Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

Radio Broadcast privately, with the idea of having radio channels controlled entirely by American interests. The General Electric Co. was party to the conference not only because of its vast electrical resources but because the Alexanderson alternator, a General Electric product, was just then assuming tremendous importance as the best high powered, transmitting generator available. This original project, instigated by Admiral Bullard and Commander Hooper, of the Navy, did not mature because Secretary Daniels was in favor of Government ownership of radio. The General Electric Co. then went ahead on its own initiative and formed the Radio Corporation of America, which at once absorbed the American Marconi Co. Most of the $25,000,000 capital was furnished by General Electric and Westinghouse interests. The United Fruit Co. (one of the other members), had a comparatively small share in the stock allotment. The new Radio Corporation at once started to acquire all the available radio patents which had not been controlled by the companies forming it, until, at the time the Trade Commission report was issued, about 2,000 radio patents were controlled by the Radio Corporation. These 2,000 patents represent the pooling of all those owned by the General Electric Co., the Westinghouse Co... the American Marconi Co., the American Telegraph and Telephone Co., the Western Electric Co., the United Fruit Co., the Wireless Specialty Apparatus Co., the International Radio Co., and the Radio Engineering Co. These companies agreed to a mutual exchange of information relating to radio at the same time the latest interests were pooled which undoubtedly accounts, for the almost simultaneous appearance of new developments in entirely different laboratories of companies who are members of this radio combine. EDWARD W. BOK Donor of $100,000 for a workable plan for international peace, reading winning plan No. 1469 before the microphone at New York The Radio Corporation is the selling company for all the apparatus controlled by the hundreds of patents which had been accumulated in its archives. The agreement specified that the General Electric Co. and the Westinghouse Co. will manufacture the apparatus and deliver it to the Radio Corporation to sell, the division of the output to be 60 pe'r cent. General Electric, and 40 per cent. Westinghouse manufacture. Until the expiration of the Fleming patent in 1922, the Radio Corporation had an absolute monopoly in the sale of vacuum tubes. Even the De Forest Company had no legal right to sell "audions" until after the expiration of the Fleming valve patent. There are now seventeen concerns which still retain license privileges granted by Armstrong before his patent had been acquired by the Radio Corporation. These licensed manufacturers are at present being sued by this corporation on the basis that they have no right to manufacture sets which are manifestly intended for use with vacuum tubes. 1 1 is contended by the Radio Corporation in this suit that the sale of these sets constitutes an infringement of their tube patents. If this suit is decided in favor of the Corporation the decision "will prevent all competition in the sale of complete sets " in the language of the commission's report. "The company has secured a virtual monopoly in the field of international communication,'' says the report, "and it controls all the high power stations with the exception of those owned by the government." In addition it has entered into traffic agreements with the various foreign governments and radio companies so that practically no messages originating in foreign countries can be received in America except through the Radio Corporation. An interesting outcome of this situation in