There has been so much discussion in recent months of the local broadcasting problem, most of which seemed to be gettin, and so much cor-than. in any|respondence in this and other Oriental metropolis—Moscow, journals that has also been ineffective because it was too technical, suggesting schemes that could not possibly be applied or which descended to still less effective sarcasm, that we are relieved to note from an adver-fisement that appears in our] columns to-day that the problem has been taken up by persons competent to solve the technical obstacles to broadcasting in Shanghai and with the administrative experience essential to success. It will be seen that the proposed China Broadcasting Association is not a commercial venture in the ordinary] sense, Behind it there appears: to be rather a businesslike effort in the public service to organize those interested in the! radio, who number many more than most of our readers would suspect, into what ought to be a ce-operative body, supporting by modest contributions a central station that will guarantee's vice both permanent enough and satisfactory enough from technical point of view to provide entertainment to those who simply to be entertained and material for experiment for those who take a scientific interest in radly work.
It is estimated that there are between three and four thousand] idle receiving sets now in Shanghai whose owners are individually keen enough upon putting them to work but who, as a group have shown an apathy, all too common in Shanghai, which has discouraged previous promoters of broadcasting ¢hterprises and the fathers of various schemes for making! broadcasting self-supporting. When the last effort to give Shanghai some sort of a service! to keep the receiving sets in use was recently abandoned because! there was little or no response to appeals for suggestions and support, more than a thousand! protesting letters were received. There was no interest displayed in keeping the service! alive bit no little annoyance expressed about its demise. Such a state of affairs will, as we understand it, be impossible under the China Broad. casting Association. If interest and support is not forthcoming! at the, outset, sufficient to meet, the modest expenses of broad: casting hotel orchestra music, Municipal concerts, organ recitals and servi certs and lectures by individuals and similar entertainment, together with the remuneration of an announcer, there ~will simply] be no-association and the idle receiving sets will remain idle.
We are convinced that, under such well-equipped and capable organizers as those whose names appear in_the advertisements, public confidence will be elicited and that there will this time be some response. It will not] be a credit to Shanghai if there is not. In practically all the Occidental countries represented by the residents of Shanghai the radio concert or lecture now as much a part of the life! of a community as the theatre or the cinema, and the radio set in city and country alike, 2 commoner piece of furniture' modest homes than the gramo-Phone, because results of some sort can be obtained at a very modest capital investment. Those who have travelled in recent years through the very poorest] Suburbs of London or New York, for instance, will have remarked that the improvised radio aerial stretches over every} miserable hovel and unkempt] back-yard, showing ample evidence that it is no longer a luxury' for the poor but is much more an essential te the happiness of the submerged tenth than the bathtub. A Shanghai resident] wha had not been Home for some years but who was familiar} with the puny development of broadcasting in rich and ultramodern Shanghai, recently noted that the sailors and firemen of] ocean-going cargo boats were in the habit of clubbing together to buy and construct a receiving set of their own on board ship so that they could hear the concerts from each port that they approached, and that Shanghai stood Jow in th estimation of this fraternity because there was 40 tle radio entertainment to pick up.
We know that this deficiency' is not due to the cost of sets or the possible cost of an adequate service, nor do we think it due to a lack of interest. It is traceable simply tu a lack of organizing initiative, which is for some reason characteristic of this city in all undertakings and is perhaps due to diffidence and a fear of being associated with the! promotion of an enterprise that} may possibly be a failure. and bring ridicule upon those who initiate it, The community! "booster" is cne of the most} pestiferous products of the twentieth century, but the shyness of the average Shanghai resident in taking responsibility for any new movement in the public interest is almost as aggravating as the forwardness of the "booster." The persons who come forward, therefore, in Shanghai and publicly assume the responsibility for _bringing our shy and elusive radio enthusiasts together are entitled to be congratulated on their courage and initiative and we wish the undertaking every success
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.