Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

We Pay Our Respects to IRA E. ROBINSON 3UR YEARS of work well done Lve been completed by Ira Ells"brth Robinson, who on Jan. 15 tires as Federal Radio Commisjner representing the Second »ne. Much of the fundamental dio law written on the statute oks may be attributed to the skill id the juridicial acumen of the )mmissioner who, of his own vo ion, returns to private life to re me law practice. Blunt and outspoken in his critiIms, but always showing a sparktog sense of humor, Judge Robin n has been in the thick of every dio affray during his tenure on e Commission. It was only in icent months that he found him lf in the majority on important letters of policy. His stinging reakes of individuals and organizasbns have made enemies of many [jen identified with radio. But he is a host of friends who view him a steadying force in radio regu tion. ' Even Judge Robinson's opponiits admitted that he always had e courage of his convictions. As tairman of the Commission durg the stormy period two years £o, he usually was in the one:an minority, with his anti-high wer, clear channel views, and s public utility concept of broad. sting. His prediction then that ■ "revolt of the public" impended jainst what he termed the "overuse of advertising on the air" was offed at. Tall, slender and youthful apl paring for all his 62 years, Judge obinson hails from the hills of 'est Virginia, and still maintains s residence at Adaland, near rafton. Always a keen student, adge Robinson's hobby is his Test Virginia farm and — poetry. His favorite poet is James Whitcomb Riley, and one of his delights is to recite the many Riley poems and others from the liberal store in his well cultivated memory. But Judge Robinson was in his best element in legal discussions, and at hearings he matched wits with the best of them. It is a familiar sight for him to bite off an inch of a cigar, chew for a moment, and then launch into a pointed discussion of "the authorities" on this legal point or that. Judge Robinson was appointed to the Commission by President Coolidge on March 29, 1928. He was elected chairman April 5 of that year, and served in that capacity until Feb. 28, 1930, when he was succeeded by Maj. Gen. C. McK. Saltzman, as chairman. Born near Grafton, on Sept. 16, 1869, Robinson was graduated from Fairmont State Normal School in 1889, and studied law at the University of Virginia in 1890. He was admitted to the bar in 1891 and began practicing at Grafton the same year. Serving as prosecuting attorney for Taylor County, W. Va., from 1896 to 1900, he was elected a member of the West Virginia Senate in 1902 and served two years. He was regent for the West Virginia normal schools from 1901 to 1907, and was elected a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of that state on Nov. 8, 1906. _ From 1910 until his resignation in 1915, he was chief justice of that court. He resigned to become Republican nominee for governor of West Virginia in 1916, but lost in the Wilsonian Democratic landslide. He was chairman of the Draft Appeals Board from 1917 to 1918. PERSONAL NOTES AJ. GEN. CHARLES McK. SALTZ~ AN, chairman of the Federal Radio ommission, and Mrs. Saltzman, t>tored to Jupiter Inlet, near Palm teach, Fla., during the Christmas 1 olidays on a fishing trip. Leaving Washington Dec. 24, they returned In Jan. 2. COMMISSIONER AND MRS. HAROLD A. LAFOUNT enjoyed a deepsea fishing trip during the Christmas holidays off the Florida keys and in the Gulf stream. They left Washington on Dec. 26 for Miami, where they boarded a private yacht. Landing Jan. 2, the party returned to Washington when the Commission reconvened on Jan. 4. Mr. Lafount caught 10 barracudas, one of which weighed 38 pounds. L. S. BAKER, formerly managing director of the National Association of Broadcasters, is now manager of the Cleveland office of the Servel Co., refrigerator manufacturers. MARK N. SMITH, formerly chief supply officer of the U. S. Shipping Board at Washington, has joined KMBC, Kansas City, as commercial manager, succeeding Tom Burkett, who is now advertising manager with a local insurance company. SAM PICKFORD, CBS vice-president, left Miami, Fla., where he has been vacationing the last several months, by motor for New York. Starting Jan. 11, he expects to reach New York in two weeks. He is visiting stations en route. DR. WILLIAM D. REYNOLDS, who established KLZ in Colorado Springs, later moving it to Denver, died recently at Denver. ARTHUR CROGHAN, formerly manager of WDGY, Minneapolis, and prior to that sales manager of KWK, St. Louis, has joined WNBF, Binghamton, N. Y., as sales manager. WALTER J. NEFF, promotion manager of WOR, Newark, was married Dec. 31 to Claire R. Pohly, formerly his secretary. They are residing at Great Neck, L. I. STEWART DAWSON, formerly with WIBO, Chicago, has joined KYW, Chicago, as night studio manager. EVANS PLUMMER, for the last five years radio editor of the Chicago Herald & Examiner, has resigned. He has been succeeded by his former assistant, U. C. Turner. NEAL TOMY, veteran radio announcer and one of the founders of the old "Red Apple Club," has resigned as radio editor of the Detroit Free Press. He continues, however, on the staff of WJR, formerly owned by that newspaper, staging "Uncle Neal," "Steamboat Bill," "Peter Pan" and other sponsored features. EDWIN L. CHILLBERG, formerly on the sales staffs of Omaha stations, has joined the commercial force of KTM, Los Angeles. H. BART McHUGH, Jr., has been appointed vice president of the WIPWFAN Broadcasting Company, Philadelphia, according to announcement by Benedict Gimbel, Jr., president. Mr. McHugh has been general manager of the station since its organization last February. He will continue to have general charge of its operation. HARRY HOWLETT, commercial manager of WHK, Cleveland, will speak to the Cleveland Advertising Club Feb. 10. on "Behind the Scenes in Radio." ALFRED J McCOSKER, managing director of WOR, Newark, and Donald Flamm, manager of WMCA, New York, were guests of honor along with Mayor Walker, Harry Hershfield, Dudley Field Malone and other notables at a luncheon at the Hotel Astor, New York, given by the Ladies' Auxiliary of Brooklyn, governing body of the Infants' Home there, Jan. 6. LLOYD JACQUET has resigned as radio and science editor of the New York Herald-Tribune, which recently adopted a policy of limiting radio news to program listings with only a few columns devoted to news. Formerly it had one of the leading radio sections in the country . JULIUS F. SEEBACH, the CBS director of program operations, has returned from a tour of the South. He combined business and pleasure by spending a week's vacation at Louisville, Ga. During the second week he visited WBRC, Birmingham; WGST, Atlanta; WLAC, Nashville; WREC, Memphis; WDOD, Chattanooga, and WBT, Charlotte. THE BEHIND MICROPHONE RICHARD C. (DICK) WELLS, formerly announcer at WOC, Davenport, la., and later with the Iowa Broadcasting Company, is now with WBBM, Chicago, as announcer. He is called "Ace" and "The Flying Announcer" as he holds a limited commercial pilot's license, but he is a grounded flyer just now as he cracked up his ship last summer. AURLAND HAGE, formerly with WISN, Milwaukee, has joined the announcing staff of WRHM, Minneapolis. ELMO RUSS, radio organist has been added to the staff of WMCA, New York, as program supervisor. BOB TAPLINGER, who is busy conducting ethereal interviews over WABC, New York, has returned from a vacation to Bermuda. He has been a member of the CBS public relations division for four years. BETTY JANE and Virginia Holman have returned to the microphone of KMOX, St. Louis. In earlier days they had been featured on vaudeville as the youngest piano duo in America. Then they went with KMOX, but school beckoned and they entered the classroom. Now at the age of 16 and 19, the youthful pianists are once more in radio. JOHNNY MURRAY, staff tenor for KFWB, Hollywood, and master of ceremony for its weekly Franco hi-jinks, was married to Dorothy Chambers late in December. ARTHUR TRACY, the "Street Singer" on CBS, is making a short subject for Paramount entitled "The Russian Lullaby." EVELYN PROCHASKA, song writer and radio star, has joined the Harriett Steel Pickernell Concert Management to handle radio. MAX WAIZMAN has joined NBC in San Francisco as a producer and will be assigned to drama programs. He started on the stage in San Francisco 22 years ago but has been in New York productions for the last 14 years. CHRISTINE STAFFORD, blues singer, after a year's absence has returned to KFOX, Long Beach, Cal. She formerly sang with the "Campus Sweeties," girls' vocal trio. This has been changed to the "Three Girls" and includes her sister, Pauline Stafford and Roily Wray, staff pianist, who is likewise a vocalist. ANDREW C. LOVE, formerly with radio stations in Texas and Arizona, and more recently in sales and promotion for Victor Talking Machine Co. on the coast, has signed up with the San Francisco studios of NBC in a production capacity. HENRIETTA K. HARRISON, assistant program director of WIP-WFAN, Philadelphia, will do her 75th interview with a star of the stage or screen on January 29, when she interviews Olive Borden. PETER DIXON, author of the scripts of the "Raising Junior" broadcasts over NBC, has written a song called "Washing Dishes With My Sweetie." MAURICE WETZEL, formerly Chicago office manager for the Transcription Company of America, Ltd., has accepted a position in the production department of the NBC in Chicago. A RECENT addition to the NBC staff at San Francisco is Rex Dunn, conductor and composer, who formerly conducted the Coliseum Theater orchestra in Seattle and was conductor of the Honolulu Symphony orchestra. MARION FONVILLE, formerly with KFRC, San Francisco, has joined KMBC, Kansas City, as an announcer. anuary 15, 1932 • BROADCASTING Page 17