America Listens to London Music in World Radio Salute

'Happy New Year' Re-echoes Across the Seas as Nations Arch the Ether With Greetings

By the Associated Press

New York, Jan. 2 (AP) –

The advent of 1926 found civilizations more closely linked than ever before in history as powerful stations in London, New York and throughout the United States radiocast New Year’s greetings, news dispatches and music to a listening world.

The program was described as the most ambitious and most successful ever undertaken in international radio broadcasting. With early reports showing that the radio broadcasting was heard in South America, Mexico, Cuba, Canada, France, the Pacific coast, and even as far as a lonely freighter off Peru. Officials of the Radio Corporation of America compiled messages from distant listening posts to learn the full measure of their success.

At least one record was set by the experiment when Station 2LO, London, heard its own program rereadiocast over the Atlantic ocean from WQGY at Schenectady, N.Y., so that they were sending and receiving the same program at almost the same time.

Poor Atmospheric Conditions

Two handicaps were surmounted in transmission from New York to foreign countries. Atmospheric conditions were bad particularly in South America, while many countries abroad had few towers powerful enough to pick up the signal.

Radiocasting of the chimes of “Big Ben” in London, of the carillon bells of the Park Avenue Baptist Church in New York, radio news from the Associated Press and the voices of John McCormack and Lucrezia Bori were features of the world-wide New Year celebration.

At 5 p.m., engineers at WJZ, focal point of the radiocasting, established connection with the London station but static began and London faded.

Still working to catch London again, the radio experts started the American program at 6:15 when David Sarnoff of the Radio Corporation of America, expressed his greeting through the “mike.” Representatives of the six foreign countries then sent New Years messages to their own people and to the world at large.

Picks up London

At 6:45 the American stations were silent as efforts were made to get London and reradiocast the tolling of the Parliament chimes in the United States. It was not until 7:30, however, after “Big Ben” had gone off the ‘air,’ that 2LO was heard. A British voice called “America” and dance music from the Club Ciro London, was caught and relayed through the United States by the nine American stations linked in the experiment. The program was sent back to Europe simultaneously and was heard clearly.

Resuming the American program, Kent Cooper, general manager of the Associated Press, read news dispatches gathered by radio, prefacing them by a brief address.

“Besides being informative,” he said “news thus internationally transmitted performs the simple but important function of acquainting our people with the fact that they really are concerned with the activities of other peoples.” On behalf of the Associated Press he wished all within hearing a happy new year.

New Year’s Greeting

Mr. Cooper also read New Year’s Greetings to the American people transmitted through the Associated Press from the heads of governments and cabinet ministers in the Orient and the Occident.

Although the chimes of “Big Ben” were not reradiocast here, Nashville, Tenn., reported that they were heard clearly here, presumably by direct transmission.

The London music was heard in at least 36 states clear to the Pacific coast indicating excellent results. In Buenos Aires the voices of John McCormack and Mme. Bori, singing together before the microphone for the first time since last New Year’s, were faintly heard. London, Paris, Rome, Bermuda, Havana and many ships in the Atlantic reported hearing part of the American program.

The news dispatches were heard clearly in the United States but less success was met with the abroad.