Any Woes Today?

A radio program of human woes called A. L. Alexander's Mediation Board (WOR-Mutual, Mon., 9:30 E.W.T.) has been sliding along for four years as smoothly as soap opera. Its participants are muddled private citizens willing (for free advice, no pay) to air their troubles in love, marriage, money--the everyday problems of mankind. The advice is given by a jury of three visiting "experts," abetted by the program's originator: earnest, voluble, begoggled Albert Louis Alexander, onetime divinity student, actor, social worker, legman, radio announcer.

The particular appeal of Alexander's show lies in the fact that he gets both complainants--husband v. wife, etc.--together at the microphone and lets them battle it out. About 2,500 worried people write him every week. Others telephone. Some phone regularly. One of these is a woman who calls up just to tell him to be a good boy and eat his spinach.

Mediator Alexander last week found himself in need of mediation. His 45-minute program had been cut by Mutual to a half hour, which makes a better "package" for would-be sponsors. This was just half the time allotted to his chief rival, the Good Will Hour's John J. Anthony (TIME, Dec. 2, 1940), who omnisciently resolves all problems with no help from a jury. Struggling to figure how to pack enough material into his shortened broadcast, Alexander observed: "This change presents a big problem to me." "Well," advised a studioman, "why don't you call John J. Anthony?"

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