Broadcasting (July - Dec 1943)

Hope for Farm Battery Output To Meet Needs Seen by WPB Efforts Underway to Permit Industry to Continue Capacity Operations During Third Quarter EFFORTS to enable farm battery manufacturers to maintain capacity operations in order to satisfy current requirements of rural radio set owners are being made by the War Production Board, Broadcasting learned last week. At the same time, the Office of War Mobilization revealed an overall program under which it will correlate studies being carried on by military agencies and the WPB of military and civilian requirements of consumer goods. Justice James F. Byrnes, OWM director, is fully cognizant of the importance of keeping farm radios in operat;on. The supply of batteries and tubes, along with other home front requirements, will continue to have his attention, it was stated at OWM. A communication submitted by the OWM Wednesday to Neville Miller, president of the NAB, expressed the hope that battery production would be sufficiently increased to equal current consumption and provide a small surplus to bite into the deficit accumulated under severe restrictions imposed last winter. Zinc Requested The Zinc Requirements Committee of WPB has received a request for additional zinc from the Consumers Durable Goods Divis'on. This request has not yet been acted upon, pending further information desired by the Committee. Hope of obtaining the additional zinc was expressed in a letter dated July 8 from DuHIpv P. Felt, t>^n director of the WPB Consumers Division to the OWM. In this letter, transmitted to Mr. Miller by Justice Byrnes, it is stated: "At the present time additional zinc has not yet been provided for third-quarter capacity operations but we are working on this and hope that nothing will interfere with our programs." Referring to a statement by Mr. Miller that "farm bitterv nroduction continues insufficient to balance consumption, let alone overtake the accumulated deficit," Mr. Felt stated : "Unless military requirements are larger than anticipated, or unless the labor situation becomes more critical, we have everv hope of producing enough batteries to keep up the consumption and provide a small surplus to overtake the deficit. However, it is obvious that we are unable to get more batteries than the capacity of the industry will allow. Most of the factories are working at least two shifts; we are doing everything we can to induce other battery manufacturers, who previously had a very small radio battery production, to re-arrange their facilities for increased production of this item." Effects of the restrictions imposed by Order L-71, *issued last October, which limited the production of farm batteries to 60% of pre-war output, were recounted by Mr. Felt. "The situation became so serious," he stated, "that in March of this year steps were taken to determine if additional zinc was available for use in radio batteries. Although the Zinc Division had been under pressure to conserve even more of the metal, they could see the unfortunate results of our severe limitation of farm batteries and allowed sufficient additional zinc for the period from March 20th to June 30, 1943, to enable manufacturers to operate at capacity." Stating his belief that the demand for farm radio batteries is greater today than at any time since the advent of the electricpowered radio, Mr. Felt pointed to listener interest in newscasts and war programs and curtailment of gasoline as contributing to increased use of radios. "There are no less than 3,200,000 farmers," he concluded, "who depend on dry batteries for their radios and we believe it of prime importance to provide them with between IV2 and 2 sets of batteries a year. At the present capacity of the industry, we can provide about 1% batteries a year, if materials are made available for this production." LEIGH WHITE. CBS Washington correspondent, is the author of an article in last week's Saturday Eveninn Post, dealing with Marine Cori s Maj. Gen. A. A. Vandergrift. Gets Its Man THREE MINUTES after a U. S. Employment Service representative issued a hurried call for a war plant guard over WDRC, Hartford, an applicant had called WDRC for the position and a few hours later was hired. The USES program on WDRC is War Jobs You Can Have. FTC Opens Testimony In Lorillard Proceeding OLD GOLD cigarettes, product of the P. Lorillard Co., together with Sensations and Beech-Nuts, and Friends smoking tobacco, began presentation cf testimony before the FTC in New York last week in a hearing on FTC charges of misrepresentation in their advertising [Broadcasting, March 8] . Hearings on similar charges against Philip Morris cigarettes are scheduled to begin in New York July 28. Hearings for Philip Morris first began last April 19 in New York, but were postponed indefinitely at the end of the first day, after introduction of radio continuities and other material involved in the complaint, to allow counsel for the tobacco company to fulfill previous commitments for legal work for the Government. The Camel hearing set for April 20 in Washington followed much the same procedure with the introduction of evidence and was postponed indefinitely at the end of the first day because of a case in New Jersey which required the presence of R. J. Reynolds Co. officials. No date has yet been set for resumption of the Camel hearings. [Broadcasting, April 12]. FMBI Board Meeting FMBI board meeting is to be held in Milwaukee Aug. 3, at Radio City. The meeting is open to the membership of FM Broadcaster's and Maj. Edwin H. Armstrong has indicated that he will attend. RADIO JOB RULE RELAXED IN N. Y. NEW YORK CITY Area War Manpower Committee has issued a formal ruling that until further notice radio announcers, sound effects men, actors, musicians, singers' producers, directors a^d writers may secure new employment without securing statements of availability. Ruling ratifies the decision reached last month at a meeting between Lillian L. Poses, regional attorney for the War Manpower Commission, and representatives of most stations in the New York City area. [Broadcasting, June 21]. The ruling modifies general provisions of the New York City Area Stabilization Plan requiring statements of availability for any changes of employment for individuals employed in essential industries, such as broadcasting, which it was felt would work undue hardships for the classes of employes named above, since they include many freelance workers and parttime employes who may have several jobs at the same time. Original restrictions, however, continue to apply to time salesmen, promotion men, engineers, clerical workers and all other station and network employes except those specifically listed in the new ruling. While the classification of employes was based primarily on types of jobs which are predominantly staff or predominantly freelance, the ruling applies to all employes of the types listed, regardless of their actual staff or freelance status. OPA Sets Ceilings NEW methods by which maximum prices are determined on radios and phonographs assembled by retailers and distributors have been established by the Office of Price Administration effective July 26. Embodied in Maximum Price Regulation No. 430, the action provides more effective control over ceilings on a scattered number of radio dealers and distributors who since the summer of 1942, when regular manufacturing ceased, have become extensive assemblers of household radio receiving sets from parts which they accumulated. The new regulation, OPA stated, will make prices to the public more uniform and in manv instances lower than levels prevailing under the GMPR's March 1942 ceilings. RCA Radar Booklet REVEALING some of the mysteries of "radar" in a booklet, RCA promises great post war prospects for this "wartime miracle of radio" and pays tribute to the research scientists and radio engineers who play an important part in the development of radar. The booklet, Radar Wartime Miracle of Radio, cites several historic instances in the present conflict when ra^ar has played an important role. It also traces the long trail of radio magic that precedes and leads up to this recent development. AGNES ALEXANDER, former secretary to the CBS sales service manager for the midwest division, has heen promoted to assistant sales service manager of that division of the network. She has been associated with WBBM, Chicago, for 13 years. Page 66 • July 26, 1943 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising