Evening Star Newspaper, April 28, 1935, Page 63

FROM Radio Hela For Upsets in Weather Duststorm and Drought Theories Advanced By Dopesters to President Roosevelt and Secretary Wallace. By the Radio Editor. BRAND-NEW theory about the devastationg dust storms of the Middlewest, placing the blame squarely upon radio and the fuss it allegedly Kkicks up by bombarding the atmos- phere with electrical impulses, now is being advanced and has Government scientists scratching their heads. Not only the dust storms, but the droughts and the floods, it A is claimed, can be traced to the deluge of charges of this nature the Weather Bureau prepared a their entirety as absolutely without foundation. “The radio affects no weather element whatever,” plays no part in the cause of droughts, nor is it in the remotest degree responsible for heavy rains.” These plaints, which in the main ask that radio be abolished, have come to President Roosevelt, the Secretary ot Agriculture, the Weather Bureau, the Communications Commission and other agencies. All of them eventually find their way to the Weather Bureau, where William J. Humphreys, chief of meteorological physics, replies with his stock answer. The most forceful protest comes from Dr H. Preston Pratt of Chicago, 75-year-old physician and experi- menter, who came to Washineton this menth for the avowed purpose of con- tacting Government officials, notably members of Congress, to impress upon them the ‘“seriousness” of this situ- ation and bring about a comprehen- sive scentific investigation. Armed with an 18,000-word document—which he avers offers scientific basis for his contentions—he maintains the only solution is to change the entire broad- casting structure so the millions of watts flung into the ether will go up “vertically” instead of “horizontally.” Then, he maintains, power of stations could be curtailed with no loss of re- ception and with the immediate elimi- nation of the radio blight from the face of the earth Dr. Pratt says he knows whereof he speaks because he was a pioneer in the deveiopment of the X-ray, back in 1896, and from 1879 to 1883 was an expert of the American Bell Tele- phone Co. He argues that the “watt- age” catapulted into the ether by ra- dio accelerates the action of the sun in drawing the wmoisture from the earth, thus “dehydrating” it. This process has gone on since the advent of radio a score of years ago, he claims. with the result that the dry dust on the surface is now being wafted across the land by the wind. oausing the present scourge. And, he maintains, it will become more and more serious unless something is done. HILE broadcasters are building bigger and more powerful equip- ment every day. a radio receiving system that makes the average trans- mitting outfit look puny by compari- son is being augmented to provide the 2,000 rooms of a New York hotel with short-wave programs. Listening to a small receiver in the home, the average radio fan sees a marvel of modern science in the form of a small cabinet as the immediate source of broadcast programs, little realizing that to provide programs in its rooms, a large hotel must install a network of wires and equipment fully as complicated as the telephone system of a small town. At the heart of such a system. that | of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, is an array of radio panels 50 feet long, with the outlets extending to the 2,000 private rooms as well as lobbies, banquet halls and other places At present receiving domestic broadcasts, the system is being re- built to capture the faint emanations from short-wave stations in all parts of the world, build them up as much as 100 billion times, and then feed them inko the nooks and corners of the hotel at the will of those who wish to listen. To snare these short waves, an antenna is being built which is al- most invisible from the street, thus | preserving the appearance of the two towers atop the building. Wires are strung herizontally, for the most part, and their arrangement and length has been calculated so they will pluck Blameless radio. As a matter of fact, the became so great in recent weeks circular letter refuting them in this two-page letter states. “It | with greatest efficiency the desired | short waves, covering the whole short- | wave area. In building this aerial the engineers | adapted it to peculiarities of radio waves after they have traveled » few | thousand miles around the globe. As| they move around the earth, short waves do not follow the contour of | the land and sea in a smooth curve, | but keep bouncing back and forth | between a layer of ionized atmos- phere some 100 miles from the earth Although these waves leave the sta- tion from a vertical tower, usually, and present a vertical front, by the time they have bounced a few times between the sky and the earth, they take on a new front and can be picked up by a horizontal aerial as well as | a vertical one. An advantage of the | horizontal aerial is that the vertical | waves from nearby stations are not picked up with such great volume and | | interference thus is reduced, and much static eliminated. From the aerial, the waves travel down to the hotel's sixth floor, where they are sorted and fed into the sys- tem of wires that reach every room. Six different programs are provided simultaneously for guests who wish to listen, and they can take their choice of a favorite American pro- gram, or possibly one from London, | or another from South America. The fading that usually occurs in short waves from afar is overcome by an amplifying system that auto- | matically maintgins a steady volume. | The receiving equipment really is much like that used for ship-to-shore and foreign telephone service. 'T'S more than the program that counts when the dyed-in-the-wool | listener turns on the radio. In fact, the surroundings are just about as | ‘importam, in the opinion of World- Radio, published in London, which | believes that homes should be built | to provide good radio environment |1 ! for the family. : In the matter of decorations, for | instance, the magazine states the| |room should be piainly ‘and com- | fortably furnished. Then, as to| acoustics, why they should be of the very best, of course, to exclude out- side noise, such as traffic and trolley | cars, and at the same time prevent bad echoes inside. Gray, fawn and | | brown are suggested as proper color | schemes. Detailed instructions are given as to methods of preventing “leakage” | of the program to other rooms, where a sick person, for instance, might not care to listen to what is going on in | the radio room. Subdued lighting by all means, the magazine suggests, in | taking up the matter of lighting ef- | | fects, with the taste of the listener suggested as the criterion. Besides, | the lighting should be flexible. In the case of drama, no lighting at all, or very little light might be desirable. A nice snappy dance program, on the | | other hand, might be enjoyed more | with the lights at their brightest, and this also might encourage the listen- | ers to clear their throats and join in | | the chorus. The magazine says military bands | call for a “fresh-air feeling” but concedes this isn't easy to simulate in the house, so listeners are advised | just to imagine a concert-hall at- | mosphere. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, _APRIL 28, 1935—PART FOUR. L Popular Dramatic Stars on Radio Networks Frances Langford (left), who “Hollywood Hotel” programs on Columbia. is starred with Dick Powell on the In the center is Mary Boland, Hollywood comedienne, who will have the leading role in the Radio Theater's presentation of “Ada Beats the Drum” on Columbia this after- noon. Betty Lou Gerson (right), inating in Chicago. Sunday, April 28. (Copyright, 1935) | WRC90k | WMAL 630k | WISV 1,460k Eastern Standard Time. WOL 1,310k Because of Daylight Saving Time in New York, All Network Programs Will Be Broadcast in Washington an Hour Earlier Than Usual. Follow the Schedule Closely for Changes. 8:00 |Balladeers = 8:15 Florence Wightman 8:30 Peerless Trio 8:45 Alcen Edkins 9:00 Radio Pulpit 9:15 This 9:30 Svit 9:45 10:00 Vogues and Vagaries Listening Post String Quartet 10:15 Gould and Shefter 11:00 Maj. Bowes' Family Opportunity 11:15 ‘What Home Means | 11:30 University of Chicago s i Southernaires | |The Funnies Senior String Group Music Hall of the Air Elder Michaux Church of the Air Patterns in Harmon: | Reflections | Glee Club ‘Tabemscle Choir Songs of the Church Christian Endeavor | Organ Recital y Radio Personalities Music in the air |Dixie Harmonies Morning Moods ‘Tabernacie Choir Garden of Romany Trail Matinee ‘Tomorrow International Broadcast Dick and George Ridge Runners Popular Hits P.M. AFTERNOON PROGRAMS 12:00 N. B. C. Feature 12:15 Aerial Columnist 12:30 'Surprise Party 1:00 Sally of the Talkies 1:15 o i 1:30 The Aristocrats 1:45 'Lovely Lady Music Hall of the | Dr. Daniel A. Poling Words to the Wise Musical Interlude Radio Theater ir Church of the Air McCravy Trio Lazy Dan | The Old Timer Spires of Melody Lucille Pierce Ferguson Hilo Melody Boys Carolina’s Tenor Irving Harriss’ Orch. Watch Tower | {Italian Trio 'Shepperd Boy 72:00 'Basque Ensemble 2:15 o 2 2:30 Penthouse Serenade @B R A ke 3:00 Rhythm Symphony 3:15 = = Radio Theater Sparton Triolians Base Ball Game ;Sundny Vespers |Church of the Air | {Joe Brown's Kiddies 3:30 Harry Reser's Orchestra Afternoon Melcdies _8:45 |Dream Drama 4:00 |Sentinels 4:15 i 4:30 Tony Wans 4:45 . ” | Travelogue Fireside Chats Temple of Song Serenade Roses and Drums try Chure Crumit & Sanderson | |Joe Brown's Kiddies 'Radio Voices Melody Moments s |“Listeners’ Voices™ |Dansant Bysantine Ensemble 75:00 Catholic Hour 5:30 Continental Varieties _5:45 2 2 Heart Throbs 'Grand Hotel Amateur Night Ed McConnell Serenade Catholic Radio Hour P.M. NG PROGRAMS, 6:00 Scores—Music 6:15 Three Maids 6:30 Fireside Recitals 6:45 Wendell Hall Telephone Anniversary Dinner Concert “ “ | “ Church Choir [“0ld Tolerable” 7:00 Bowes' Amateur Hour 7:15 e 7:30 ol 7:45 Sports Parade Evening Album String Symphony |Bddie Cantor ,wm Rogers Dinner Music Goodwill Choir Three-Quarter Time Silver String Revelers 8:00 Merry-Go-Round 8:15 i 8:30 Musical Revue (oo e e 200 | “The Gibson Pamily | Amer “ - | “ 9:15 | 9:30 | 45 | Silken Strings Walter Winchell Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes Ghost Stories ican Fireside G Sunday Evening Hour \Violin Concert Moods in Rhythm Dance Parade Wayn | | Arcjy McDonald Serfftor La Follette President Roosevelt | President Roosevelt King's Orchestra Dance Parade “ o« |Dance Parade Family Circle “ 20-year-old actress from Chattanooga, who takes part in a number of the N. B. C. dramatic presentations orig- FOREIGN SHORT-WAVE STATIONS STATION. MEGACYCLES. 6.45 9.57 15.20 6.02 11.76 9.54 HOURS. 6 to 10 p.m. 8 to 11:30 am, 5 to 9:15 p.m. 12:30 to 2 am, 3:45 to 7:15 am. Noon to 4:30 pm., 5 to 9:15 p.m. Noon to 4:30 p.m. 3:45 to 7:15am., 8 t£ cry Barranquilla ....HJ1ABB Berlin ......ccc.....DJA Berlin ..............DJB Berlin Berlin Berlin 19 S g N » 8 15.28 1033 6.11 6.15 . 15.22 7.80 HBL S 9.59 ...HC2RL 6.67 Berlin ... Brussels . Caracas .... Caracas .. Eindhoven Geneva . Geneva .... Guayaquil .. :30 to 6:15 p.m. Sat. :30 to 6:15 p.m. Sat. :45 to 8 p.m. Sun.; 9:15 to 11:15 p.m. Tues. 9:30 am. to 1 pm. and 4 to 7 pm. daily; 11:30 pum. Saturday only. 8:30 to 10:10 am. Mon., Thurs., Fri.; 8:30 to 10:40 am. Sat. and Sunday. Noon to 6 p.m. 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tues., Thurs. and Sat. 6 to 8 pm. 9:15 am. to noon; 12:15 to 5:45 p.m. 4 to 5:45 pm, 6 to 8 p.m. 12:15 to 4 p.m. 6 to 9 am, 9:15 am. to noon. 6 to 9 am. 10 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. 5:15 to 7:30 p.m. 5 to 6:30 am. Wed.; 5 to 7 am. Sat. 10 to 11 a.m. Sunday. 4 to 5 pm. 10:15 am. to 1:15 pm, 2to 5 pm. 6 to 9 pm, 10 pm. to midnight. 6 to 10 am. 9 to 11 p.m. Thursday. 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. DN o e Havana . .coc 6.01 Huizen .. «e..PHI 9.55 9.60 6.05 9.51 9.58 1175 11.86 15.13 6.11 ~ee.LOL CT1AA ..GSA ..GSB -GSD ...GSE .GSF .GSL Jeloy . Lisbon London London London London London London London 9.87 9.51 12.00 6.00 11.90 1171 15.25 6.62 9.50 Madrid ... ....EAQ Melbourne .VK3ME ..RNE ...RV59 . (Pontoise) MOSCOW ... MOSCOW a0t Paris ...... Paris ..........(Pontoise) . (Pontoise) Riobamba PRADO News Bulletins Stan Myers’ Orcl La Paree Orch. tra 1:15 11:30 Jimmie Garrigan’s Orch. Slumber Hour 11:45 Beauty That Endures Madriguera’s Orch. Keith Beecher's Orch. |Freddie Bergin's Orch. I Melody Moments ‘fli{'cfiarles Coughlin {At the Console “Rhumba” 12:00 Sign Off Sign_Off Sign Off Sign Off AM. EARLY PROGRAMS TOMORROW. 6:30 6:45 1 | Elder Michaux Your Timekeeper 7:00 A “« Moming Devotions |Don Hall Trio {Cheerio b Sun Dial i \Your Timekeeper “« |Breakfast Club_ ) |Wyoming Jack Clara, Lu and Em iDoctor of the Blues oe Whte Morning 00 |Masquerade 'Merry Madcaps |Fields and Hall Holman Sisters |Today’s Children News Bulletins lsun Dial Jean Abbey Radio Oracle |Woman's Hour |Musical Clock Radio Canaries Old King Tut Words and Music Honeyboy and Sassafras Honeymooners Tony Wons U. S. Navy Band |“Famous Babies” Mary Marlin Blue Boys (Woman’s Hour |Better Homes Variety and Value 'Top O’ the Mornin® Variety and Value U. 8. Navy Band W oW A Capella Choir Voice of Experience The Gumps Hester Walker Beall Spring Festival |01d Favorites Radio Personalities Morning Moods Oleanders Sir Joshua, Stamp ) 'Midday Merry Go Round| Listening Pos |Al and Lee Reiser |Farm and Home Hour |Madison Ensemble Radio Interview {Afternoon Rhythms Jan Savitt'’s Orchestra = |Dance Music iLuncheon Concert AFTERNOON PROGRAMS Music Clubs 1:30 |Three Scamps 1:45 M. & M. Program [Farm and Home Hour Rice Brothers |Music Guild 2:00 [Home Sweet Home 2:15 |Vic and Sade 2:30 |Ma Perkins _2:45 |Siazlers Music Guild “Auto Traffic” Vaughn De Leath [Little French Princess [Slaughter’s Ensemble |Romance of Helen Trent Ladies of the Air ‘School of the Air Base Ball Game Orchestral Gems Popular Hits Waltz Time Radio Romeos 3:00 3:15 3:30 3:45 [Platt and Nierman 'Woman's Radio Review |Arthur Lang, Baritone Betty and Bob Dog Stories Radio Gu‘l'ld 4:00 4:15 Kay Foster Alice Hutchins Drake 4:39 |Alice in Orchestralia 4:45 |Sundown Revue Radio GIIPC Singing Lady Little Orphan Annie (Base Ball Game Dansant Symghnnl‘? Gems del'y'l Ym P 258 68u3&868G el gsuuu’uuuu'_ | » - o 5:00 |“Congress Speaks” g5 | 4w 5:30 |Chasin’ the Blues [Evening Star Flashes Aunt Sue and Polly 'Tea Time vin C. Hazen will be the guest of (Classified Directory Radio Voices 5:00 5:15 5:30 U. S. Given Half Hour. Rio de Janeiro. ... Rome .. ROME .....ev000.....2RO Sydney ..........VK2ME Valencia .........YV6RV 9.60 6.09 9.59 6.52 7:45t09:15 p.m. Mon., Wed. and Friday 6 to 7:30 dp.m. Mon., Wed. and Friday 5 to 9 am, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday. 6 to 10 p.m. Program to Honor D. C. Wi n will be honored during the weel “Show Boat” hbroadcast on N. B. C. ‘The mythical drop anchor in the Potomac and Capt. Henry and his crew will present a special program dedicated to the Nation's Capital. Commissioner Mel- [ Wednesday. 1 “Show Boat” will | spirif ‘honor. The program will include a colorful resume of the most lyrical songs of the last 35 years. Popular, classical, tusl—virtually every type of music will be presented by Mary Lou, Conrad Thibault, Helen Oleheim, the Show Boat Four, the Show Boat Glee Club and Gus Haenschen’s A To give British subjects an idea of what goes on in the United States, the British Broadcasting Corp., gov~ ernment monopoly operating Britain's radio, has inaugurated a series of pro- grams “the American Half Hour.” Radio Features and Notes President Roosevelt's “fireside chat” | | to the Nation tonight will be broadcast | by WRC, WMAL and WJSV at 10. He is expected to discuss the adminis- tration of the $4,880,000,000 reem- ployment fund. ! Mary Boland, comedienne, will be starred in the Radio Theater'’s ver- sion of “Ada Beats the Drum," on WMAL at 1:30. A play-by-play account of the Wash- ington-Boston base ball game will pre- vent WJSV from broadcasting the | weekly concert of the New Philhar- r.onic Symphony Society Orchestra | sfom 2 to 4. Other Columbia stations including WABC, New York (860 kilo- cycles); WCAU, Philadelphia (1,170 kilocycles), and WCAO. Baltimore (600 meters), will broadcast the con- cert | " Mischa Levitzki, famous pianist. will be the guest artist on the program with Victor Kolar's Symphony Or- chestra on WJSV at 8. He will play the Chopin nocturne in F-sharp major followed by Liszt's “Campanella,” Chopin's “Etude for Black Keys.,” and his own composition, “Arabesque Val- | sante.” The orchestra numbers in- clude the “Hunting Song" “Roman Carnivel” “Malaguena” and “To a Wild Rose.” Historic incidents pertaining to the discovery end development of the telephone, will be the highlights of a special 50th apniversary program by the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. on WJSV at 6. Trio of Violins and Piano and Margaret McCravy singine for Beautiful CEDAR HILL VAN The World's Smartest Collar WISV SUNDAY NIGHT 61t 7 Music, drama and telephone features commemorating soth Anniversary Amer. Tel. & Tel. Co. 93 Columbia Stations Coast-to-Coast «©» Walter S. Gifford Loss of * F—7 THE AIR WAVES AND BROADCASTING STUDIOS Slumber Music Broadcasts Is Deplored Late Offering Held Needed on Hookup of Stations—N. B. C. Trial Proved Appeal Well Founded. By Peter Dixon. with Slumber Music. H featured the music of a small the direction of Ludwig Laurier. nouncer—and occasionally the soloist. o'clock at night, by the National Broadcasting Co. ERE'S some news about Slumber Music. Perhaps there are radio listeners who aren’t familiar It was a feature, presented after 11 It orchestra, mostly strings, under Milton J. Cross was the an- I believe it is safe to say the program had one of the largest and most appreciative fol- lowings of any program on the Several years ago, N. B. C. took the program off the air and, to date, N. B. C. has never been able to give this particular listener a satisfactory reason for its action. Thousands of listeners have written and asked for the return of Slumber Music—but N. B. C. has done nothing about it. A few weeks ago this column er- roneously said: “Slumber Music 15 back on the air over WLIT in Phila- | delphia but it isn't the Slumber Music made famous by Ludwig Laurier.” As a matter of fact, the program on the air in Philadelphia is the same Slum- | ber Music but it isn'y directed by Laurier. Keith McLeod, former N. B. C. execu- tive and the man who created and produced Slumber Music, is now an executive of Station WFIL, formerly WLIT, in Philadelphia. And one of the first things McLecd did was to recreate the Slumber Music period It is on the air from WFIL six nights & week under the direction of Harold Micklin. The instrumentation is the same and the same musical arrange- ments are used. R. McLEOD wrote: “I can truthfully say that the performance of music so far has been superior to the programs we gave in New York. This is in no way a criticism of Mr. Laurier, but we have been able to have adequate rehearsals for each broadcast, and also have' the same musicians every night which, of course, under our system of operation in New York. was impossible. I o; hope the time may come when N. B. [ FREE INSPECTIONS ON ANY MAKF RADIO BY OUR RADIO EXPERTS SPECIAL_PRICES ON ALL-WAVE AERIALS o 938 F ST. N.W. OIL BURNER DISTRIBUTED BY COMPANY Cordially Invites Comparison WITH ANY OIL BURNER AT ANY PRICE air. might like to have us feed this pro- gram to the network.” As I said before, the action of N. B. C. in discarding one of the most popular programs ever broadcast and in ignor- ing the wishes of hundreds of thou- sands of listeners is beyond this lis- | tener’s comprenension. Dialan N. B.C. outlet at 11 o'clock at night and almost invariably you get a dance band or a speaker. N. B. C. has not even a satisfactory substitute for Slumber Music. WOR has a program called | Moonbeams that is pleasing—but it isn't Slumber Music. Slumber music, as we knew it and loved it, is available to a network. There is an audience waiting for it. N. B. C. has two outlets and there is nothing to prevent N. B. C. from offer- ing a hot dance band opposite slumber music. One hates to compare the world's largest broadcasting organization to a “stubborn little boy—but some N. B. C. executive must be hopelessly stubborn in his continued refusal to recognize the popularity and genuine merit of slumber music. Perhaps these comments will bring a reply from N. B. C.—an explanation of why there is no slumber music ex- cept in lucky Philadelphia. RENOVIZE : .. your home | Plumbers that are Plumbers DISTRICT &: i Everly's’ OFFICIAL PHILCO TRANSITONE Automobile Radio Sales and Service LS. 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TIME CHANGE ON FORD SUNDAY EVENING HOUR == Beginning tonight the Ford Sunday Evening Hour will be broadcast one hour earlier, from will speak briefly on Bell System policies o Program will include EDWIN C. HILL 810 9 o'clock Eastern Standard Time. Tonight's Soloist . . Mischa Levitzki, Pianist TED HUSING CHANNING POLLOCK ANDRE KOSTELANETZ 50 piece Orchestra—Chorus COMING SOLOISTS May 5 « .« Albert Spalding, violinist May12 . . . Charles Hackett, tenor May 19 « . Richard Crooks, tenor May 26 « Richard Bonelli, baritone AND The Ford Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Victor Kolar Directing |€ &P Tel Co. MEtopolinn 9900 o \