Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

O. H. Caldwett Col. J. F. Dillon Harry A. lielloivs Judge Eugene O. Sykes THREE YEARS OF FEDERAL RADIO COMMISSION By L. G. CALDWELL Formerly, General Counsel, Federal Radio Commission The third anniversary of the enactment of the Radio Act of 1927 fell on February 23, 1930. With the enactment of that law radio regulation, which for fifteen years had been entrusted to the Department of Commerce under the Radio Act of 1912, was given over to a commission of five members for a temporary period of one year from the date of the first meeting of the commission. Certain important re- sponsibilities, however, such as the exam- ination and licensing of operators, inspec- tion and investigation services, the filing of applications, the assignment of call let- ters, and the like, were left in the Depart- ment of Commerce. The law provided that at the end of the first year the Department of Commerce should again become the li- censing authority, subject to revision of its decisions by the Commission in controver- sial matters which were appealed or re- ferred to the Commisson. Further provi- sion was made for appeals from decisions denying applications for construction per- mit, license, renewal of license, or modifica- tion of h'cense, to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia. Commission Becomes Permanent The Commission held its first meeting on March 15, 1927. If there had been no amendment to the law, it would have be- come an appellate tribunal on March 16, 1928. By virtue of three successive amend- ments to the law, however, the Commis- sion has been continued as the licensing authority and, as matters now stand, it seems virtually certain to continue indefi- nitely as such (subject to being replaced by a Commission on Communications if Congress should act favorably on the bill now pending before it for that purpose.) The very recent third anniversary of the formation of the Commission offers an appropriate occasion for a brief discussion of the advantages and shortcomings of the commission form of regulation of radio as they appear from the experiences of the past three years. It would be unfair to enter upon such a discussion without reference to facts and circumstances which are not necessary inci- dents of commission regulation but which nevertheless have played an important role in shaping conditions as we find them in radio to-day. Judgment cannot be ren- dered on the commission form of regula- tion abstractly; account must be taken of the peculiar nature of the subject matter to be regulated, of the character, ability, and experience of the men to whom the regulation is confided, and of the problems and difficulties which have been imposed from without. The limited scope of this article will not permit more than passing mention of such considerations which are, however, generally known to the industry. Ten Men in Three Years Ten men have filled the five positions on the Commission in three years, and only one of the original appointees still holds office. Because of delays of the Senate in confirming appointments, there have been considerable periods in which the Com- mission has had three members and even less. The terms of office, which under the original law were to have been on a six- year basis, have twice been cut down to one year, and at the end of each year the commissioners have been subjected to gruelling inquisitions as to their conduct and their views by Congressional com- mittees. During the first year the Com- mission had no appropriation at all and during the last few months its appropria- tion has been grossly inadequate. Two men have filled the office of secretary. In the last eighteen months three men have filled the office of general counsel, and two (both borrowed from other govern- mental departments), the office of chief engineer. The subject matter of radio regulation is difficult enough, merely from the point of view of its complicated engineering and economical aspects taken together with the rapid advances in the art. These have had their counterpart in legal problems which are unique in the history of juris- prudence, for the solution of which anal- ogies fail and precedents are dangerous. Other Problems In addition, however, to the difficulties which are unavoidably inherent in the subject matter, the Commission at the out- set found an intolerable situation of con- gestion in the broadcast band which has been its most perplexing problem and which was not of its making. Its solution of the problem has been hampered by the unscientific Davis Amendment and by a host of engineering and economic heresies which have found formidable advocates in Congress, among the public, and, sad to relate, even in the radio industry itself. Witness the hue and outcry against cleared channels, the complaint against the so- called duplication of chain programs, the condemnation of "high power," the ad- vocacy of "synchronization," and the like. To the foregoing must be added the prob- lems created by a complicated patent situation, the alleged existence of a "radio trust" and the anti-monopoly provisions of the statute, the inadequacy of existing in- ternational agreements, the political pres- sure constantly exercised (usually by Senators and Congressmen) in all manner of cases, the flood of mail and protests from the public (usually uninformed) and many others. If the Commission has failed to accom- plish all that was expected of it, the blame cannot be laid entirely upon its shoulders or upon the commission form of regulation generally; Congress, the public, and the industry must share the responsibility. Whether, under the circumstances, a single executive officer would have done better is impossible to say; much would have de- pended, of course, upon the character, experience, and ability of such an officer, just as much has at all times depended upon the character, experience, and abil- ity of members of the Commission. While there has been a difference of opinion as 270 • RADIO BROADCAST FOR MARCH