 are bein recelved through the tin-hom loud- speakers of 1924. Hence, it must re- quire a decade or two for the public at large to progress toward better radio equipment so as to make broadeast ting achievements available to all. (Copyright, 1929.) Capital Always Worried by Inadequate Rules of Precedence Seating at Dinner O BY HYDE CLEMENT. NY discussion of what is called “soclety” in Washington must begin and proceed and end in a different way from any discus- sion of what is called “society” in any other city in the country. Por Washington exists as the only city in this land where “soclety” is something closely approaching a business. The business of politics being so largely, & matter of numerous private conversations, and the business of diplomacy being so largely a matter of numerous private conversations, it is quite natural that the politinsl capital of the country and the only American city which contains a diplomatic corps should be forced to take its “social life” seriously. For those “private canverntuaaz' very frequently happen most naturs and easily at some of the long Me§ of dinners which line the Winier of official Washington. And, also quite naturally, since no comedian is so funny as he with the solemn face, no one o laughable as he who takes himself too seriously, and nothing so funny as the other fellow's slip when we have avoided the banana peel, Washington brings a smile to the rest of our citizenry when they observe her solemnly tripping up on what looks to the rest of uys like a particularly small bit—namely, the matter of who shall sit next to whom at dinner. hlt. is a m-mru ";‘hich da“shl:t ;‘uve by being elght and mi ave ; mot been complical WO the existence in Washington of the diplomatic corps and the tripartite equality of the branches of our Gov- t, legislative, judicial and pou e ;o WAAHJNG'NJN'B sense of form laid{ 1YY down simple but adequate rules. Jefferson’s theory of democ mot brook the idea that any human be- icanism lsirs of Prance ‘and experim r‘?mma in such i1l feel of the then Min: England that the idea was soon aban- woned, Complications Have Been Cause of Embar- rassment Since Early Days of Republic. Official Differences—“Uncle Joe” Cannon’s Historic Insistence on Personal Rights. racy could|ing in Washington, ne of Chief Sources of From that time to this there has been an intermittant attempt to get at some sort of orderly arrangement—to estab- lish, in short, a system of what is called “precedence,” with an accent on the next to the last syllable. ‘The people first historically concerned are the foreign diplomats, Imagine for a moment that there were no fixed rules. The President gives a dinner to the corps. How shall he choose who shall sit in the seats of honor? Obviously Eresc political significance can readily e given to the cl ‘There existed traditionally in all Bu: ropean courts what is called a “proto- col,” which determined every detail for court usage. Monarchies passed and republics came in, but “protocol” re- mained. Under “protocol” a ruler is always first in his own country. After the ruler comes the heir apparent, After the heir apparent come the royal family, An ambassador is in theory the per- sonal representative of the ruler of his own country. A minister is the repre- lenubtri}vl/s merely of the people of the country. Monarchies gone, peoples remaining, still, lgdfi_r ":gml." ambassadors oz~ cuy eir ol guished position, g{w, cross the Atlantic to the United States. What had been lucid, workable, gets tangled between tri and practice. the first place, we never had even “division of protocol” at_all until some over a 3 jues- g e T o, By e S0 the chanees, oitical ‘and ietan a chances, - tignal tavolved o o ‘e have not now a whole division of protocol, but a division of internaf conference and All details concerning eve conference in which this country 3 But it is a mistake to staff in this division entire time answering te! about the niceties n_lrg‘l?c its hone calls DOES A CONGRESSWOMAN RE-. CEIVE THE “COURTESY RANK” off OF A CONGRESSMAN'S WIFE? while the anguished hostess tries to get in touch with the State Department to tell her what fo do, she might as well Whlnlll‘fl“ some social i i sented to la Chief Justice, with President Arthur. For the Presi- dent never dines out. But there have been numerous exam- ples where the daughter of a man of high official rank has been his “official hostess.” The most recent examples were Miss Allsa Mellon and Mlle. Gret- ziano, daughter of the Minister of Ru- mania, While both of these young ladies sat at the head of their father's table and performed the usual fupction of the “official hostess” in receiving for him, neither was given precedence over the wives of officials next in rank be- low their fathers. * ¥ * % 'HE excitement over the official “precedence” of the sister of Vice President Curtis actually began in Wash- ington over two years ago in the inner circles of the Senate Ladies’ Lunch Club, which consists of the wives of Senators. Considerable discussion was aroused as to whether any other relative (that is, if you call 8 wife a relative) of & Senator, could be eligible to active mem- mership. It was decided that only sena- torial wives were eligible and that other near female relatives should be “mem- bers,” but not ive members.” At the election this Winter Mrs. George Moses, wife of the President Pro Tem of the Scnate, was elected presi- dent. 80 you see that even though we have thoroughly established the rank of the Vice President himself and of his wife, | there s some debatable ground still left for the protocol and ‘the cfficials and dealers with lthe mlegnl&l:sdo{n ‘Wash- ington’s social usage atten . gl‘fere is one saying—if it does not amount to a rule—which every new- comer to the National Capital must get by heart before she has bought her first pair of gloves to make her first round of calls. It is this: “Never invite an ambassador or min- ister and justices of the Supreme Court together!” In general the theory of.“courtesy to the foreigner” usually gives them what might be called the best fighting chance to get something to eat. it some one usually goes away sore. Mr, Justice Taft, having kindly con- be a President before he was has been given usage a rank of his own and can be (t is said) seated at dinner at the hostess’ right even if there be an am- bassador t ustice and some leadin; of diplomatic corps at Bu’lghleunhn g 82 o i 2 i : i i Mr. Justice Harlan the “ranking jus- tice.” That leader of the common people, “Uncle Joe” Cannon, was then Speaker. | He_hzad been invited. Before dinner “Uncle Joe” called up the White House and asked who was going to take Mrs. Roosevelt in to din- ner. He was told Mr. Justice Harlan. Whereupon he said: “I am sorry, I can't come.” The dinner was held without him. Afterward T. R. sald to Secretary of the Navy Moody, “Do you know the representative of the plain people wouldn't come to my dinner because Mrs. Roosevelt was to be taken in by Justice Harlan?” “What are you going to do about it?"” said Moody. “I called the old gentleman on the phone,” T. R. answered, “and I said: ‘Uncle Joe, you wouldn't come to my dinner. I tell you what !'mdg!:g to do; I’ er of to give you & ur o T , was ashington the origin of what is still today the 4 $akzr'l dinner.” ith the seating of the “three Ruths” in Congress a discussion for some time held in abeyance has again struck fire. Does a Congresswoman elected in her own right recsive the “courtesy” rank of a Conzressman's wife? So far as the State Department has committed itself, they have equal rank. But that idea does not please the Con- resswoman. So the ball is being batted k and forth between the division of protocol and the Speaker’s office. Some people are mean enough to ask, What is the official status of the hus- hand of a Congresswoman? Can she make him her “officlal host"? And ¢f we keep on with propinquitous inquiries, these mean people go on to say, “What is the position of the hi band of the official hostess of the half- sister of the Vice Presiden * * % % Bo you see it can all get very com- plicated. And you can quite sympathize with any protocol division of State De- partment or President who throws up his hands over it. i ; : i L : ¥ g H i i 1 i § a ) E Bl i £