Week of April 1, 1954

A hydrogen bomb is set-off in the Marshall

Islands. It’s the greatest force ever

unleashed by man. Pictures show a

radioactive stem surging 25 miles upward

and 100 miles across.

The Senate passes a bill to grant statehood

to Hawaii and Alaska and sends it to the

House

The United States, Britain and France ask

the United Nations to set up secret negotiations to bring a halt to the hydrogen

bomb race between the United States and Russia.

President Eisenhower says the Russians will hesitate a long time before starting

an atomic war “as long as they know that we are in a position to act strongly and

to retaliate with vastly superior power.”

The French launch heavy air assaults of the Indo-Chinese war today in Hanoi,

aiding beleaguered defenders of Dien Bien Phu.

Sen. Joseph McCarthy charges that America

deliberately delayed its hydrogen bomb

research for 18 months for some mysterious

reason. “If there were no Communists in our

government, why did we delay for 18 months -

delay our research on the hydrogen bomb, even

though our intelligence agencies were reporting

day after day that the Russians were feverishly

publishing their development of the bomb? And

may I say to America tonight that our nation

may well die - our nation may well die because

of that 18-month deliberate delay - and ask who

caused it? Was it loyal Americans or was it

traitors in our government? Murrow on March 9

accused McCarthy of repeatedly stepping over

the line that divides investigation and

persecution. McCarthy retorted (on this week’s show) that Murrow “as far back as

20 years ago was engaged in propaganda for Communist causes.”

Week of April 1, 1954

More - Sen. Joseph McCarthy questions Chairman W. Sterling Cole of the

House-Senate Atomic Energy Committee about why this country delayed

research on the H-bomb 18 months. McCarthy said the United States “may well

die” because of the delay. Cole replied, “We took a long time in deciding to go

ahead on it. But that does not mean there was anything sinister necessarily.”

Coffee going up - Green coffee is averaging 90-cents a pound but could go way

up. Some say between $1.20 or even as high as $1.50 a pound.

America’s power in the air… Of cancer.

concert with the NBC Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie

Hall. He had been with the orchestra for 17 years. He has

been a conductor for 68 years.

Zsa Zsa Gabor wins a divorce from actor

George Sanders.

George A. Hormel II of the food-packing family divorces actress

Leslie Caron.

Actor Marlon Brando’s mother - Mrs. Dorothy Brando dies after a short illness.

She was 54.

Casey Stengel says he expects his New York Yankees to win their sixth straight

pennant despite their worst spring record during his regime as manager.

for him on DuMont’s WABD-TV New York every night.

The show airs 11:15pm each weeknight.

UHF station WICC-TV (channel 43) Bridgeport (CT) will

be carrying Brooklyn Dodgers broadcasts, a nice scoop

for the small station. The games air on New York’s

channel 9, but there’s a little problem. WNHC-TV (New

Haven) just converted to channel 8 from channel 6 and

now interferes with fringe channel 9, hence the fill-in.

Week of April 1, 1954

Radio news - April Fools joke - “Aku” of station KGMB Honolulu broadcasts a

bulletin stating the senate had repealed islander’s income taxes and provided for

return of 1953 taxes. Then a voice saying he was the station’s general manager

said the Aku statement was a hoax and he had fired the popular disc jockey.

Another hoax. Aku is of course, still on the air.

Wednesday night television -

CBS - Perry Como, Arthur Godfrey’s Friends, Strike it Rich, I’ve got a Secret,

Boxing

Fairbanks Jr., Steve Allen

ABC - Mark Saber, Ozzie and Harriet, Boston Blackie, My

Hero

At the

movies -

Prince Valiant

(CinemaScope) - James

Mason, Janet Leigh, Robert

Wagner, Debra Paget,

Sterling Hayden

Hell and High Water

(CinemaScope) - Richard

Widmark

Lucky Me (CinemaScope) -

Doris Day, Robert

Cummings, Phil Silvers

It Should Happen to You -

Judy Holliday, Peter

Lawford

The Glenn Miller Story -

James Stewart, June

Allyson