The B.B.C., getting only two-thirds of the licence-money paid by
eight million odd subscribers, complains of its poverty ; and considering what its commitments are I daresay it is right. But I wish, all the same, it would consider seriously the effect on listeners of the economy involved in confining the National Programme to the Droitwich long-wave trans- mitter (1,5o0 m.) till, I think, 5.3o every day, and only turning on the short-wave National (261 m.) at that hour. Electrical interference seems to be getting steadily worse, in London at any rate and probably elsewhere, and it affects long-wave transmission much more than short-wave. The result is that many subscribers, who get a series of machine-gun volleys when they turn on Droitwich, have practically to regard the National Programme as null and void till 5.3o. They do not buy sets, and pay for licences, for that. The B.B.C. may very properly reply that it is not responsible for electrical interference. Quite true, but it may reasonably be held respon- sible for giving only a bad service—made bad by interference —when it might give, if not a good, at any rate a much better, one on the 26r m. wave-length. Text,•s.
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