John Smith wrote:
Here the NCI offers proof and spells it out, just in case these old key
tappers are in danger of pulling some wool over your eyes...

http://www.nocode.org/articles/filter.html

As some have noted in the past, "There are liars, and there are DAMN LIARS!"

Omission of relevant facts can be a form of lying.

Here's the whole story:

I read that bit of W5YI propaganda, and also the original articles in
"200 Meters And Down" and the QSTs of the time.

(have you done so?)

The referenced article does not give all the relevant facts.

For one thing, the article claims that "higher speed" code testing has
been
used to "limit the number of hams since the very beginning of ham
licensing".
The fact is that all US hams were licensed in the US by 1912, 24 years
before the 1936 happenings cited. The code test speed after 1919 was 10
wpm, and the 1936 increase to 13 wpm - hardly a quantum leap.

To get a clear picture of what was actually happening, it is important
to
understand what ham radio was like back in those days. After WW1, ham
radio
almost ceased to exist. It was brought back to life by the dedicated
efforts
of a few enthusiasts.

Amateur radio was not even recognized by international treaty until
1927. The
1927 treaty resulted in stricter new rules and much-narrowed bands.

By 1929 there were about 16,000 hams in the US. Almost
all of them were on the 160, 80, 40, and 20 meter bands. A typical ham
transmitter was a self-controlled power oscillator, and a typical ham
receiver
was a three tube regenerative. Sure, more advanced techniques existed,
but few
hams could afford them in thos Great Depression years.

Code skill was important in almost all radio services. 10 wpm was not
considered as anything like professional level - 25 or 30 wpm was more
like it. (This was with semiautomatic keys for sending and manual
typewriters for
highspeed copy).

1929 saw two big changes to ham radio. The treaties signed in 1927 came
into
effect, which cut deeply into the 40 and 20 meter hambands (70% of 40
was lost, and 80% of 20). The treaties also required much cleaner
signals from ham rigs. The Great Depression followed soon afterwards.

But the Depression and the new regs had a surprising effect on ham
radio. The
number of hams took a sharp upturn in the early thirties. By 1935 there
were
over 46,000 hams - almost TRIPLING the number of just five years
earlier! But the turnover in amateur radio was approaching 40% per
year.

This meant that most hams were raw newcomers, with relatively little
technical
knowledge or operating skills. A ham with 5 years on the air was a
veteran, one with 10 years was a grizzled old timer. Problems of
interference and crowding abounded. Complaints from other services
threatened the existence of ham radio.

The problem was that thousands of newcomers were learning just enough
to pass
the tests, assembling simple stations with little understanding of
proper
design, adjustment, or operation, and putting them on the air. Many of
these
newcomers lost interest quickly, particularly when the limitations of
their
knowledge and skills became apparent. The newly formed FCC was
concerned, as
was the ARRL.

The action proposed by the ARRL to the FCC was in two parts: Raise the
code
speed SLIGHTLY, (10 to 12-1/2 wpm) and make the written test more
comprehensive. The changes to the written tests are all but ignored by
the NCI
article.

The goal was NOT to limit the total number of hams, nor to hinder or
deter anyone from getting a license, but to control the flood of
newcomers, and make sure that the new folks had the necessary skills
and knowledge.

Look at the complete picture, and the action of the FCC in 1936 makes
sense.

73 de Jim, N2EY