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Show rfHS AMERICAN WAY 1 "Iio Ab Must ';' - : Ket Free! - ..; Bv Georze Peck Y t,&LL'J over the extent and meaning of "public interest, convenience or necessity." The commission contends con-tends that its authority under the Act is much broader and more extensive than Congress intended, and the Supreme Court in 1943 backed it up in that contention. Therefore, it would seem that To most of us the Federal Communications Com-munications Commission is simply the name of just another federal government bureau. Very few of us realize what a vital part it plays in the American scheme of things, how closely it touches all of us. It reaches into the 32 mil-1 lion American homes wherein are j approximately 49 million radio receiving sets, to say nothing of the 8 million automobiles equipped equip-ped with radios. Whether at home or riding in our cars, the Federal Fed-eral Communications commission, as we shall see later, exerts a powerful influence over each and everyone of us. The F.C.C. is one of the. most powerful bureaucratic agencies of our government. Its regulatory functions are divided into two : Congress should repeal the Act now in effect and enact a re- ; placing act that will clearly and specifically state just what powers pow-ers the F.C.C. shall have and Just What Powers it Shall Not Have. As the matter now stands the F.C.C. is interfering with free exchange ex-change of thoughts over the radio, and therein lie the seeds of dictatorship, dic-tatorship, a warning that the tyranny which overtook and in- main ' fields: ' (1) Wire communications communi-cations such as telephone, telegraph tele-graph and cables; (2) Radio communications, com-munications, broadcasting and safety and special radio service. It is only about this second field tested uermany ana itaiy is ios-tering ios-tering in Ameria. The F.C.fc. performs per-forms a necessary function but it must not be permitted to go beyond be-yond the limits of that necessary function the air must be kept free. i - and about the broadcasting part thereof that I have space to discuss dis-cuss in this article, but there is where the F.C.C. so vitally affects all of us. Radio presented a new problem in communications the problem of interference. It was quite evident that this was one place where it was mandatory for government to step in, for if two radio . stations , were to broadcast, at the same time ' over the same '. wave . . length, neither could be ' heard . intelligibly. .' This - necessity of government having to enter into the regulation of radio to allocate wave lengths so that tfils newest of communi- cations could best serve me na-1 tion, however, is fraught with grave dangers. For if .there is abuse of this licensing power, it will destroy freedom of'speech. It has been charged, and with much evidence to substantiate the charges, that the F.C.C. has unlawfully un-lawfully exercised its powers : by direct or veiled threats to revoke licenses and by denying to certain cer-tain persons the right to use the air. Freedom of speech is guarantee by the Bill of Rights wherein it reads, "freedom from fear of government reprisal lor wnat is said and what is not said." Congress Con-gress of necessity set up the F.C.C. to regulate, but not to censor or ignore this basic constitutional principle. At least that was. the intent, but the F.C.C. has arrogated arrogat-ed to itself powers of censorship and restriction which neither the Congress nor the American people peo-ple can afford to tolerate. The trouble seems to stem from the interpretation of certain words in the Act which set up the F.C.C. and which defines its - powers. There has been bitter argument |