EGYPT: Enough Bands

Dictatorial young King Farouk opened in Cairo’s resplendent Théâtre Royal de I’Opera last week the International Convention of Telecommunications. Its delegates from 62 nations agreed that the terrace of Tony Shepheard’s Hotel is one of the finest places for Scotch & soda, agreed that Cairo’s Nautch Girls and night spots are messy, overrated. The delegates had not yet agreed at latest dispatches upon any major issue of Telecommunications.

Chief haggling point of the four-or-five-month session will be the reallocation of ultra-high-frequency, long-distance broadcasting bands (6,000 to 21,000 kilocycles). By an international agreement of 1927, modified in 1932, some 50 channels above 6,000 kilocycles were set aside for longdistance broadcasting. The U. S. walked off with the largest allotment and has plenty of room today for its 13 licensed high-frequency stations. But the European sections of the bands have become crowded with Italy, Germany, Russia and, of late, Britain all trying to influence other nations with short-wave political broadcasts. Europe would like some of the U. S. space but is little likely to get it at the Cairo meeting for the Pan-American nations last autumn agreed to back the U. S. in a bloc. Representing the U. S. was a commission of four, a staff of 25, headed by veteran U. S. delegate to international radio parleys, Maine’s heavy-jowled Senator Wallace H. White Jr. It will be Senator White’s job to make certain that if President Roosevelt wants to hold fireside chats with Japan or the tip-end of South America he will have enough bands.