811.7461 Amateur/1
The Chief of the Division of Eastern European Affairs (Kelley) to the Assistant Secretary of State (Moore)
Dear Mr. Moore: The attached note to the Soviet Ambassador30 proposes the conclusion of an agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union making provision for the relaxation of the restriction on the exchange of messages on behalf of third persons between amateur radio stations in the United States and the Soviet Union, contained in the Radio Regulations of Madrid, of which both countries are signatories.
I feel that it would be unwise to take such a step at the present time, in view of the endeavors being made by the Communist International leaders to utilize the radio amateur movement for agitation and propaganda purposes, specially as a means of direct communication between the communist groups in the various countries. Efforts have been made to form a so-called Workers Radio International, with a view to developing the radio amateur movement as a means of international communication in the interests of communist revolutionary propaganda. The communists in the United States, for instance, have been organizing so-called Workers Short-Wave Radio Clubs for the purpose of establishing communication with similar organizations in the Soviet Union.
The radio in Russia is regarded not so much as a source of amusement and recreation as an instrument for the political and cultural education of the masses, and the masses which it is desired to enlighten are not only those in the Soviet Union. Various European countries, such as Germany and England, have had difficulties with Moscow with respect to the radio broadcasts in foreign languages because of the objectionable nature of the subject matter of such broadcasts. The British Government in 1930 formally protested against communist propaganda in English emanating from Moscow radio broadcasting stations.
It seems to me that it would be advisable to await further clarification of the position of the Communist leaders at Moscow with regard to the use of the radio as a channel of international revolutionary propaganda before proposing the agreement in question.
- Not printed; the note was not sent.↩