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He then went to Mexico and bought a radio station in Villa Acuna, across the Rio Grande from Del Rio, Tex. Station XERA, called "Sunshine between the Nations," has an official wattage of 350,000 although the claim is that Brinkley recently stepped it up to 1,000,000 watts. (Since Cincinnati's station WLW lost its experimental license to use 500,000 watts, no U. S. station is permitted over 50,000.) Every night powerful XERA blares out boosts not only for Brinkley's treatments but for hair dye, life insurance, oranges, perfume and "doctor's book." The latter sells for $1, complete with pictures of Dr. Brinkley, his wife Minnie Telitha, their white-stucco home, six-story brick hospital and son "Johnnie Boy." Since XERA drowns out every station in the neighborhood, rates for XERA-time run as high as $1,700 an hour.
In 1937 Brinkley established another hospital in Little Rock, Ark. Every Monday in his private plane he flies to Little Rock from Del Rio, and every Thursday he flies home again. At the airport pretty Mrs. Brinkley meets him in their 16-cylinder scarlet Cadillac, which looks like a fire engine and has "Dr. Brinkley" printed on the body. She drives him to their $100,000 red, white and blue estate called "Palm Drive in Hudson Gardens," in the suburbs of Del Rio. On the estate's three iron gates, which are guarded by two huskies and three biting geese, are blazoned the words "Dr. Brinkley," and at night "Dr. Brinkley" gleams in neon lights over the splashing fountains and the swimming pool. The green lawns and blue paths are studded with statues, and over the red front door sits, as a symbol, a small ivory stork.
In the summers the Brinkleys and eleven-year-old Johnnie Boy go for pleasure trips on their long, white yacht (their third), Dr. Brinkley III. At present Brinkley is consulting his astrologer, harsh-voiced, blondined Rose Dawn, who broadcasts over XERA, about his chances for the Presidency. To date, says pleasant, sociable Mrs. Brinkley, the doctor has received "500,000 unsolicited letters" urging him to run in 1940.