Air Waves

On Feb. 29, when most eyes turned toward the White House and the expected announcement about President Eisenhower's plans, the U.S. Congress was in business as usual. Before the House Armed Services Investigations Subcommittee, a witness from the aircraft industry recited a long list of figures; newsmen doodled on their scratchpads; Congressmen nodded sleepily.

At 10:53 a.m. Louisiana's Democratic Representative F. Edward Hebert, the subcommittee chairman, brought the room to life with a thwack of his gavel. "Gentlemen," cried Hebert excitedly, "the President has just announced his candidacy for re-election!"

The news was exciting--but how had Hebert known? No one had entered the room. No notes had been passed. The telephone had remained silent. In his 15 years of House service, Ed Hebert had never shown signs of clairvoyance. Had he now become magically gifted?

The answer, as explained in the Congressional Record last week by Illinois' Democratic Representative Sidney Yates: Hebert had been listening to a tiny transistor radio, tucked inside his coat pocket and hooked up with a hearing-aid-type earphone.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.