Evening Star Newspaper, November 10, 1929, Page 69

- SEEK RADID FANS PROGRAM DESIRES Radio Commission Now Tab- ulating Replies to Question- naire on Subject. BY ROBERT MACK. What kind of programs does the average radio listener want? That's the question broadcasters have | been asking themselves since radio be- gun, but it has been too broad for them | to answer. Just a year ago listeners| everywhere eomplained about jumbled | reception and gave little thought to| program diversification or advertising | methods. To rectify conditions the Federal Radio Commission switched the assignments of 94 per cent of the 600-| odd stations in a Nation-wide realloca- | tion. That reception has vastly im-| proved is evidenced in the few com- ' Plaints about interference. | With the technical difficulties virtu- ally overcome, the mind of the listener has turned to the type of program ma- terial. The commission has been send- ing out questionnaires, but final results have not been tabulated, and at best they will ‘represent the views of only a amall group of the 45,000,000 listeners. One enterprising city, San Francisco, on its own Initiative set out to ascer- tain what was wrong with programs in the opinion of its own listeners. The results are somewhat confusing, since the questions propounded in some in- stances conflicted. In any event, they are worthy of notice, since they do give a cross-section of listener opinion on many of the questions that have arisen relative to programs and radio likes and dislikes. Report Reception Improved. ‘The questionnaire was sent to thtl membership of the Commonwealth Club, | to employes of the Southern Pacific Railroad and to employes of San Fran- cisco's largest department store. The results of the questionnaire were pased on 4,000 replies received. . Of most national importance, the sur- vey showed that 94 per cent of the lis- teners felt local reception was improved as compared with two years ago. Sixty- seven per cent reported distance recep- tion fmproved, 37 r cent said they still try to get “distance,” while 5 per cent responded they were “tired of radio.” Orchestral selections were the favor- ite type of musical m with men's voices running a close second. Sixty-six per cent of the listeners said they preferred less of the ‘“spoken ‘word,” while 68 per cent favored more educational talks, 55 per cent more radio dramas, 68 per cent more classical music, 85 per cent more semi-classical music and 36 per cent more jazz. There were many and diverse opin- fons as to “what’s wrong with radio to- day,” one of the leading questions. Some said there were too many sta- tions and others too much advertising, Jack of Sunday variety, too many preachers, too much jazz, mediocre an- nouncers or too mang, cigarette ads. Chain Programs Preferred. Chain programs are preferred by 71 rer cent of the listeners. ‘The remain- ng 29 per cent favored individual sta- tions. In the much-controverted field of radio advertising, 53 cent of the listeners said they were “annoyed” by it, while another 7 per cent Stated parti- cular types of commercial program ‘were objectionable. Censoring of pro- | ms was favored by 39 per cefit, while :;lper cent responded they “feel grate- ful to advertisers” for the types of pro- grams they make available, One of the surprises was the response o the query, “Do you enjoy the broad- cast of phonograph recordings?: Eighty. one per cent said they did’ The ques- tion required only a “yes" or “no” an- swer, and did not give opportunity for the listener to state whether he favored phon ph records as compared to orig! programs. Here were the types of replies to the question, “Can you suggest a way to finance programs without advertisers?”: “Tax set owners. Tax radio manu- facturers. Government subsidy. clubs. Slot machine sets. Voluntary contributions. Free &rocnmn by educa- Philanthropic subsidy. bills. sul A ‘Tax railroad tickers and transfers 1 cent each. Tax with seal on sets and notice posted at front door. Tax sport and amusement gate receipts. (Copyright, 1929, by the Consolidated Press.) ——a ?ong of Bakers. The first published song written by F4 Sullivan, bakery wagon driver at | New Bedford, Conn.. is to be sung by the Happy Bakers and associates Wed- nesday. Station Anniversary. In observation of its tenth anniver- sary a5 a proadcast station, KDKA, which annowmces itself as the pioneer broadeasting Sation of the world, pre- sented & 40-hour program. Golf Trials Subject. Crucial moments in a golf am- THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON . € NOVEMBER 10, 1929—PART FOUR. SINGERS AND DRAMATIC STARS IN LE I MARTINE BURNLEY- FLOYD WILLIAMS- : ‘WMAL attraction. VER since the collapse of the American Broadcasting Co., which enthusiastically set out to form a third nation- wide radio chain, reports have been trickling into Washington of steps being taken in New York to revive the project. The rumors were not taken seri- ously until yesterday, when an ap- parent authentic report came to WOL that it had been selected as the Washington outlet for the new chain, which, it was said, is being organized by the Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer motion picture interests. Details were lacking, however, and there was no indication, of course, just how extensive will be the ramifications of the proposed new network. At any rate, it is evident that Was| n is not .to be. over- looked any new broadcasting system that may be created to compete against the firmly estab- lished National and Columbia Broadcasting Systems. And no well-intentioned broadcasting or- ganization would fail to include ‘Washington in its network, since it is one of the country’s most vital broadcasting centers; not musi- mgfilperh:ps, but certainly po- ly. It will be recalled that WOL was chosen as the Washington repre- sentative of the ill-fated Ameri- can Broadcasting Co.’s chain, and that LeRoy Mark, owner and op- erator of the station, went to con- siderable expense to improve the studio and install new ‘trans- mitting equipment. Mark, of course, was the loser, but Wash- ington benefited by the marked improvement in the station’s transmissions. But now, it seems, Mark is about to realize a return on his investment. * % x % ‘While on the subject of WOL. it might not be amiss to mention the fact that Peggy Clarke, the sta- tion’s popular studio manager and broadcaster of advice to house- wives, returns tomorrow from & belated two weeks’ vacation trip to pionship will be described by Phylips Carlin on WJZ and network Thursday 8s his part of the Sparkers’ program. Chicago. Miss Clarke postcarded the NOW!! The Very La test in Radio KOLSTER REMOTE CONTROL! The REMOTE CON- TROL, exclusively a KOLSTER FEA- TURE, permits full electrical operation of receiver from ANY ROOM IN THE HOUSE. It is with- out doubt the most advanced radio fea- ture for 1930. The Model K45 il- lustrated Kolster Re- ceiver in handsome walnut cabinet, with tapestry front.. Se- lecter tuner on side of cabinet. Kolster is the finest set you i P trel, it is the most advanced of any set on the market. DEFERRED PAYM| “Washington’s fir HARRY C. St. N 523 11th ENTS IF DESIRED st Kolster dealer” - GROVE ixc W., Dist. 206 ZANAIDA NICOLINA- Martine Burnley of the “Good News” company, who will take part in the Night Club Romance sketch Tuesday night over WMAL and other Columbia sta- tions. Rosaline Green will star in a dramatic version of ‘“Messer Marco P¢ in the Eveready hour the same night over WRC and an N. B. C. network. “Evening Stars” program over WRC Friday will have Bea as its guest soloist. Floyd Williams, former secretary of Vice President Curtis and prominent in Washington music circles, is appearing as the soloist with Freddie Rich’s Orchestra in the “Tea Timers,” broadcast over WMAL and the Columbia network. Zinaida Nicolina is the “Miss La Palina” of the La Palina Smoker, a he ice Belkin, soprane Behind the Microphone BY THE RADIO EDITOR. Washington radio editors last week that she had been “so many places and saw so many things in Chicago” that she was more ex- cited than she had ever been be- fore the microphone. * % ¥ ¥ Radio will take a prominent part in the observance of Armi- stice day tomorrow. Nearly all broadcasting stations of any im- portance have arranged special programs, but the major network features will originate in Wash- ington. The -outstanding broadcast, of course, will be the American Le- gion's celebration in the Wash- ington Auditorium, at which Presi- dent Hoover and Gen. John J. Pershing are to.be the principal speakers. WRC and an N. B. C. network will distribute the pro- gram throughout the country. Special Armistice day services at the Washington Cathedral also are to be broadcast. Two pro- grams are announced by the Cathedral, one at 11 o'clock to- morrow morning, to be broadcasl. by WMAL, and another at 3 3 purity of range. G RADIO PROGRAMS BEATRICE BELKIN- o'clock in the afternoon, which WRC will distribute. Both services are to take place in the beautiful Bethlehem Chapel in the crypt of the Cathedral where President Wilson, Admiral George Dewey, Ambassador Henry White and other prominent fig- ures in American history are buried. The morning program will be “A Service of Prayer and Thanksgiv- ing for All Those Who Served in the Great War.” The second will be the service in memorial tribute to Woodrow Wilson, which is held annually at his tomb. R Don Clark, chief of continuity for the Columbia Broadcasting System, was for six years an an- nouncer, and before that was a program manager, a publicity man, an entertainer, an operator, radio editor of two Albany news- papers and a general scribe. Some one asked Clark why he felt fitted to play the part of one of the bellhops in the “Henry- George” programs, and his an- swer left all doubt out of the pic~ ture. It came out that he worked as a bellhop in a Summer hotel at the Thousand Islands several vacations in his younger days, and the lingo strikes a familiar note in his ears. He is now learning all over again to come to attention at the call of “front!” PR On the warpath with a ven- geance, the Federal Radio Com- mission last week ordered off the air 20 broadcasting stations in all parts of the country because they had failed to file applications for renewal of their licenses. The ex- isting licenses of these stations locals *and regionals, expired at 3 a.m. October 31, at which time no formal applications for renewais had been received. And at the same time the com- mission shook up the assignments on the air of more than a dozen stations operating in the Middle- west, practically all of them large stations. It is a part of a pro- gram mapped out by the commis- slon to rid localities of interfer- ence, improve reception and gen- Seventh and D Sts. erally straighten out the broad- “MAJESTIC” Model 92 Electric Radio -Less Tubes $1 46.00‘ This is the famous Anniversary model—all electric, eight-tube—ab- solutely no hum or oscillation at any All-Electric Radio $119-0 Less Tubes Make every comparison, you'll find the Philco most responsive. Marvelous selectivity. tone. Rare Vast distance Pay Later—The Hub EHU | the “No Man's Land” of radio. ULTRA-SHORT WAVE OFFERS NEW FIELD Channels From 13 Meters Down Are Regarded as “No Man’s Land.” In the ftdst of all the eager scram- bling for radio’s short waves certain commercial interests here and abroad, along with the amateurs, are not over- looking the possibilities that rest in the ultra-short waves. These are the chan- nels from 13 meters down to fractions of 1 meter, now generally regarded as Radio history recorded the develop- ment of the waves below 200 meters by amateurs and experimenters. Then the commercial companies stepped in, de- manding and obtaining the short-wave channels that are now regarded as precious for all sorts of uses, including transoceanic, ship and aireraft commu- nication, facsimile transmission and television. By international treaty the amateurs and experimenters were subsequently crowded into narrow bands of the high frequencies they pioneered. History will probably repeat itself when the ultra- short waves are proved practical, though commercial experimenters are intrench- ing themselves early this time. Treaty Ignored “No Man's Land.” The international radio treaty, signed here in 1927, while it considered “‘plum” wave lengths, ignored the channels from 23,000 kilocycles (13 meters) to the end of the radio spectrum, which is really infinity. This dark region of radio was left to be used as each country saw fit. That results are beginning to be achieved in it is evident from the roster of the world’s radio stations furnished by the International Bureau of the Telegraph Union at Bern, Switzerland. The list reveals that experimental sta- tions, most of them of high power, been established in this country by the General Electric Co., Federal Telegraph Co. and_Universal Wireless Communi- cations Co. on the channels from 23,000 to 28000 kilocycles (13 to 107-10 meters). The Carnegie Institute’s vessel, the Carnegie, is shown to be working in the 10-meter band. Actual communi- cation between Bolivia and New York 1s being carried on by Standard Oil Co.| stations at about 13 meters. The radio subsidiary of Standard Oil applied to the Federal Radio Commission only last week for authority to continue experi- ments on ultra-shoyt waves. . The 10-meter band, which comprises casting set-up. Within the past fortnight it has ordered shifts in regional assignments in Florida and California to clean up local interferences. Gradually it in- tends to sweep over the country, adjusting shortcomings in the set- up that have been noticed since the sweeping reallocation of just a year ago, in which the assign- ments of 94 per cent of the sta- tions were changed. ‘The action of deleting stations is in line with the confirmed be- lief of commissioners that there are too many stations on the air, but that it would be unjust to order stations off the aif without provocation. But the policy has been adopted that any stations violating basic regulations of the commission will suffer the su- preme penalty. Should any of the stations give plausible reasons for their failure to file license renew- als, they unquestionably will be reinstated. The 20 stations cited. the commission points out, now are unlicensed, and should have been off the air at 3 a.m., October 31. “It is presumed that the sta- tions are not now operating,” the commission states in its rormal[ N.wW. order spelling the demise of the stations. “Came the Dawn.” pose. Today even the reluctant theater | | | ALL things comes to him who waits, and for the purpose of this story “him” is a generic term with “her” as a constituent element. Not so many years ago the chorus girl of the big shows, who drew down a meager weekly stipend, from which she had to pay her board and keep, and sometimes at least for a part of her wearing apparel, suddenly found herself the sublime object of solicitude on the part of the more important ac- tors, actresses, theater managers and organizations of both. There were wordy wars waged over the little “hoof- ers,” and forensic eloquence printed and spoken flooded the land to draw tears from sympathetic tear tanks and to win for “the poor little girl” that “simple Justice” which she alone of all the world stood in need. There was never a men- tion of “gold diggers” in those days. And the result of it all was that “the poor little girl” landed on both feet, with a higher scale of wages for her artistic manipulation and with per- quisites such as she had never dreamed of previous thereto. ‘Wgue, since that momentous revolu- tion greedy managers and their minions have vainly striven to rob the ensemble artist of her newly-acquired glory, but epithets such as ‘“hoofer.” “chorine,” “merry-merry” and what not have failed to accomplish their fiendish pur- ness and comfort, because it looks to her possible needs when the years have «one their deadly work and possibly rogram distinguishes her and her asso- ghtu as of the “ladies of the chorus.” Now a new happiness has come to “the poor little girl’—a great happi- “the speaking stage” has been entirely eliminated from the equation by its cinema rival, the vociferous product of | the movie world, “the all-talking. 100 per cent, all-singing, all-dancing photo- lay.” 5 s!cmebody out in far-away Australia. perhaps it was her uncle, died and left Irene Franklin, actress and author, a cool half million, and Irene, like the fine, generous-hearted girl she ever has been, has set apart the sum of $40,000 for the purchase of a four-acre tract of land and a l14-room house in the Townley section of Union, N. J., “where any girl on the stage doing rou at a small salary may come and make herself at hcme whenever she is out of work, in ill-health or out of funds.” That 'isn't a bit funny. It is & won- derful gesture for Miss Franklin, worthy of emulation by eyen our multi-million- aires who owe much of their present pesition to the life-sapping toil of men and women much like the poor little hoofers to whom the dawn of a new era is come. some 116 channels of 60 kilocycle widths, is generally accepted as the sphere of the amateurs, and many for- eign countries are permitting their “hams” free operation therein. Con- siderable success in communicating in this band has already been reported by the American Radio Relay League. Between 30,000 and 56,000 kilocycles (10 to 535-100 meters) the German station at Koenigswusterhausen is re- ported to be carrying on actual coastal and point-to-point communication. An- other station, in Rome, is reported op- erating in that band also. Various American companies have been licensed in this band, all for experiments. If this band becomes workable in time, it would open up 325 more short-wave channels, each of 80 kilocycle widths, for commercial exploitation. ‘There are 40 channels of 100 kilo- cycles’ widths each in the band from 56,000 to 60,000 kilocycles (5.30 to 5 me- ters), and this also has been reserved to the world’s amateurs in those coun- tries that encourage amateur wireless. ‘The Federal Telegraph Co. has a sta- tion at Half Moon Bay, Calif, using 75,000 kilocycles (4 meters). The high- est frequencies of record that are in use are those around 400,000 kilocycles, which is only a fraction of 1 meter, shown to be used by a Canadian ex- perimenter. The ultra-short wave experiments in this country look to the future use of these channels for point-to-point serv- ice and beam and facsimile transmis- sion, according to license records of the Federal Radio Commission. The experi- ments generally are intended to deter- mine the characteristics of the frequen- cles, such as their’reliability and pecu- larity, but are often conducted also to aid in the development of low-capacity vacuum tubes. Extremely short antennae sometimes are used to radiate these short-wave signals. A recent scientific radio jour- nal told how a Japanese engineer, using common pins as antennae, was able to transmit signals a distance of about 100 yards via certain ultra-short waves. (Copyright, 1929. by the North American Newspaper Alliance.) “@Gold King” on Radio. “The Gold King,” in four acts, is to be pressnted by Hank Simmons' Show boat cast Wednesday night, on the CBS chain. New Direcior at WWJ. Hermann Hoexter has joined the staff of WWJ to become program director. He formerly was chief of the NBC re- search bureau. LN OPERASOFPUGEIN T0 BE BROADCAST i il ¥ \WEAF Is Key Station of.:: Scheduled Coast-to- =~ Coast Programs. By the Associated Press. = NEW YORK.—Lovers of the musical classics are to hear a series of Glacomo Puccini's operas on the raglio for the first time. Beginning with the presentation o1 “Mme. Butterfly” Saturday night at 7 o'clock, over a coast-to-coast network k| of 46 stations assqciated with the N. B. C. chain, six of his operas are to be presented, one each month. WEAF is to be the key station. Permistion for the broadcasts has just been granted by George Maxwell, American representative of the house of Ricordi of Milan, Italy, which owns the copyrights. He reserved the right .. to supervise all artistic details. e Change in Policy. 3 The copyright owners previously had declined requests to present these mu- sical productions on the air. The change in policy came about h s’ belief that radio now has reached the. . . point of development whereby the full . Fange of classical music can be trans- " mitted. Of all Puccini's music, only two num- bers have been broadcast. The first was the duet from “La Boheme” five years ago and an aria from “Mme. " Butterfiy later. Operatic stars are to participate with - an orchestra conducted by Gennaro Papi, who was director of Italian operas .. . at the Metropolitan Opera House, New ' York, for 12 years. Notable Singers. Singers will include Mme. Frances Alda, Mario Chamlee, Pasquale Amato, _ " Alfred O'Shea and Merle Alcock, all, widely known on the operatic stage. Deems Taylor, composer and commen= tator, will recite the libretto. -+ In addition to “Mme. Butterfly,” these | operas will be heard in this order at monthly intervals: “La Tosca,” “Girl of the Golden West,” “Manon Lescourt,” “The Trypich,” the name by which three short operas, “Il Tabarro,” “Gian- ni Schicchi,” and “Suor Angelica” are” known, and “La Boheme.” L Rhodesia threatens to break away - from the Union of South Africa and have a separate tariff. R L e I NI R A 1 Here's the By rURE STORY of VIBRA-CONTROL THE AMAZING FADA ACHIEVE- MENT THAT HAS REVOLU- TIONIZED RADIO RECEPTION 1 Vibra-Control is an accomplished fact 4 But Vibra-Control was only possible when Fada had co- ordinated these three perfect units by locating each point of vibra- tion, with the aid of the Strobo- scope, and gradually eliminating all unwanted vibrations from the receiver, speaker and console. NLY Fada has Vibra-Con- _trol . . . the secret of true - tone realism. You can hear these remarkable sets at your Fada dealers, where they are dis- played in a wide Radio’s most baflling prob- lem has been the complete control of vibration to eliminate after-tones, roars and unwanted interference with the true sound waves. Now, thanks to Fada, nd here’s how Fada did it. 2 First Fada perfected a super sensitive, super-selective re- eeiving circuit using every impor- tant radio advance such as screen grid tubes, 245 er tubes in push-pull amplification, power detection, ete., to cut thru inter- ference and bring in programs clean-cut and clear. 5 «+.and, oh, what a difference . for now every note, every gradation of tone was re| ced exactly as broadcast . . . absolutely tife-like . . . for nothing is lost, nothing nothing added .. .true tone realism at last. Over- night Vibra-Control shattered all previous standards of radio reception, Fa in $99.50 to FADA ON THE AIR he NEALBL N et Fada O Tuesday night at 10 o’clock, ern Standard Time, from Staf WMAL, Washington, 475.9 meter: the full without dynamic speaker Then Fada developed a new dynamic 'Mo! l:r to deliver er stortion, placed 1t in binets consoles that were ientifically engineered for tone 1nlillec «+.and Fada tone became Here’s the p?nlnr Vibra- ControlFada25.Itusesscreen d tubes and the new 245 power e st Smplitication: HIGHBOY ‘165 LESS TUBES da full power tone tested range of models, priced from $675.00. (Slightly higher west of the Rockies and in Canada.) F. A. D. ANDREA, Long Island New York. Inec., CHARLES RUBEL & CO., Inc. 812 Ninth St N.W. ‘Washingto n, D. C.