576.G1/5
The Chairman of the Federal Radio Commission (Sykes) to the Secretary of State
My Dear Mr. Secretary: This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of March 24, your file WE: 576.G1/1 [4], with respect to the preliminary draft of the International Agreement for the Use of Broadcasting in the Cause of Peace.
Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the proposed agreement involve the prohibition or censorship of certain types of programs. The Radio Act of [Page 793] 1927 as amended specifically prohibits the Federal Radio Commission from censoring programs,17 and the Commission therefore has no power to control the content of programs in advance of their transmission.
The Commission also has no means for carrying out the provisions of Article 5 except as it might obtain cooperation from privately owned stations. There is no method of insuring that this could be carried out without the construction and operation of stations owned and operated by the Government of the United States.
It would appear that this agreement could not be applied to the broadcast system of the United States. It is, therefore, recommended that the United States not become a party in this agreement.
Very truly yours,
- The original Radio Act of 1927, approved February 23, 1927 (44 Stat. 1162, 1172), contains this provision.↩