Broadcasting (July - Dec 1937)

Radio Industry Pays Last Tribute to Mr. Pr all Notables Attend Funeral of FCC Cbairnian ■ ^VHILE the broadcasting and ( mmunications industries ned his family and his host ji friends in mourning, the . ttiortal remains of Anning i.ith Prall, chairman of the C, were laid to rest July 27 -ide those of his pioneer rch forebears in Moravian nietery, New Dorp, Staten and, N. Y. Mr. Prall died :y 23 at his summer home ,,n Boothbay Harbor, Maine, *)f heart failure induced by emic poisoning. He was 67 ars of age. T The day before his burial ' iM radio fittingly paid tribute a leader and friend by J joserving a one-minute silent oeriod at high noon, upon the sug-rion of James W. Baldwin, manng director of the NAB, who id the request to each of the broadcasting stations in the ted States. •Ir. Prall was the third member a Federal radio regulatory body md the second chairman to die vhile in office. Admiral W. H. G. H'Sullard, first chairman of the old ^''ederal Radio Commission, died in 927 after serving only eight imonths. Col. John F. Dillon, also a n-^mber of the first Commission, I after serving just seven nths. a. The little Dutch Reformed ■^Jhurch at Port Richmond, where ny generations of the pioneer *en Island family Prall have shipped, was the scene of ing Prall's obsequies at 3 p.m., y 27, and into it were crowded aieveral hundred friends and neigh-riors and officials in New York and national life. ^1 Behind the open coffin was a ::nass of floral tributes, most promii'lent among which was an American flag fashioned in summer flow:,: rs — the token of the staff of the ii''CC selected by their late chairnan's private secretary, Mrs. Maud V. Gossett. An American flag, the •ift of Mrs. Prall, which always •litood behind Mr. Prall's desk, was (ihe inspiration for the floral trib^;.te from the FCC. Rev. Otto L. •flohn, now of Asbury Park, N. J., :tor 18 years pastor of the Port ■jiiichmond church, delivered the J ermon. 4 A Friendly Man t "The impression a man makes pon his friends," said Dr. Mohn, ".rks him more clearly, more nitely than anything else. Anmg Smith Prall was a friendly ;;ian. He who would have friends lust show himself friendly. >nning Smith Prall loved h i s :|iriends as he loved life." These simple words preceded the tliiarch before the coffin, which was ^■hen borne to the cemetery while lounted police and firemen stood (ft attention. Representing the FCC t the funeral were Commissioners <'ase and Walker, Chief Engineer 'raven and General Counsel Gary. mn — Amttng Bxmtii frail — \B37 Among those attending the funeral, in addition to many notables in New York civic life, were Senator Robert F. Wagner and Rep. John J. O'Connor, of New York, who were among his most intimate friends in Washington and who represented President Roosevelt and both houses of Congress. From the ranks of radio came President Lenox R. Lohr and Vicepresident Frank M. Russell, NBC; Edward Klauber, CBS first vicepresident; Paul Kesten and Harry C. Butcher, CBS vice-presidents; Alfred J. McCosker and Theodore Streibert, WOR; Fred Weber, Mutual; Donald Flamm, WMCA; James W. Baldwin, NAB; Arthur Batcheller, FCC inspector. New York; William G. H. Finch, former FCC assistant chief engineer; Arthur Reilly, the Hearst Globe Trotter, Washington; Dean Jenkins, Mr. Prall's secretary; Martin Codel, Broadcasting, and others. Death Came Suddenly Death came suddenly at 8 a.m., July 23, following a heart attack. He had been reported well along the road to recovery, after having been stricken exactly three weeks earlier with uremic poisoning upon his arrival at the Prall summer home at Boothbay Harbor. For the last several months, he had been troubled with a bronchial condition, and the combination of ailments apparently weakened him so that he was unable to withstand the heart attack. With him at the time of his fatal attack were Mrs. Prall and one of his two sons — A. Mortimer Prall. Other members of the family, including his son Bryan, and two grand-children, had been at Boothbay Harbor during the preceding fortnight. On July 21, Mortimer Prall had notified friends in Washington that his father was much improved and that he expected to return to Washington by Aug. 1.5. Throughout his illness Mr. Prall had made inquiry about aff'airs at the FCC, and expressed a desire to return to Washington as soon as possible. Mr. Prall's untimely passing left the broadcasting industry bowed in grief. Even though he was in his 67th year, the fact that he had been on the job in Washington almost without a break during his tenure led to the general belief that his recovery would be rapid. From the time of the first report of his illness a fortnight ago, his office in Washington was beseiged with telephone requests for information as to his condition. The same was true at the summer home in Maine. Immediately after word of his passing, messages of sympathy came from all. parts of the country. President Roosevelt, a friend of long-standing dating back to the days when he was governor of New York while Mr. Prall served as president of the New York City board of education and as tax commissioner, sent a message of condolence to the widow. The ancestral Prall home in Staten Island was overflowing with floral tributes to the deceased Commissioner. At the little Dutch Reformed Church in neighboring Port Richmond where Mr. Prall was born, floral offerings abounded. Though the rigors of presiding over the Commission oftimes prov ed a heavy physical burden, Anning Prall always could be found in a cheerful mood. He had a good word for everyone he met. The taxi driver who shuttled him from his Washington residence at the Shoreham Hotel to the FCC offices in the Postoffice Building was a friend on equal plane with those in high public office. His office was open to all who called. To clean up the day's work after a constant stream of callers, he often remained in his office after all others had departed. When Anning Prall came to the FCC early in 1935 after 12 years in Congress, he found himself confronted with many self-appointed advisors on all phases of communications, but particularly broadcasting. He listened attentively, but he decided on his own course of procedure. Interested in broadcasting, and more notably its educational aspects by virtue of his long service on the New York board of education, he counselled the broadcasters to undertake a self-imposed "housecleaning." Even though the law did not give the FCC a program censorship power, he advised stations and networks alike to take steps to cleanse the ether of undesirable advertising and of sensational children's program which he classified as "blood and thunder" presentations. Gradually, he saw his views take root. Program standards were adopted by individual stations and by networks, limiting advertising, rejecting particular types of commodity sponsorship and restricting children's programs to avoid the over-dramatic. He fostered the creation of the Federal Radio Education Committee to bring about a greater cooperation between broadcasters and educators and bring to an end the bickering that once had resulted in an educational demand for a portion of the available radio facilities. Soon after he became identified with radio regulation, Anning Prall adopted a thesis which he employed as a yardstick in every broadcasting case. He said he regarded broadcasting as a combination of the schoolhouse, the public rostrum, the theatre, the newspaper and the music hall, operating with a public franchise that carried with it the obligation of providing for the public the maximum in the way of entertainment, education and enlightenment. Took FCC Oath in 1935 It was on Jan. 19, 1935, that Anning Prall became a member of the FCC. He took his oath of office and became first chairman of the Broadcast Division after speedy confirmation by the Senate — the only member of the seven-man agency accorded that honor without preliminary interrogation by the Senate Interstate Commerce Committee. Several months later he was named chairman of the full FCC, and was twice renamed head of the agency by President Roosevelt. The last occasion was in March of this year. His present term as a member of the FCC would have run until July 1, 1943. Anning Prall was a member of one of America's first families. It was in 1673 that the Dutch family Prall settled on Staten Island, and (Continued on page 32) 118ROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising August I, 1937 • Page 11