Broadcasting (Jan - June 1943)

jfly Main Target in House Probe of FCC 'tit ox Measure Gets Overwhelming Approval itUMORS flew thick and fast ,bout impending changes on he FCC in the wake of the ,lmost unanimous action of he House last Tuesday votng out the Cox resolution for 0 investigation of the organi:ation, personnel and activiies of the FCC, with ChairHnan James Lawrence Fly the liarincipal target, but with the vhole Commission branded by lep. Cox (D-Ga.) as "the lastiest nest of rats in this "S1fmtire country." While confirmation of reirganization plans was lackng in official quarters, there ropped up rumors, repeatedly heard in the past, that Chairman Fly might be given another Government assignment. OffPetting this, however, was the observation in informed circles that luch a development was unlikely, low that an inquiry had been ordered. tht< No comment whatever was heard itojjrom Chairman Fly following the almost unprecedented House action atfind the vitriolic attack upon the liajihairman and the Commission by lep. Cox, but the atmosphere fouiround the Commission was surcharged. While the Commission £as been attacked many times beictjj'ore in Congress, there had never teen such a scathing denunciation &f it since its creation in 1934. mi To Name Counsel J The select committee, headed by jSfeep. Cox himself, probably won't Jret under way until about midMarch, according to the Georgian. ls lhe first order of business is selection of counsel — whom Judge Cox said would be outstanding — and —if a chief investigator. It will be idjli thorough -going job, he said, and (vill delve deeply into every aspect ra<:|f Chairman Fly's stewardship, of [i;CCC operations, of purported "gesaiifapo" tactics, of alleged CommunisIfjiic taint and, in effect, every charge „jtevelled against that body since ts creation. .(''Chairman Cox said he would call o;;his committee together this week m to go over preliminary matters jtipnd determine the size of the inij,tiial appropriation. It is thought a . fund of about $35,000 to $40,000 ^ Vill be sought. He asserted the com,'mittee was interested in maintainfng "free speech, free press and free radio". ! In addition to normal functions of the FCC, its war activities will be covered, insofar as they may duplicate functions of the military, which presumably includes such operations as the Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service. Judge Cox said a number of attorneys were being considered for the key post of chief counsel but that no decision had been reached and that one would not be until the committee held an organization meeting. Appointment of the counsel, however, as well as of the chief investigator, is expected at least a fortnight before the hearings get under way. Only Two Nays There was no question about the attitude of the House toward the FCC. After the Rules Committee on Monday had reported the Cox resolution unanimously, the House, as the first order of business the following day, heard Rep. Cox denounce Chairman Fly as "the worst bureaucrat in Washington". Previously, Rep. Fish (R-N. Y.), ranking minority member of the Rules Committee, had supported the resolution. (Text of speech on page 47.) The skids were greased and efforts, ascribed to the FCC, to amend the resolution to encompass a broad-gauged investigation of the broadcasting industry, fell completely flat. Only two "nays" were heard when Speaker Rayburn called for the vote and he promptly appointed the committee. On the committee with Chairman Cox will be Democrats, Hart, of New Jersey, and Magnuson, of Washington; Republicans, Wigglesworth, of Massachusetts and Miller REP. COX of Missouri (a first-termer). A full staff of attorneys and investigators will be retained, according to Judge Cox. While the inquiry is directed only against the FCC and the stewardship of its members, it was freely predicted that many aspects of industry operations might well be covered. After frustrating floor efforts of Rep. Sparkman (D-Ala.) to have the scope of the inquiry broadened to include the industry, Judge Cox indicated he might later agree to allow the committee to enter other aspects of radio. Also linked as a prime target of Judge Cox's ire is Commissioner C. J. Durr, newest member of the FCC named in November of 1941 to succeed Frederick I. Thompson of Alabama. Mr. Durr generally has been regarded as the logical successor in the event Chairman Fly was called to other duties. He has been the Commission's Con HOUSE FCC INQUIRY COMMITTEE EDWARD EUGENE COX. Democrat, of Camilla, Ga., chaw-man. Graduate of Mercer U, 1902. Attorney. Judge, superior court, Albany circuit, 1912-16. Has served 10 consecutive terms in Congress, since March 4, 1925. Ranking majority member. House Rules Committee. • EDWARD J. HART, Democrat, born in Jersey City in 1893. Graduate of Georgetown University, 1924. Member of D. C. and New Jersey bar since 1925. In practice in Jersey City since 1927. Secretary of Excise Commission. Washington, D. C, 191317. Chief Field Deputy, Internal Revenue Bureau, 1918-21. Assistant corporation counsel, Jersey City, 1930-34. Member 74th to 78th Congress, since 1935. • WARREN G. MAGNUSON. Democrat, of Seattle. Born in Moorhead, Minn., 1905. Graduate of U of Washington Law School, 1925, entering law practice that year. Special prosecuting attorney. King County, 1932. Elected to Washington State Legislature in 1933. Assistant United States District Attorney, 1933. Elected prosecuting attorney of King County, 1934. taking office in 1935. Elected to 75th Congress in 1937 and has served consecutively since. RICHARD B. WIGGLES WORTH, Republican, of Milton, Mass., born in Boston in 1891. Graduate of Harvard, A.B. 1912, LL.B. 1916. Served in Philippines as assistant private secretary to W. Cameron Forbes, Governor General, 1913. Served in France during World War as captain, Field Artillery. Office of Secretary of the Treasury as legal advisor to assistant secretary in charge of foreign loans, and secretary of World War Foreign Debt Commission, 1922-24. Assistant to agent general for reparation payments, Berlin, 1924-27. Paris representative and general counsel for organizations created under Dawes plan, 1927-28. Elected to Congress Nov. 6, 1928 to fill unexpired term of the late Louis A. Frothingham. Reelected to successive Congresses. One of the most vocal critics of the FCC and of purported monopoly in radio in Congress. LOUIS EBENEZER MILLER. Republican, of St. Louis, born in Willisburg. Ky., in 1899. Educated in Kentucky and at St. Louis U. Valedictorian of class, he graduated with LL.B. and LL.M. degrees. Lawyer practicing for 20 years, specializing in trial work. In the Army during the first World War. Elected to the new Congress Nov. 3, 1942. gressional liaison, and while Judge Cox has not openly criticized Mr. Durr in the manner he has flailed Chairman Fly, it nevertheless is known that he proposes to have him on the carpet, along with other FCC members. Presence of Rep. Wigglesworth on the select committee occasioned considerable comment, since he has been a persistent critic of both the FCC and of purported monopoly in the industry virtually from the creation of that body. A member of the Independent Offices subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Wigglesworth has subjected Commission executive personnel to intense grillings on broadcast regulations and affairs, behind the closed doors of that committee. The hearing on the FCC's recordbreaking 1942 appropriation was held Jan. 15, with Chairman Fly, according to reports, questioned rigorously on defense funds as well as normal FCC expenditures. The full Appropriations Committee has served notice that it proposes to slash non-war expenditures and to inquire deeply into so-called national defense appropriations of Governmental agencies outside the military. The fact that the FCC seeks an ordinary appropriation for normal activities of $2,000,000 — equal to that of last year — has occasioned some comment, particularly in the light of the sharp reduction in normal activities, studies and investigations. At the last hearing before the appropriations subcommittee, voluminous data on station sales and transfers, on other normal expenditures of the Commission, and on draft deferments and personnel was requested, largely by Rep. Wigglesworth, it is understood. The report has spread that the FCC has sought and procured as many draft deferments, per capita, as any agency of Government. Other members of the subcommittee have not been identified particularly with radio matters, but all are attorneys. The committee was regarded as a capable and effective one. It will constitute the only select committee of the House conducting a special inquiry at this time. Broad Powers Preparatory to getting the inquiry under way, Rep. Cox desires to select counsel and investigators who will ferret out material upon which to base the study. The committee has broad powers and the right to subpoena records, books, papers and documents and to take testimony under oath. The committee is ordered to report to the House during the present Congress the results of its investigations "together with such recommendations as it deems desirable". Actually, there were no state(Continued on page 46) ^BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising January 25, 1943 • Page 9