Evening Star Newspaper, June 30, 1929, Page 64

JENKINS BUBBLES WITH ENTHUSIASH g Veteran Inventor Is Called the “Happy Warrior” of Radio Scientists. - €. Francis Jenkins, veteran Washington | inventor, is the “happy warrior” of the radio scientists. The majority of the great engineers| who today are probing the mysteries of | the ether are soberly skeptical or coldly cautious in predicting what the morrow will bring. * Jenkins, at 61, worn by almost cease- less laboratory labor for 34 years, bub- bles over with the enthusiasm of a boy with & new electric train. At 61 he has | learned to pilot & land plane—he mas- tered the control of a seaplene at the close of the World War—so he can take panoramic views as he speeds through the air and shoot them by ra- dio to the ground. Television in Crude Stage. Television images and radio pictures in their present stage of development are comparatively crude, and many ob- | stacles impede the path to perfection. Radio vision from an airplane appar-| ently is faced with greater hindrances, | yet Jenkins is “Anything is possible in radio, and starts trying to do the apparently impossible. Back in the 80's he attended Earl- ham College, at Richmond, Ind. The other day the college notificd him that he was to be given the degree of doctor of science. He stepbed into his new radio-vislon plane and, accompanied by his wife and brother, made the trip to Richmond over she hazardous mountains in Pennsyl- vania in five hours. In 1908 the same trio made the same trip over the new National Highway in one of the few gasoline buggies of that day. Mr. Jenkins, at the wheel, wore big gauntlets and a jinen duster, while large rocks in the road cut through chains on the wheels. Also a Financier. He is one of the few scientists who holds a position of responsibility in the world of finance. He was recently elected a dircctor of one of the large Eesks in Washington. the timber regions, mining camps of the West, he came to Washington in 1890 secretarial job. He resigned to start inventing. He now evoived a theory for electrical trans- mission of pictures. About that time he invented the motion picture pro- Jjector. Later came the transmission of ph:‘to:npm and of moving pictures by radio. In his laboratory he has surrounded himself with youth. His associate en- gineers and clerks look like college and high- school students, and their tionship is that of & hhnd]y family. He has been in ndlo years, and expects to be 'orkinl on something new in radio 16 years hence. LOCAL RADIO LEGISLATION HELD INVALID BY COUNSEL Commission Attorney Declares This Function Rests With Congress and U. 8. Body. State and municipal laws which re- strict the hours of transmission by radio stations are invalid, declare lawyers of the Federal Radio Commission who have been making a study of local leg- islation on broadcasting. “This is = fundkion exclusively of Congress and its instrumentalities,” sald P. D. Spearman of counsel for the com- | tne mission. ~“The commission has fully covered the field with nine general or- d!rl The license -of each station con- Ipedfll.‘ provisions as to hours of operation, the violation of which con- -mx&:t l';‘c\mdz of revocation. mldnum. 'ould deprhe munn.s on & of the apportunny to cmmunlute wlul it from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. and stations the Pacific Coast would be similarly l!- fected from 5 until 10 p.m. “Such Nation-wide legislation is be- yond any conceivable power of a mu- nicipality. Quiet hours hau been pro- vided by some ordinances to eliminate interference with broadcast reception Irom amateur stations. “The frequencies of the amateurs are ‘widely separated from the broadcast channels. Years ago the spark set of the amateur ca trouble. But new transmitters and new broadeast receiv- ers have ended this . There is ition.” no need for local le; VIOLINIST REFUSES TO BROADCAST CONCERT Declares European Radio Is In- strument for Exploitation of Artists and Orchestras. BERLIN (#).—Bronislaw Huberman, violinist, refuses to play at concerts which broadcast because he re- gards the European radio as an in- strument for the exploitation of the artist and especially of the orchestras. “‘My fight is not for myself, but for the orche:®as for which I play as so- THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C.,.JUNE .30, 1929—PART 4. McNamee Speaking— my once in a while I J’fi i letter from somebody who thinks ghosts are hovering around the ¢ air air waves, and insisting that the sometimes brings them | voices trom the other world. I | had time to go into this in a big way, but I thouzht of it the other day when I got & letter from Philadelphia which, in connection with a previous incident, | made me think that the shade of Dr. Thomas Dunn English had been whis- pering in my ear. |" Readers of this department wm re- call that several wecks ago raised the question, for no plrMculu‘ reason, las to why Philadelphia radio fans al- ways want me to sing “Ben Bolt.” I remember that when I wrote that para- |graph nothing in particular had re- ]minded me of either Philadelphia or “Ben Bolt.” And now look what hap- | pens: | _C. R. Wentworth | Philadelphia as follows: 1 It is easy enough to underctand why | Philadelphia likes ‘Ben Bolt.” Dr. Thomas Dunn English. author of “Ben Bolt.” was born in Philadelphia June {20, 1819. This easygoing old town has |a long memory, and it is quite natural |that some of the oldsters among us should remember hearing English. “He gained the degree of M.D. from | the University of Pennsylvania in 1839, and was admitted to the bar in 1842 When he was living in Fort Lee, N. J., in 1859, N. P. Willis, editor of the New { Mirror, asked him for a contribution. |He had written “Ben Bolt” in 1842. It | was printed in the New Mirror, later picked up by an English newspaper, and finally published, with the music by Nelson Kneass. Mr. Kneass had adapted an old German melody.” But here’s something more: Mr. Wentwcnhs letter arrived just in time to be printed in the issue of this news~ paper of June 29—the birthday of Dr. Enzll.lhl I give any interested reader ord that when I first wrote about Ben Bolt” I had never heard that Dr. English composed the song and never dreamed tMat its author was born in Philadelphia. I have checked up on Mr. Went- worth’s information and find it is | correct. Now a Bla¢kfoet Indian. Your correspondent has a hhhly prized new name. A few nights was made a member of the Blacl Indian tribe in an impressive ceremony at Chicago and given the new label, Ak-Kay-Whi-Yu-Tu-Yu. lnot.hzrwm'&l. they put me Indian sign-on me. The translation is “Chief Everybody Hears Him.” I have often thoueht the name might be Imprl.lte on when trying to re-enter m'y domicile quietly late at nhht. My red brothers con- ducted the eeunwny with great dignity, and I am be a member of 3 ‘While the Indians had a radio sys- tem all their own—the late . Faw- cett, lost in Bn.lll writes me from radio. 1 reunfl.v Guns broadcasting, and his year-old mnddlu(fim umg Bear P-w. was on the air. When I saw little Bear Paw broadcasting I longed for the aid of television. If she could be both seen and heard, she would run away with the show. > Niagara Only Rush of Wind. Here's a curious sidelight on the prob- lem of ru!um in broadcast ting the “Lights Golden .Yubl- lee” at Niagara Falls, commemarating the fiftieth anniversary of Edison's first light bulb, we made special efforts to get the full volume of the roar of the Falls thro Lhnt fi e millions of persons an oppor- t\m’uhuug’whnrmeh.ul am tol my friends who heard b sound tha mmu‘hunmeflndinnhuhunm than like the roar of a great business Mr. Edison can fix up a few simple gadgets and turn it on and off like a faucet. I recently remarked that golf had | been overlooked by the broadcasters. ‘There has been a lot of talk about it recently, and it looks as if it might be done in the near future. In the mean- that; but for all of us, announcers and audiences, it's a pretty long trail back w marble days. Peter Pan flew through wlndaw, but whether he could have flown through a microphone I don’t ibout Dr. |C. L. m time shooting your sonn around at ran- now. If wmlt comes to worst, we'll do the best we can. (Note—Help! Since we started this question and answer business I have been swamped with letters asking for a copy of & poem starting “Folded they lie, my mu.her’s tired hands,” which I recited over the radio on Mother’s day three years ago. It was a newspaper clipping, and I both lost it and forgot it. Can any one tell me where and when it was printed, or has any one a copy?) McNAMEE'S QUESTION BOX Graham McNamee receilves a great deal of mail, but each week he will publish the answers to those questions holding the greatest amount of general interest. All questions should be ac- companied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope, and addressed to Graham Mc- Namee, 711 Fifth avenue, New York City, or in care of this newspaper. Please make your questions brief. A. Does receptiveness in broadcasting vary in different parts of the world?— . Forsyth, Bostol A. Yes, decidedly. Polar expedlk\ons in the Far North find that the imazgs) travel toward the southwest. A bivaa-| cast from somewhere up near the Pole }| is apt to be caught in the American Northwe ‘The Carnegie Institution of Washington has made extensive studies of this phenomenon, but has not yet announced results. It is believed that Heaviside surface may be partly accountable for the variations. Q. What is meant by “DX"?—Mrs. P. McGuire, Birmingham, Ala. A. “D” is the symbol for distance and “X” for unknown quantity. Hence “DX" is the outreach for undetermined distances. Q. What is the best way to et a song published>—M. F., Minneapolis. A. Minneapolis must be going musi- cal. This is the third inquiry about songs which I have had from this city. Write_any one or all of the following New York song publishers: Leo Feist, Inc, 235 West Fortieth street; Harold | mer, Inc., 109 West Firty-seventh street, and G. Schirmer, 3 East Forty- third street. Don't use up too much dom. Get some expert advice. Remem- ber that the big song factories generally work up words and music together at the home plant, and do not be down- hearted if your song makes a round trip. Later on in this column I expect to take up.this story of how modern songs are made. It seems to interest radio fans intensely. Q. Do you like to have people point out to you some special times when you have done excellent work?—Orsie B. Pressey, Atlanta, A. It just lpel.h my day. record, my Atlanta correspondent said some nice things, which I deeply appre- clate. Most of us broadcasters, for the quets lightly, but we secretly gather them up and put them under our pillow.) Q. I have led an orchestra for 25 ynn but my eyesight is failing. Where dispose of & Cremona violin, made In 1m?—n S. Jones, Jefferson, Ohio, A. Write to_Nikolal Sokoloft, con- ductor of the Cleveland Symphnn Oor- chestra, Thirty-fitth street and Euclid avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, or, if possible, call on him, since you live in Ohio. I am writing Mr. Sokoloff in your behalf, Q. I am in the pen penitentiary for life, and am now 54 yean old. The radio has been a blessing to me. Can —_— i i it ot e ey Sparton s Newest you or any one help me to get some A and B batteries?—No. 20968, State Peniten- tiary, Jefferson City, Mo. A. (To radio fans). This is a con- densation of several letters which I hand lrvm v.ho outside world. :(’ mth;” 1t -ny'heu. wm,tl to the boys uj Letters will reach ther.. lt the -bovepnumben 75,000,000 Tubu to Be Needed NEW YORK (#).—Estimates that 6,000,000 radio sets would be sold dur- in: the 1929 lenm:‘”l::ntvet}:tlt wyn’u man- pres ! 000,000 tubes would be needed for them, Brokenshire in Vaudeville, Norman Brokenshire of WABC made his debut in vaudeville, -ppefi:f ing in New York theaters with the cnhhiec' Orchestra, heard weekly on “anlen" Over wiz. A series of dramatized sea yarns, be known as “The Trawlers,” |l beilll given over WJZ and chain on Wednes- day evenings. Voices and Music From Can Covers Mystify Building Night Watchman FORT WAYNE, Ind., (#).—Piled hap- hazardly against a steel I-beam in the basement of a Fort Wayne hardware store, a dozen or so refuse can covers produced radio music - without tubes or other electrical aid. Discovery of this freak means of radio reception was made by the watch- man after several nights of searching to locate its source. The music was heard only after all radio sets and electric apparatus had been turned off for the night. Despite the puzzle that the “can cover receiver” presented, the explanation was simple. The problem was solved by Dr. John P. Minton, chief radio engineer for the ‘United Reproducers, whose as- sistance as a radio detective was sought. Within a block of the building is WOWO, a 5,000-watt transmitter. M sic from the covers was heard only when the station was broadcasting. The covers were near a steel I-beam that extended from the top of the building to the basement. This metal pillar acted as an antenna. Nearness to the transmitter meant that the I-beam was within a modulated radio field of considerable intensity, with a large amount of radio frequency current passing through the beam to the ground. Tests showed that covers adjacent to the beam or not far away gave off the music. created a strong electro-magnetic field.” Dr. Minton said, “which in turn set up within the adjacent covers a radio fre- quency current modulated by speech and music. The two currents caused a mutual reaction between the electro- magnetic field and the current in the covers, which built up mechanical forces in the covers. “The covers were piled together hap- hazardly and many air columns were formed. When one stood near them and talked in an ordinary tone, or clapped his hands, the covers, reinforced by the air cavities, which -consequently were resonant, generated a great amount of sound. They were, there- fore, responsive to any mechanical noise developed in this way. The covers, being made of iron, themselves were resonant, a mere tap of a pencil causing them. to vibrate.” Dr. Minton showed that it was easy to get radio music by placing two covers together with a cavity between them. and open on one side, and then putting the covers adjacent to the I-beam. Programs Feature Fourth ‘The Fourth of July, with its pa- triotic music and talks will be the theme of programs on chains and in- dividual stations Thursday. A number of special broadcasts are being ar- ranged, and all of the regular chain | presentations are to be built around the “The current set up about the beam ! day’s celebration. REALLOCATION ROWS AWAIT COMMISSION Chicago and Wisconsin Stations| ‘Will Carry Their Fights to Courts. ‘With WCFL, the Chicago Federation | of Labor station, and WEBC, Superior, | Wis., carrying to court their fights for| better assignments, several controversies between broadcasters and the Federal Radio Commission are in litigation. WCFL, which operates part time, seeks full time on a cleared channel, | and WEBC demands unlimited time on 1,280 kilocycles. Both applications were denied by the commission and appeal | was taken to the Court of Appeals of | the District of Columbia. | Awaiting decision in the same court is the appeal of WTRL, the Technical Radio Laboratory, Midland Park, N. J., one of several stations refused renewal of licenses by the commission last Sum- mer on the grounds they were not serv. ing the public interest. In this court also is the case of WNYC, operated by New York City, which is demanding full time. Another | is the appeal of C. L. Carrel, owner of | several portable stations hit by the gen- | eral order banning portables in the | broadcast band. | | The cases of three prominent Illinois stations _are pending in the District | | Court. WENR and WLS, both of Chi- ' Professor SCOI‘CS Radio Announcera' 3 For Using Poor English in Broadcasts - WEYMOUTH, Mass. (#).—A plea for the use of “international English" in radio broadcasting is made by Prof. Prescott Batchelor Brown of the Wey- mouth Hi School, who scores mis- pronunciation and errors in grammar by radio announcers. A cursory observation of a few pr grams from the various Boston radic stations was made a part of the coursc of English at the Weymouth school re- cently. Four sophomore divisions were instructed to submit any words they might hear mispronounced. At the end of a week, Prof. Brown asserts, 80 words, all u!ed in everyday conversation, were reportes Spenklng of the test, Prof. Brown thn on one hand, we consider the potential value of the radio for molding correct, speech, we grow optimistic: when, on the other hand, we trace to | the broadcasting stations such faults as our young high school pupils reported, we are dismayed. I believe tho average person is unaware how closely we pat- | tern our English upon that wiich we constantly hear. Otherwise, how can we account for the seeming indifference | concerning the speech of the radio an- nouncers? “Prfib&bly if the broadcasting stations rago and dividing time on the same wave length, are_seeking more time. WCBD of Zion City seeks the use of the same channel. established a school in which & drill in grammar, in the standard of good usage, in pronunciation and in Voice training could be had, the results would be_beneficial.” Because of the tremendous. influence of radio announcers upon listening au- diences, Prof. Brown suggests that ye- proof or something stronger shouid L~ meted out to offenders. SALLY WINS HER WAY. KYA's Lisping Star Gives Daily Skit Over Radio. SAN FRANCISCO (#).—Little blond Sally of the “Sally and Cecil” comedy team with KYA has won her way to a | place in ‘the hearts of the people of radioland through her inimitable char- acterizations. She lisps her way through a daily skit | broadcast by the American Broadcast- ing Co. chain. In real life and in other | programs Sally is Helen Troy, who sings and plnys her own accompaniments. i Anne Mussleman on Radio. CINCINNATI (#).—Prominent in Cin- |cinnati” dramatic activities, Anne Mus- | sleman is heard often on the radio, | She 15 one of the cast that participates |in the historical highlights and the great adventures on WLW each week. 0:15 A. ' Ourest Dollar Shirt Sale in Years! 120 00 Nhirts | That Sell Regularly at #1-¢ to $2.% Every Shirt —perfect —tub fast —cut full With 8,000 new, fresh, handsomely tai- lored shirts . a purchase without precedent in The Bargain Annex. Shirts that are actually worth from $1.65 to $2.95. All printed shirts vat dyed and color fast. All with six but- Ioist.” he explained. “Miilions of peo- | rl l' mph ple enjoy the orchestra musie when a | concert is broadcast, yet the artists | earn no more than a primary school teacher in a middle sized town. Their economic status could be vastly im- proved and a standard of living worthy of their high art attained at once if their managers would insist that th- broadcasting companies pay on a basis commensurate with the vast audiences reached. So long as this is not the case, I refuse to play when there is a microphone in the room.” In most European countries the radio | is a government institution, and the programs are under the control of the | postal ministry, with listcners required o pay a receiving tax. | e i | COMMISSIONERV T0 TOUR ROCKY MOUNTAIN ZONE| Harold Lafount Plans Inspection| Trip Through West—Returns to Washington in August. SALT LAKE CITY (#).—Harold La- | fount, member of the Federal Radio Commission representing the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast States, is to leave his home here July 4 for a month’s tour of his zons o misaioner LasoumRs ol vialk large citfes in the West, inspecting stations and conferring with broadcasters and | Jisteners on radio conditions in their | regions. He also expects to hold hear- ings on the applications of stations for changes in wave lengths, power and Sinde ¢ operation. His itinerary follows: Jul July 6, 7 and 8, spohne. 9. 10 and 11, Seattle Portland; July 15 to 1 Sln icisco; | & Auola: July 25 to | July 19 o 23, Los 27, Salt Lake City; J 20 and 30, :on fronts. Every one pressed in open old. When such shirts can be bought for $1, only one thing can happen ... a response that will begin with a rush at 9:15 o’clock and continue rlght through to our closing hour. Look What One Dollar Will Buy! White Shirts! Dimity Cords! Imported English Chambrays! Broadcloths! Self-Figured Self-Figured Broadcloths! Madras! Plain Colors! Oxford Cloths! Pastel Shades! Rayon-Striped Patterns! Broadcloths! Plenty of Whites! 500 Shirts Added Hourly So that selections may be complete all day . . . 5,000 shirts will be available at 9:15. . . and 500 will be added every - hour thereafter. AGAIN WE OFFER YOU!!! In the New Sparton Equasonne Instruments!! The biggest thrill that Radio affords Hear the New Spartons Teoday! Learn about this amazing ! “something” that seems to ‘ Styles: Soft collar attached Separate col- lar to match Neckband take you right into the studios, to see your entertainers!!! Visit us at once!! Even if only to listen! Sizes: In a com- plete range from 13% to 17 Columbiaj; Road OPEN EVERY EVENING UNTIL TEN Jhmas 34 gXe TRacords. THE FASTEST AND BEST RADIO SERVICE IN TOWN -2 James, “song doctor” at WOAU, i | has contract to make mm = 'um