THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION*美国联邦通信委员会R. H. COASE 科斯University of Virginia 弗吉尼亚大学I.THE DEVELOPMENT OF GOVERNMENT REGULATION政府法规的发展IN THE United States no one may operate a broadcasting station unless he first obtains a license from the Federal Communications Commission. These licenses are not issued automatically but are granted or withheld at the discretion of the Commission, which is thus in a position to choose those who shall operate radio and television stations. How did the Commission come to acquire this power?在美国除非他先获得了联邦通信委员会发的许可证，否则没人可以经营广播电台。这些许可证不是随意发放的而是要由委员会来决定许可或者扣留，因此委员会就具有了选择谁可以经营广播和电视台的权力。那么，委员会是怎么得到这项权力的呢？About the turn of the century, radio began to be used commercially, mainly for ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship communication.1 This led to various proposals for legislation. Some of these were concerned with the promotion of safety at sea, requiring the installation of radio equipment on ships, the employment of skilled operators, And the like. Others, and it is these in which we are interested, were designed to bring about government control of the operations of the industry as a whole. 大约在是在本世纪之交，无线电开始被用于商业，主要是船岸和船船之间的通讯。这导致了各种各样的立法提案。其中一些考虑促进海上安全，要求在床上安装无线电设备，雇佣有技术的操作员等等。另一些呢，是我们感兴趣的，整体来说就是为了使政府能控制这一产业的经营。The reason behind such proposals can be seen from a letter dated March 30, 1910, from the Department of the Navy to the Senate Committee on Commerce, which described, "clearly and succinctly" according to the Committee, the purpose of the bill to regulate radio communication which wa...
