The Progress of Wireless in Germany

We know what considerable developments the United States and England have been able to bring to the "spoken press." It's only been three years since Germany took an interest in it. But it did so in a way that made up for lost time. It understood the immense social significance of radio. And, after carefully examining the advantages and disadvantages of the various foreign organizations, it set to work, its mind made up, with the desire to achieve great things, the unity of purpose, and the tenacity that characterize it.
At the current rate of German broadcasting, it is on the way to becoming the leading medium in Europe. A powerful means of propaganda that our restless neighbors are careful not to neglect, and which we would do well to monitor closely!

***

Would you like some figures?
In less than two years, the number of receiving devices in Germany has almost tripled. In May alone, the number of new licenses issued by the Post and Telecommunications Administration exceeded 35,000. Today, it stands at 865,000, including 300,000 for amateurs in Berlin and its suburbs alone.
This is because nowhere else has radio broadcasting been organized in such an intelligent manner adapted to its needs.
Thanks to the support of the Post and Telecommunications Administration, nine radio companies have spread across the country.
Owners of receiving equipment pay a monthly tax of 2 marks, which, with their current number, amounts to a payment of 24 million marks per year. Fraud is punishable by a fine of 100 marks; repeat offenses lead to imprisonment, and the postal service pillories fraudsters by broadcasting their names. (There have been 700 fines since the beginning.)
The sums collected for license fees are distributed by the State, 60% to the companies and 40% to the Post and Telecommunications Administration.
The latter has decided to deduct from the 9,600,000 gold marks it receives the necessary sums to build special telephone lines connecting all the studios and stations, enabling them to broadcast simultaneously throughout Germany the theatrical performances given by the major national stages. Doesn't this clearly understand its role and serve the public interest?
As for the companies, their share amounts to 14 million gold marks, or approximately 70 million francs. With such resources (which will grow each year as radio develops), the regional companies have ample room to provide their listeners with well-designed programs. Let us add that to harmonize their actions for the benefit of the common goal they pursue, and also to better distribute the total amount they receive, these societies are in the process of grouping together into a federative association that will be the central element of this organization, as simple as it is remarkable.

***

As we see, everyone across the Rhine—public authorities, cities, broadcasting companies, merchants, users—works hand in hand when it comes to ensuring the influence of culture... Nothing is too expensive for this purpose. Berlin has just dedicated a million marks to the construction of a "Radio Palace," a superb building with a 150-meter-high pylon that tops a restaurant platform. This building, intended to host various exhibitions, was inaugurated on the occasion of the last T.S.F. exhibition. And meanwhile, what is France doing? It is still waiting for a decision to be made on the application of the regime of controlled freedom that would give our radio broadcasting its boost, the regime that should have been established by the decree of November 24, 1923.