Evening Star Newspaper, September 8, 1929, Page 67

NEW ARMY STATION | TOBE PENED SOON WAR Will Cost $28,000 for Unit Without Equipment. Begins October 31. Station WAR of the War Departmen® will soon be in operation with new and modern equipment, linking all units of the Army's widespread network witin Radio Central of the Army Signal Corps. Situated on a promontory above the Potomac at Fort Myer, Va., station WAR will stand out in sharp contrast to the tall masts of naval radio NAA | at Arlington, for none of its .antennae will range over 80 feet in height. The reason is that WAR will use the re- flector beam system of transmission. The new station, costing $28,000 with- out equipment, will be in complete operation by October 31. It will cen- tralize the present three transmitters used by the Army net at Fort Myer and the two used in co-operation with the Navy at the Washington Navy «Yard and at Annapolis. All the transmitters will work high frequencies, four using the beam antennae and six _the doublet or half-wave antennae. “1wo of them will be rated at 1 kilowatt, but coupled to power amplifiers capable of 10 kilowatts. Reach All Stations. When in complete operation radi) WAR will be able to work any one cf the Army's 212 permanent land sta- tions and 68 ship stations. The ship stations of the Army are its nine tran: ports and the barges and dredges ai other boats the Army Engineer Corps operates on_the inland waterways and harbors. Even today the temporary WAR can work Hawaii and Panama di- rectly, The new equipment will work the Philippines if necessary, although the regular routing is via San Fran- “5Fitle WAR is being bult under the supervision of John A. Gilman of the Quartermasters Corps, the message center of the Signal Corps in the Muni- tions Building at Washington is being modernized n every detail. With the removal of the development engineers to Fort Monmouth more room has been made available, so that a large and first-class 1nstallation can be made. Transmission will be by remote control to the Fort Myer transmitters, while re- ceiving antennae will be on the roof of the Munitions Building and at Wash- ington Barracks. It was found that electrical interference, such as fans, caused so much distortion of incoming traffic during the Summer that the re- mote control receiving set-up at Wash- ington Barracks was erected. The message center works directly with the headquarters of the nine corps areas; that is, with Boston, New York, Baltimore, Atianta, Columbus, Chicago, ERHAPS the greatest radio surprise in many months came Thursday afternoon when the National Broad- casting Co., without advance an- nouncement, sent over its coast to coast network a rebroadcast of the voice of Gloria Swanson sing- ing in the London studios of the British Broadcasting Co. The rebroadcast came at the !conclusion of the Radio-Keith- iOrpheum hour and though it | lasted only six minutes, it was a distinct success, despite consider- able atmospheric interference. It | was the third attempt in the last iyear ‘at rebroadcasting London | programs, the first two being a | concert by a symphony orchestra. and later the thanksgiving serv- ices in Westminster Abbey for the recovery of King George V. Miss Swanson’s voice traveled | the same route as the two preced- ing transatlantic rebroadcasts. The program left 5SW at Chelms- ford on short waves and was ‘pinked up at the Radio Corpora- tion of America’s experimental | station at Riverhead, Long Island. | From there it went over land wires to the N. B. C. studios in New York for distribution to the 1r;etkwm-l:(, in which WRC was a InkK. |” Miss Swanson's radio appear- | ance in London was in connection | with her debut in talking motion pictures. “The Trespasser,” the song she sang, was written by El- | s'e Janis. ‘Word comes from Baltimore that WBAL has increased its power to | 10,000 watts, which accounts for | the improvement in the reception of this station in Washington. WBAL has been operating ex- perimentally on various powers between 5,000 and 10,000 watts, {end since the installation last| year of a crystal oscillator on its | 5 kw. transmitter, it has been {using the equivalent of 10,000 watts by increasing the effective~ ness of its power. However, as a | permanent increase in wattage called for a larger power supply equipment. such as high voltage transformers for plate supply, it ! was not possible to make this ac- | | tual increase in power until the equipment was installed. The experimental work of the | last several months and the final | increase to 10,000 watts power | were carried out without any in- | terruption to service. The im- | provement has not only brought | Behind the Microphone BY THE RADIO EDITOR. ‘THE SUNDAY continuity and program depart- ments, And so the Nit Wits were or- ganized. David Ross, announcer, can do Jewish comedy to perfection—he calls it “bronchial English”—and as a result has become a perma- nent member of the cast, Margaret Young, now Mrs. Bradford Browne, program man- ager for the station, could recite “funny” pieces on “Interior Deco- ration.” The finished product as offered by Miss Young on,the air is called “Talks on Interior Dese- cration and Advice to the Love- lorn” and the orator was assigned the name of “Patience Bumstead.” “Peggy” was an immediate suc- cess on the air as her many en- thusiastic letters will testify. Lucille Black is ordinarily the staff pianist, but she is trans- formed each Saturday night and becomes Mme. Mocha de Polka, a former member of the Russian Grand Opera Company. Chester Miller—officially studio manager of the Columbia System —has been assigned a dual per- sonality by the Nit Wit director. He plays “Lord Ashcart” and “Congressman Felix O'Beefe,” the noisy politician. Yolande Langworthy and Geor- gia Backus, continuity writers, are versatile character actresses and are usually given different parts every week. Miss Langworthy, of “Lizzy Twitch.” “Yes, We Have No Bananas” is the official theme song for “Nit however, always enacts the role Wit” hours. It is offered in six varieties and in thirteen keys. The Nit Wit pianist is Minnie Blau- man, who in everyday life holds forth in the artists’ bureau. Voice and radio effects are pro- duced by Harry S8wan, who, in ad- dition, takes the part of Prof. Musclebound. Bradford Browne is master of ceremonies during each broad- cast. Browne, in addition, gives the official weather report by the “Departure from Agriculture,” which is usually for Twenty-third street at Seventh avenue and the Sahara Desert! The Nit Wits take their rehears- The hilarious parts and funny epi- sodes are all gone through with the most serious of expressions on | all of their faces. Nor does it all end there. The hour has only been on the | als very seriously, Browne says.|~ ol STAR, WASHIN G'I‘O'N y their business, the Department of Commerce has learned as a re- sult of an inquiry in connection with its quarterly questionnaire on sales and stocks: ¥ Sets of various types, the sur- vey showed, can be bought in most any kind of a store—a situation which has not changed in several years. Whether the sale of radio sets in establishments primarily en- gaged in vastly different activi- ties is an indication that the Ta- dio retailers themselves have not been as active as they should be is not answered by analysis of the questionnaires. The returns, how- ever, show that radio equipment is being sold by such individuals and concerns as funeral directors, optometrists, watch makers, rR«Jul- try raisers, farmers, patent medi- cine dealers, boat builders, barber shops, heating supply dealers and what not. . It has been established by com- rehensive surveys that approx- imately 90 per cent of the estab- lishments handling radio sets are not engaged principally in the sale of radio, musical instruments, furniture or electrical equipment, These surveys were made two years ago, and it was believed in some quarters that the advent of the present high-grade and more expensive set and the diminution in the demand for parts for home built sets had brought about a change in the situation. That this has not been the case is clearly shown by the department’s inquiry. The full story of the many di- verse channels through which ra- dio equipment reaches the public will be known next year when the census of distribution is taken. During the course of that census| the Census Bureau will gather in- formation regarding every kind of goods sold by practically every retail store in the United States and will, therefore, for the first time, produce complete ‘data as to how radio and other classes of merchandise are distributed. Harriet Lee, staff contralto 0!l the Columbia Broadcasting Sys- tem, is the first and only woman soloist ever to appear with Jesse Crawford in his organ recitals. She sings during .the program which is broadcast from €raw- ford’s studio in the Paramount Theater in New York. In most of her own programs Miss Lee accompanies herself at Radio Service E Phone Adams 3803 .. €, Radio System Actor Dies Eleven Times in Broadcasts of Week Harry Swan, radio actor and manager of radio effects for the Colu Broadtasting System, “died” ‘11 times in one week, ac- cordis to seripts of plays in which he was featured. Harry continues to walk around the WABC studios in apparent good health, nevertheless. Harry said he hoped to die many times more before his radio career is officially ended. the piano. She specializes In both popular and elassic numbers. Her voice is a deep contralto. Miss. Lee joined -the Columbia staff in April, coming from Chi- cago. Her first assignment was with the WABC mixed quartet and she still sings in this group several times a week. STATE OFFICIALS AID - AUDITIONS CONTEST Governors and Senators to Help Make Selections in Atwater Kent Competition. The governors of four States, seven wives of governors of other States, four United States Senators and the mayors of some large cities are assisting the Atwater radio audition. Gov. Albert C. Ritchie, who has been honorary chairman of the Mary- years, is again heading the committe in that State and is taking an 1 FOR CLARITY VOLUME QUICKER ACTIONZ LONG LIFE (| SPEED #THE TUBE OF THE AGE” [ RIGHT UP AND CALL Kent Fodndation’s national | land State audition committee for two| | interest in _the competition f | SEPTEMBER 8, 1929—PART 4 large cash and scholarship awards of- !e‘;'ed to amateur vocalists. Gov. John Hammill of Iowa is a member of the committee in his State, Gov. Flem D. Sampson of Kentucky and Gov. Henry K. Horton of Tennessee are serving in similar capacities in their States. Mrs. Theodore Christianson, wife of the Governor of Minnesota, is chalr- man of a State committee. Mrs. John H. Trumbull, wife of the Governor of Connecticut, is an active worker for the Connecticut auditions that have recently started. Mrs. H. C. Baldridge. wife of the Governor of Idaho, is chair- man of her State committee. Mrs. Fred B. Balzar, wife of the Gov- ernor of Nevada; Mrs. Isaac Lee Pat- terson, wife of the Governor of Oregon, and Mrs. Norman 8. Case, wife of the Governor of Rhode Island, also are active in audition work in their re- spective States. Among the executives of large cities active in the competition are Mayor George E. Leach of Minneapolis, Mayor Larry Hodgzon of St. Paul, Mayor Al- bert I. Beach of Kansas City, 3 Mayor Victor Miller of St. Louis and City Manager William R. Hopkins of Cleveland. 3 Senators assisting the audition in their respective States include Senator Peter Norbeck of South Dakota; Sena~ tor Harry B. Hawes of Missour}; Sena- tor Arthur Capper of Kansas, and Sena- tor Frank L. Greene of Vermont. Young man and young woman singers will be heard until October in hundreds of local auditions throughout the coun- try in the first elimination to deter- mine the 10 best young singers in the United States. These 10 will compete in the national finals in New York in December. Two Cabinets—Only at Jordan’s We have on display two exclusive models that can only be found at Jordan's. Both cabinets are beautiful and built to harmonize with the most exacting surroundings. Jordan’s Price Complete 162 Jordan’s Budget Sales Plan It is easy to buy from us. Nored tape. Noin- conveniences. No trouble. ‘10 FIRST PAYMENT BALANCE MONTHLY Jordan's Price Complete | Sbout & decided increase in the | 2i @ short time, yet radio fandom | i has acclaimed it as one of the | station’s modulated energy, but | ; = [ has made its signal proportion- outstanding events of the week. | Children and grown-ups alike re- | FREE HOME DEMONSTRATIONS Omaha, San Antonio and San Fran- cisco. There are separate networks in each of the areas. Seattle is the control point for communication by radio and FOR cable with Alaska. Net Saved Money. That the Army's radio net has been saving the United States Government | a substantial amount of money in tolls is revealed n tho annual traffic report for the fiscal year 1928-20, just sub- mitted to the chief of the Army Signal Corps, Gen. George S. Gibbs, by the officer in charge, Capt. Frank E. Stoner, who is supervising the reorganization | of the radio central at Washington. Some 50 departments and bureaus of the Government have utilized the serv- ice, sending 382,219 messages, totaling 16,843,241 words, during the period end- ing June 30, 1929. The cost of operat- ing the system, including maintenance and power and tolls on_refiled mes- sagesramounted to 5 Capt. Stoner estimates that the equiv- alent value of the dispatches handled during the fiscal year if sent via com- | -mercial wires at Government rates | would have been $366.493. The Govern- ment thus saved $329,978. Savings in lesser amounts, but sav- ings nevertheless, have been shown in every report of the Signal Corps mes- sage center since it was established in 1923. That year it showed a saving of approximately $4,000. Five years later the saving was about $30,000 a month. The 1928 fiscal year showed a net sav- ing to the Government on its official business of $263.312. Largest Continental Radio. With the radio net including prac- tically all important key cities in the United States, Alaska, Philippines, Ha- wall and Panama, the Army has the largest continental radio system in ex- istence. About 500 enlisted men are used at these stations, including racio operators, maintenance men, supply men and technical men. The enlisted men are genernlly trained at the Signal Corps School at Fort Monmouth, N. J. ‘Thirty enlisted men and ten civillans are on the rolls at the message center at Washington. The turnover of radio operators, according to Capt. Stoner, is about 40 per cent a year, on account of the demand for Army operators after they have served their enlistment. Army and Navy transcontinental ra- dio channels are generally regarded as . the fastest manually operated channels in the world. Capt. Stoner cites a recent check of 6,000,000 words which showed that errors ran less than one- tenth of 1 per cent. Sending and re- ceiving are being mechanized as fast as possible, but most of the work at the message center will continue to be manual for some time. £ e Adds Sixty-ninth Station. Station KFAB, in Lincoln, Nebr., was added to the National Broadcasting Co. network last week, bringing its total representation to 69. It is a 5,000-watt station and divides time on the air with WBBM. in Chicago. [FREED_RADIO) 4 Palais Royal Dept. Store 11th & G Sts. N.W. District 4400 [FREED_RADIO)] 97 Radio Sales Agency A} 806 17th St. N.W. National 3570 Stewart Bros. Gift Shop 8231 Georgia Avenue Silver Spring, Md. Silver Spring 454, [FREED_RADIO] Turberville; Inc. 1730 Conn. Ave. North' 9407 ately reliable. The original power supply ap- paratus, according to reports, has | spond verbally and by letter to the period of burlesque and good clean fun. been retained as an emergency unit in the event of failure of any | part of the present high power equipment. 1 | “Nit Wits,” says Bradford' Browne, writer of popular radio features, “are not difficult to find | —but good nit wits! Ah! there's| where the trouble commences.” The Nit Wit hour, broadcast over WMAL and the Columbia | Broadcasting System every Sat-| urday night, was originally sug-| gested by ‘Georgia Backus of the! Columbia continuity department. She told her idea to Bradford Browne, who, believing it some- thing unique, set to work on the script immediately. When Brad- ford finally had scripts for three successive hours finished he be- gan a search for the proper char- acters to enact the various roles. After interviewing over 100 appli- cants, Bradford was amazed to find the proper characters in the [FREED_RADIQ)] The Hecht Company 7th & F Sts. NW. National 5100 4327 Wisconsin Ave. N.W. Cleveland 1530 Chidakel Brothers 509 7th St. S.W. Natfonal 1025 "R. G. Duane & Co. 611 H St. N.E. Lincoln 8560 District Electric Co, 15th & P Sts. NW. North 8418 “Fun for all and all for fun” is the slogan of the Nit Wit hour. Radio is still the line with which many merchants bolster up Radio Sales Co. 1010 H St. N.E. Atlantic 1776 | | 18th & Col. Rd. Fastest and Best Radle Servies ia Town REED RADIO Taubman’s Metropolitan 2334 Slim Hargett Battery Service COMPARE this set with any $200 RADIO! ,Freed Radio brings in the program just as the microphone gets it. No radio at any price can ductor Mathy Company 1918 Penna. Ave. NW. District 1082 Music Mart 18th & U Sts. N.W. North 7860 Mitchell Hdw. Co. 5000 Wisconsin Avenue Cleveland 1707 S. Gordon Music & Radio Co. 1716 Penna. 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