Radio and television mirror (Jan-June 1950)

Jc £ gt Wi "I di mark over a mike he thought had been closed, "There — that ought to hold the little for another day." Uncle Don vigorously denies any connection with this strangely pleasing incident, saying that the whole thing was a base rumor dreamed up by a rival uncle. But one of the many embittered men who have been Uncle Wip since the program started in Philadelphia in 1921 is quite generally believed to have said "I'm a s-o-b if this isn't a hell of a job for a he-man" at the conclusion of a bedtime hour, thus giving the little ones something new to think about. 1922 This year marked the beginning of the boom in everything that ran until the stock market crash of 1929. It was the year of the hip flask, of speakeasies and home brew. Skirts were worn to the knees. Bathing suits were sleeveless, but long black stockings and nattily laced high shoes were still worn frequently with them. Vaudeville was running at full blast, blithely unaware that the end was near. People were saying "Absolutely, Mr. Gallagher" and "Positively, Mr. Shean" to each other, and it seemed as if every tenor in the land knew only one song, Joyce Kilmer's "Trees" which had just been set to music. Spark Plug came into Barney Google's life, and the language was enriched by "Osky-wowvow," "So he took the $50,000," Heebie-jeebies" and "Horse feathers." Things were booming in the new industry. Parts for homemade radios were still making fortunes for manufacturers, but the ready-made set was now the thing and the great companies were expanding feverishly: Zenith, Philco, Grigsby-Grunow, Freed-Eisemann, Stromberg-Carlson, Atwater Kent and Crosley among the many. The start of the Crosley company is interesting. Powell Crosley (not to be confused with Archibald Crossley later famous as a poll taker) had gone shopping the year before for a radio for his little boy. The cheapest available in 1921 cost $130. This seemed a sizable sum for a child's toy. He bought parts and built one at home for $35. That gave him an idea. Before long he was turning out sets that retailed for $20, and the day of everybody's radio was at hand. Sets were curious and cumbersome things in those days. Their loud speakers were patterned after those of phonographs and looked like large tin morning glories. They were powered by batteries. If these went dead, it was common practice to get the battery out of Mr. Ford's Model T of beloved memory as a first aid measure. Little boys frequently took the receivers of telephones to make an extra ear-phone for the crystal set. Quaker Oats boxes were much in demand as a basic element in sets known as "The Cat's Whiskers." The cartons were wound with yards of wire. Ear-phones and a crystal detector to "condense" music from the air were attached. Fantastically, they worked. The air was beginning to fill up. Newspapers were among the first to build stations but they thought of them as promotional and public service enterprises. It is interesting how stations were named. Have you ever wondered why radio stations are identified by letters of the alphabet rather than by names like Bijou, Orpheum and Majestic which "theatres of the air" might reasonably have chosen? The explanation is simple. In the days of wireless, letters and numbers were used because they were easy to send in Morse Code. By common agreement, ships in the Atlantic used K as a first initial. Ships in the Pacific adopted W. Land stations reversed this usage which is why you find stations on the eastern slope beginning with W and those in the West with K. Most of the combinations of call letters have no significance. They were selected mainly for ease of pronunciation, but there are exceptions. WINS stands for International News Service, WJAX for Jacksonville, Florida, WBEN for Buffalo Evening News. Tampa got in licks for the climate with WSUN, and it was a promotion-minded Grand Rapids laundryman who named his station WASH. WCFL means Chicago Federation of Labor. WOW in Omaha was named after Woodmen of the World. WGN stands modestly for World's Greatest Newspaper. Atlantic City's WPG means World's Playground. KFKB means Kansas First, Kansas Best, and WPTF in Raleigh, North Carolina, was named after the slogan of an insurance company, We Protect The Family. In 1922, distance was still the thing rather than favorite stations or stars. People sat up all night because reception was markedly better after exhaustion had driven all but a few operators off the air. The next day they reported jubilantly "I got Denver and Havana!" to the envy of their impressed friends. To this the witty answer was "And I got Chile — I went outside and got chilly right after I got Turkey — for dinner." Tuning in any one station, near or far, was no simple matter. More than six hundred of them had sprung up, many of them blithely using the same wave length. The air was full of sound and fury. So were living rooms. Sometimes rival broadcasters got together and agreed to stay off the air for alternate two-hour periods. More frequently they just fought it out. You had to have a touch as light as that of Jimmy Valentine to get one station only. This overlapping of wave lengths was so maddening to sender and receiver alike that the station owners finally formed The National Association of Broadcasters in an attempt to regulate themselves. They had an important matter to deal with almost immediately. It was the question of paying for the music that they were using free. The American Society of Composers and Publishers, known as ASCAP, was already a powerful organization. It had been founded in 1914 by Victor Herbert who was annoyed that his music and that of others could be played by bands in cafes, night-clubs, theatres and amusement parks for the price of the sheet music. He got other composers to join him. They managed to get a Federal law passed calling for a heavy fine for every song played by a band without a fee to ASCAP. As radio gained thousands of listeners, ASCAP took alarmed note of all of that free use of its tunes on the air. They notified the infant industry "No pay — no play." Broadcasters were horrified. They protested that they were making no money, as indeed they were not, because advertising was still only a gleam in the eyes of a few station managers. ASCAP retorted that set manufacturers were doing all right. Let them pay. ASCAP did not care where the money came from so long as composers got a return for their hard work. So, long before any other talent was paid, composers were getting substantial fees. "HOLDS MY STOMACH IN gives roe BETTER SUPPORT than girdles costing TWICE AS MUCH"4 *oy* MrsX.S. of W<Mh<i>gfo«p Does a bulging tummy make you look years older than you really are? Are ordinary girdles uncomfortable to wear ... do they fail to flatten out your abdomen the way you want? Then here at last is the answer to your problem I SLIMMODE, the wonderful new adjustable health supporter girdle is scientifically constructed to help you look and feel like a "Slim Sixteen." So why go on day after day with a tired back that needs posture support to bring relief? Why look droopy and beyond your years because your mid-section bulges and your clothes don't fit right? SLIMMODE brings you vital control where you need it most . . . helps to "harmonize" your figure to more stylish lines . . . it's so comfortable to wear. And you can have a SLIM-MODE sent to you to wear on TRIAL OFFER. See offer in coupon. $3 98 'An The > sum-moDE 3ft»t*The ADJUSTABLE HEALTH SUPPORTER GIRDLE LIFTS AND FLATTENS YOUR BULGING TUMMY BEFORE Typical figure problem of a "Stylish Stout" — note the sagging abdomen. SLIM -MODE has a ! built-in front-laced f panel. Adjust the laces to your own greatest comfort. Your tummy is lifted in to shape, flattened out . . ". yet you feel truly comfortable. You can wear SLIM MODE a 1 1 day long. Will not bind or make you feel constricted. That's because the twoway s-t-r-e-t-c-h cloth plus the frontlaced panel brings you perfect personalized fit. The design is based on scientific facts of healthful figure control. Made by experts of quality materials. 4 garters. Nude. All sizes. Sent $3.98 in regular sizes. Sent on Free Trial. Give measurements asked for in coupon below. PUFF "Magic" Plastic ■ "»■■ Laces. Foryour added comfort you get a pair of Plastic laces that stretch gently as needed. Try them. See which you prefer. AFTER See what a wonderful change SLIMMODE makes — instantly. New figure beauty! New poise! Order your SLIMMODE on free trial today. SEND NO MONEY -YOU TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT I RONNIE SALES. INC.. Dept. 5214-G 487 Broadway, New York 13, N. Y. I Send me for 10 days' TRIAL OFFER a SLIM-MODE I will pay postman $3.98 (plus postage) (sizes 38 and I over $4.98). In 10 days I will either return SLIMMODE to you and you will return my money, or otherwise my payment will be a full and final purchase price. I My Waist measure is Hips are • My height is ' Name Address I I City & Zone State D Save Money. We pay postage If you enclose payment now. Same TRIAL OFFER and refund privilege. j No Canadian or Foreign C.O.D.'s 93