Radio Times, May 23rd, 1924. risBRENOUTH fi Ls HTN MUTI E TT ‘THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE B.B ae Hegistarsl st tine Vol. 3 No. 35. GP.0. a a Newspaper. EVERY FRIDAY. Two Pence. OFFICIAL Listening Without Distraction. PROGRAMMES N° much that is eaid or written in any part ia not about these that I wish to write, but about of the country on the subject of broad- other hindrances which are indigenous to the casting fails to come sooner or later to the whole practice of broadcasting. THE BRITISH notioe of those concerned, either at Headquarters a * ** or in the variona Stations, Ey précia of corre- We know that the weakness of an ambsaseadi spondence, by systematic study of the daily detracts from. the urgency of his embarsy ; BROADCASTING Bewepapera and the weekly and monthly many an excellent couse is handica: by the magazines, and all this eupplemented by com- agents selected to capouse it, or by the methods prehensive press cuttings from every part of they adopt. We frequently have neither the COMPANY. the country, we are able to keep pretty closely will nor the skill to form judgments on omentials = ————_] anbiased by incidental -irrelevanciea of prescn- in tewch with such proportion of public opinion ae is articulate. tation. The power to dissociate fundamentals For the Week Commencing = = oe * from aecidentals je all too rare, Appearances, SUNDAY, MAY 25th. The broadcasting of His Majesty'a epeech at not realities, are often the deciding factor. a a .- the opening of Wembley brought, of cowree, an LONDON CARDIFF exceptionally heavy bundle of reports, mostly I believe that the acceptability of wireless. ix relating to the reception of the ceremony in materially prejudiced by the attention which is ABERDEEN GLASGOW public places in large cithes. After reading paid to the incidentals, to the neceseary pre: BIRMINGHAM MANCHESTER | evlogistia and thrilling accounts of how thou- liminartes, to the technicalities, to the mean sands of people heard in such towns as Man- by which, andso-on, J believe that the greater BOURNEMOUTH NEWCASTLE chester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, 1 came ‘on the extent to which it is posstble to forget all SHEFFIELD (Relay) one in which something had apparently gone these details, the greater will be the degree of wrong, and the local high pricet of wireless was realiem conveyed by it, and the greater the PLYMOUTH (Relay) reported as having explained that since broai- ultimate extisinetion. = **F EDINBURGH (Relay) casting was etill in its infancy, this Wembley transmission. was much too ambitious for the Weeay “ Come and listen to my wireless eet,” B.B.C. to undertake. I hope he has read of the and we lead our friends into a room where there SPECIAL CONTENTS : tailiiactory and even wonderful receptions obtrode on the attention wires and valyes and A SEANCE AT THE LONDON STUDIO. Heewhert, co that on the next occanon the local boxes and ewitches, and, to crown all, a horn. By Thomas Burke. apparatus may have more careful attention. The attention is distracted by all this pars. * i * = phernalia and by the tunmg preliminaries which GETTING THE BEST FROM RELAY. This brings me to my point, In studying ensue, And then we all sit with our eves clined By P. P. Eckersley. and planning for development, it ia a5 essential to the loud speaker and come to the conelosion that one should seek out and eliminate if possible that the sound is metallic and uneat isfying, snd LINKING GREAT ERITAIN AND EUROPE. those things which may be rétarding progress, that we do not like our music tinned, Whe=P eA, By A. EB. Eurrows. as that one ehould-—eearch for new tines of cur minds aré obsessed and distracted by the SSE es lyons, agency, and the music hos not a fair chance. *] * + OFFICIAL NEWS AND VIEWS. ** + * Tell your friends to “Come and listen to the Now, there are, o2 6 well known, certain AMERICAN TASTE IN EROADCASTING. circumstances and proups of circumstances Unfinished Symphoy,” fd Jet the mvinsie cove on them mysterinuly ariel tportaneoualy from which have prejudiced the popularity of Wirciess, some mnigble source, Camouflace the lowd- They have not prevented « fairly rapid advance, RATES OF SUBSCRIPTION to “The speaker, hide it behind «a screen, th a cabinet, Radio Timea* (ineluding posiage); Twenve but without these hindering elements progress on the top of 4 bookcast—anywhere where Morris (Forsign), l i s . Sd.; Twetve Montus would have been more rapid-still. Pome of the ( B r i t t e h } , 1 3 s , 6d. difficulties are technical and unaveidable. It (Continued overleaf in coftterm3.) fe sal.x —_— _ RADIO TIMES —— [May 25m, 1924, ede Without Distraction. A “DreamSong” that made History (CiLEH tne a from at previous yperge. } people will nof sift and stare at it. Why plant The Story of “ The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” the whole apparatus down in the most conapicuousa part af the room ? If one wants i ia often. difficult to draw the exact line of before a syllable of it waa committed to to dance, ao let: if be done to music demarcation between the song and the paper. amd not to a horn, I am convinced that the hymn. Such songs aeThe Holy City” and Then she had aneden panic thought, “I effect of music and many other things ia marred “Ora Pro Nobis,” which hada preat vogue shall fall asieep again “’—for it waa very early by the obtrusive visibility of the source from Ame Veard ago, aul are still unforgotten, are morming—— “and when J awake, I shall have which they come, very hymnlike in their sentiment, as is, indeed, forgotten every word. I must get up and * + # F a such a song as “The Lost Chord”; whilst write them down,” [ know that most people are not greatly st theré are certain byrics like ** Crossing the Bar" inconvenienced or disturbed by the use of hend- and Kipling’s “ Recessional which are often Written While Half Asleep. phones or by the sight of loud speakers, but I am actually included in hymunls, although their writing to the hypercritica! and artistic, whose distinguished authors would never have classed Springing out of bed, she found in the dimmess objections [ have sensed and can perfectly well ce atold stump of a pen which she hod used the i them as hymns atall. - understand, » « ® * Thos, sithough the great Notional Anthem day before, and with this she sorawled the of the United States of America is entitled words down as though she were only senii- Tam not at all sure that the anhouncement of items ina wireless concert i: not an Wnneccessary “The Battl Hymn of the Republic,” at is, conscious, almost without looking at the paper on which she was transcribing them, The mierruption, The Aadie Times. gives all the nevertheless, a preai song. It has a romance information required. Having regard to the all its own. It is one of the “dream songs” moment she had finished. she lay down spain, of song literature, sand it was written by a amd was instantly asleep. peychological peculiarities of the individual, climinate extraneous and unnecessary distrae- woman, Mre. Julia Ward Howe. li was some time before the * Hymn” marie On more than one occasion she related the an impression on. the nation: bot gradually tions, and so five the thing a chance amid the hest chanee. J. .C, W.. Rerrn. tircumetances in which the song was written, ita splendid metre captured everybody, and She had been witnessing a review of troops for many years now it haa been regarded aa ee one of the glories of America, and many of RPE ARNG at Cambridge afew days ago, Sir eee eee he eatppb a America’s greatest men, including the late J.4. Thomson, Master of Trinity t ‘allege, assorted Ming eyes have seen the glory of the com- | Woodrow Wilson, have expressed their ad that broadcasting and wireless ore a perfect ing of tho Lord ; miration of its great qualities, poxisend to every science master in the country. He ia trampling out the vintage where indecd, onc of Mrs. Howe's hest friends and ae + * ie the grapes of wrath are festl: aincereat admirers said: “Julia ought to die [t is expected that loud speakers will be .a He hath loosed the fatal lightning of papel now, for she has. done the best she will permanent inetallation in Weatminster Abbey, His terrible swift eworl: ever do,” and similar devices will probably be used in His troth ia marching on. f= ps A. B. Coorer. St. Paul's and other cathedrals, He heath sounded forth the trumpet afertur which shall never enll retreat ; pee He ie sifting owt the hearts of men before | His peripment seat ; ; lata Oh, be aenift, my soul! to answer Him; Tt “Send Meai to Mars!” be julrilant, my Poet | I tafe Ohor (ioc te amare himege Chi. : In the beauty of the hiliea Christ was born, i Some Strange Requests to the B.B.C. across the see, ‘ 4appear With a-glory, in His -beeom thot trans: 7 OCCASIONALLY, the listener “is thrilled the morning half an howr darhier, as a consign: i figures yo ane Pine -2 f ‘ by hearing some unexpected announce- ment of gobds had unexpectedly arrived over- T As He died to make men holy, lotus live ; ment from: oa broadonetine studio, Almiast might t i to make men free! I invariably thease cleal with urgent life and t While Godis marching on, 4 In the early days, the Birmingham Station death affairs—appeala for blood to save the was once asked to broadcast ah appeal to a tte ot] life of some hospital patient, or the callin for certain man to returm af onee to a certain a loved one in some unknown place to the near Washington, and, on her return, sheoand ackiress on a matter of life and death He bedside of a person greviously iil Unexpected the monotony of a long heard the appeal, and complied.