It simply didn't pay to fly the mail when trains could travel almost as quickly and at a far lower rate per ounce. For the first seven years of operation air mail service was directly subsidized by act of Congress. For decades thereafter, U.S. air mail contractors were guaranteed full loads on all routes under the Air Mail Act of 1925. If not for these farsighted legislative efforts, the American aviation industry might never have gotten off the ground. The experience of the aviation industry in this country is hardly unique.
American history is replete with examples of government assistance for novel transport technologies.
The canal systems of the Midwest received subsidies. The western railroad companies were issued land grants totaling 130 million acres for building their continent spanning networks. Interestingly, this largess was not the result of backroom political arm twisting. These supports counter the tendency of the market to grossly underestimate the potential economic value of investments in novel transportation methods. The problems of space commercialization would be familiar to those early rail and air pioneers.