ASCAP AGAIN

Since January 1 when ASCAP and the major broadcasting systems began their fight, the public has been on the receiving end of a bewildering galaxy of forgotten tunes. Rhumbas and all kinds of Spanish and French songs stuff the ether waves. Tunes like Tales of the Vienna Woods and Glenn Miller's swing version of The Volga Boatman are being played a hundred times a day. Hardest hit was the Lucky Strike Hit Parader, which had a sad time scaring up enough pieces to fill its heretofore overcrowded fifteen honor spots. Fred Waring has had to give up his theme song and resort to the classics.

The inauguration of the President will be a rather dull one as far as music is concerned, because ASCAP has possession of all of Sousa's best marching songs. CBS and NBC are building soundproof broadcasting units along Pennsylvania Avenue in order to prevent any music from going out over the air. God Bless America, the new national anthem, will not be heard at all until this argument is settled.

From the way the warring sides are standing pat, it appears that the federal government will have to step in and take over swing music. The monopoly of ASCAP is being classed as an offense against the anti-trust laws. Whoever decides the issue had better do it quickly before the radio public gets tired of listening to the same old songs and turns off its radios for good.