Radio: Terrific Witchcraft

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In the U. S. Patent Office are sheaves of plans for the use of television in war—reconnaissance planes which will transmit the lay of enemy land as they fly over it, spot hits for the artillery, televise through clouds and fog by picking up earth-radiated infra-red rays, be guided to landings by televised pictures of the field.

One day last week NBC-RCA television engineers demonstrated that not all of these dreams are pipe dreams. In a United Airliner equipped with a television receiver and two-way radiophone, an invited group flew from Newark Airport to Washington—some 200 miles away from NBC-RCA's Empire State Building transmitter, W2XBS, which has a normal "eyeline" range of 50 miles. Over Washington the ship started to climb. At 21,600 feet, with the passengers sucking oxygen and the windows curtained with frost, it nosed high enough over the earth's curvature so that it was on a theoretical eyeline with W2XBS. Suddenly on the mirror-screen of the receiver appeared the image of Herluf Provensen, NBC announcer. He introduced RCA President David Sarnoff, United Air Lines President William Allan Patterson. As they chatted, a photographer aboard the plane set up his camera. "Smile," he said into the radiophone. Presidents Sarnoff and Patterson obediently smiled, were mugged 200 miles away.

But the big kick for the passengers came on the way home. On the return trip, the television screen showed a movie. As the airliner approached North Beach airport, the movie show was replaced by a ground view of the landing field, with a plane coming down to land. The passengers watched the screen idly, then suddenly came to life. "That's us," someone shouted. It was. Plane and image landed neatly together, taxied toward the apron, where the NBC-RCA mobile unit was parked with its roving eye televising the whole business.

Mused the Baltimore Sun, editorially: "Whether we like it or not, we shall soon have the opportunity, so passionately besought by the late Bobby Burns, of seeing ourselves as others see us, with the additional blessing of seeing ourselves at the same time, and in the same way as others see us. The philosophical connotations are terrific."

The New York Times, less poetically stirred, pointed out: "Men and women in Salem, two centuries ago, were burned for witchcraft far less amazing. . . ."