Radio: Dumping in Denver

Television hit Denver faster than anyone expected—and there was a wild scramble for sets. Station KFEL-TV, not expected to go on the air until the end of summer, began telecasting last month, just one week after its temporary permit was granted by the FCC.

Truckloads of sets arrived from Los Angeles and Chicago; freight carfuls came from New York. Every vacant store in town became a TV outlet; even one funeral home began taking orders and promising quick delivery. Only last week did Denverites catch on that their city was becoming a dumping ground for stuff no other Americans would take.

Denver’s new Better Business Bureau went into action. Wholesalers cooperated in the fight against shoddy merchandise. Manufacturers urged people to wait patiently for 1953 models. Said one TV executive wearily: “It’s Denver now, but we’ll have it all over again in Portland, Spokane and El Paso.”