Radio Digest (Apr 1925-Jan 1926)

16 RADIO DIGES T— Illustrated May 30, 1925 Radio Digest Published by the Radio Digest Publishing Compamy, Inc. 510 North Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois Telephones: State 4372, 4373, 4374, 4375 E. C. RAYNER, Publisher Eastern Office, Park-Lexington Building, 247 Park Ave. New York. Telephones: Ashland 8144, 8145, 8146 Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations PUBLISHED WEEKLY SUBSCRIPTION RATES Yearly In U. S. and Posiesiions and Canada, 15.00 Foreitn postage. $1.00 additional Single coolei, 10 centB. vol. xm Saturday, May 30, 1925 No. 8 -£> A New Sensational Circuit RADIO DIGEST this week presents a revolutionary Radio circuit. This publication has scooped the world in presenting first and exclusive information on the work of three well-known authorities who have been experimenting — independently — on the same identical scheme for improving tuned radio frequency amplification. Radio Digest wishes to call the attention of its readers to the fact that this hook-up is a real improvement and development in Radio, and not a rearrangement of the parts of some antique hook-up which has been improved mainly by the addition of the name of the man who dug it up from the archives of 1912 or even before then. That is the policy of this publication — to be first with the latest, and to be sure it is the latest. As for accuracy, well, accuracy is to be expected from every publication, Radio or otherwise. Pitch in and Help CONGESTION of the air still remains with us. It will continue to do so until a righteously wrathful public decides to take some action. Evidently that time is almost here, for the campaign against_ congestion which this publication is waging, is meeting with unexpected success. Hundreds of newspapers, broadcasting stations and Radio clubs, and thousands of individual listeners are enlisting their help in this campaign. That is good, but it will take all of this help to get a representative vote from two million listeners on the subject. _ Have vou expressed yourself? How about your neighbors with receiving sets? Pitch in and help to clarify the air. It is to your best interests. Courtesy in Dividing Time <<*-pHIS is WCAE, Pittsburgh, signing off for the A night. We hope you get KFI. Good night." Such is the polite farewell of a station which is dividing time with another on the same wave length. WEBH, Edgewater Beach hotel, and WGN, the Tribune, Chicago, are two more station dividing time on the same wave length. They follow a similar courtesy in their sign-offs. What a splendid way to handle a situation resulting from the large number of stations on the air 1 From the listener's standpoint such courteous broadcasters immediately rise in one's estimation. Radio Versus Jazz and Gin COMES a letter from a mother of eleven children addressed to KOA, Denver station of the General Electric company. "Your broadcasts are helping greatly to bring our children back to normalcy," says she. "They are solving the problem of keeping my family at home." Radio versus gin, jazz and petting parties presents an interesting sidelight. The home was the original place of entertainment, but today it has competition in the form of automobiles, dance halls, theaters and many other modern means of amusement. The up-todate methods of diversion are perfectly harmless providing the gin and petting parties are crossed out. Hut as a rule the latter accompany the former. The good judgment of youth is not always developed to the stage it should be, and so gin and petting parties hold their sway. Unchaperoned, as modern practice demands, our children are not restrained, but proceed to taste life in its every form. Oftentimes the result is sad. But now comes Radio as a competitive form of amusement. Children are staying home to listen in. Youth is holding its Radio dancing parties in the home, and is chaperoned by wiser heads. It is said that for every evil there is a counter in the form of some good. Broadcasting seems to be the counter much needed by the country at this moment. RADIO INDI-GEST Somebody's Wrong Now Armstrong Marconi Flewelling "White Was tall and young and dark and slight, Until he'd had an awful fright, "Which shriveled him and maje him white. Made him white and old and bent, Till he looked like the skeleton of a dent. There'd been an awfully coolish Lent Before he became shriveled and bent, Which some people said was so terr'bul cold, That he shook like the tongue of a mean old ^old, Until he settled like sugar or sand. That you shake, till it packs, in the palm of your hand. But that's a tale that's hard to believe, 'Cept, perhaps, on a Halloween eve. Besides, I can tell the whole of the truth Direct as I got it from Benjamin Booth, Who claims that the same thing broke his tooth, And was one of those shortest of Radio waves, That's so short it's too wriggly for one that behaves. White was so long he was right on its tune, And it took to him like soup to a spoon, And wriggled and wriggled, till it shriveled him up And left him as quick as a flea a dead pup, 'Cause when he shortened he went out o' tune, Which happened not a bit of a minute too soon. And it got out so quick when it left poor White, That it didn't pay attention to where it would light, And.it hit poor innocent Benjamin Booth, And busted his only good, undecayed tooth, And that, you can believe, 'case it the whole of the truth. 5XV. The Onward March of Education " — With no other form of amusement available, lumberjacks find that isolation in the forest is driving them into listening even to educational programs over the Radio." C. W. R. Where the A. T. & T. Dividends Come From Dear Indi: — Being the program director of the most popular station in the country ' (I won't name it because each and every one of the column's readers know which one it is), I thought you might like to know the summary of the telegrams for last night's stellar program (they are always stellar): "Program coining in fine" 7,659,202 "Program coming' in great" 6,450,982 "Program excellent" 6,388,347 "Will you please play ?" 4,862,111 "Go to — You're punk" 0 I would like to see the summaries from some of my less popular rival stations. (Signed) THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR. The Radio Bug I've heard of bugs, large and small, But there's a new variety that beats them all. They stick around just like a leech, And listen to the static screech. Listen — Here's station XYZ, Now I wonder who that can be? He sits all hunched up like an owl And most generally wears a scowl. I feel sorry for the poor wife, She lives on — but what a life. So give yourself a mental hug, If your husband isn't a Radio Bug. MARY SKORGA. From an Inspired Press Agent or Why Fred Was Disqualified Disqualified from speaking over Radio KGO because his false teeth made too much noise for the sensitive microphone to ignore, Fred Mantle, San Francisco landscape gardener, is today considering a silencing grid to be used between the plates. KGO control room operators declared the noise of Fred's mouth crockery sounded like defects in their broadcasting machinery for changing words and music into electrical currents of varying intensities. Our Own Q. and A. Man; Ask Him Q. — Do Little and Small drive to the broadcasting studios in a flivver? A. — No, that was their broken down electric piano act you heard. — and Other Men Peggy Hopkins Joyce, one of the theater world's most famous women, was interviewed from Station — — — , Wednesday night. She discussed some of the trials and tribulations of being a poor little rich, girl, continually followed by detectives and insurance men. Radio in the Home "What's that for?" inquired a puzzled wife, seeing her husband engaged in attaching a wire to the water faucet. "That, my dear, is the earth connection," was the reply. "But surely," she protested, "there is no earth in that tap. Wouldn't it be better to use one of the flower pots?" LONDON BOBBY. Progress in Radio Drama An outstanding example of the Radio playwright is Charles Hughes of London, who invented the thriller "The Mine Explosion," one of the most realistic plays ever broadcast. He also thought of the dramalet in which a man was heard singing in his bath, which was broadcast from a bathroom in a London hotel. A. C. B. (LONDON) In the Week's News ~^*~ a ^JHE SOLEMN OLD JUDGE" n LEADS THEM ALL. THE LAND ? \ OF THE FREE, RADIO J WAVES. Condensed By DIELECTRIC Last year when the survivors in the national oratorical contest declaimed in the city of Washington, it was regarded as an auspicious beginning for arousing American youth to a new interest in matters concerning our national origin. Not only have the school children profited therefrom, but citizens all over the country, whose Radio sets were tuned to the occasion. Again this year we have experienced a thrill of pride in the patent familiarity of boys and girls with the Constitution of the United States, as representative orators spoke before the President, Chief Justice, various government officials and the citizens present and listening in. Another triumph for broadcasting. When you accustom yourself to ignoring the advertising sections of programs from WEAF, New York, many of the features of this station will be found excellent entertainment. During the recent Atwater Kent hour, vocalists and instrumentalists of real competence presented a program replete with good musical selections. Who cares whether it is the Glass Blowers' Brass band, National Fruit Venders' Orange orchestra, Pine Sisters' Catarrhal Wind quintet, or what not, just so long as the music is good? Seldom indeed is WSB, Atlanta, Ga., tuned in and out again with no addition to the evenings's enjoyment. This station was happy in the choice of the Clark university entertainers, whose concert made a ready appeal to those fortunate in tuning in on time. Just a little less attention to the wired testimonials and more to selecting this class of program and the new station will double its clientele. The World's Playground Station, WPG, carried the spirit of good fellowship from the Kiwanians, meeting in the Chalfont-Haddon Hall hotel in Atlantic City, to listeners north and south. Certainly, the aimable announcer for the Kiwanians took a flavor of the southland with him to Mike. Powel Evans displayed a voice of rich resonance -and a sympathetic rendering of the old song, "Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny." There is probably no one who has not heard of the U. S. Marine band and enjoyed listening to it playing at the nation's capital. Another organization with official recognition is the U. S. Navy band, to which we are permitted to listen whenever WRC, Washington, can put it on the air. The former carries a greater distinction no doubt, but either will suffice to give any listener a pleasing program of music. A feature which stands out preeminent in my memory of recent violin performances is the playing of Mr. Robinoff, through Station WOR, Newark, N. J. In the first place, this artist had the advantage of an instrument with a ravishing tone. He was master of the most formidable technical passages, such as the Kreisler arrangement for violin of the Sextet from Lucia, and in addition produced a tone of warmth and virility. It is these unusual features which keep the fan forever listening in hopes of finding more. And the best are becoming more frequently presented. WHAS, Louisville, Ky., gave us a pleasant surprise with the Asbury College men's glee club, possessing among its members some very good voices. If it is not out of place to suggest it here this particular glee club would add to their laurels through a little closer attention to nuance.