Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-06-10
Aerial Mail Routes
BY Frederic ]. Haskin

ny fTeUeTI
Washington. D. c.. June s. The
United States Is soon going to have an
aerial mail service. Early in May the
postoffice department advertised for
bids On an aeroplane service through.
out Alaska, In answer to which the
owner of three powerful aeroplanes Is
now on his way from the Alaskan gold
fields to close contract. This mans
bid, which Is for $500 year. was ac-
cepted by the department for the reas-
on that it was the only one submitted.
The demand for aircraft and skilled
operators in Europe Is SO great that
very few aeroplanes. aside from the
comparatively small number In the
army and navy, are allowed to remain
in this country. A bid was also request
ed for similar service from New Bed
ford, Mass. to Nantucket, r. l., but so
far no one has offered to undertake It.
The question of an aerial service In
this country has been in process of agt;
tation ever since 1910, when q mail
pouch was carried by aeroplane to the
New York postoflce from the steam
ship Kaiserin Victoria which WAS lying
fifty miles at sea. Following that, no
less than sixty-seven attempts were
made to show the practicability Of car
rying mail through the air. The prop
osition was the subject Of SO much
popular interest that 1t was adopted by
various municipal boards OF trade A.
an advertising feature. The plan was
to secure permission from the govern
ment to carry the mail by aeroplane q
specific distance for certain number
of days thus attracting great crowds OF
people. to witness the phenomenon and
incidentally accelerate business In the
town. In the space Of six years. these
demonstrations proved 80 uniformly
successful that the government decid-
ed to adopt the plan in stretches OF
country where the usual method OF
transportation was expensive and dlf-
ficult.
Under these circumstances, the mrs.
choice was Alaska, where the mail IS
carried by dog sled. which Is costly
and inadequate. During the winter
months no mail at all Is transmitted
In the northern interior, where the last
mail sled in the fall and the first mail
sled in the spring are events to De
celebrated like the fourth OF July ana
Christmas. The present contract Tor
aeroplane service at $49,500 Is twenty
five thousand dollars more than the
dog sled system costs. but the aero
plane will carry None thousand pounds
of mail as compared to the sled's two
hundred and bring Seward. Nome and
other cities three weeks nearer the
United States. In addition to mail, the
postal aeronaut expects to run pas
senger and express service.
There are many sections OF the
country that wonld be greatly benefit.
ed by swift mail service which would
he practically impossible except by air
because the route would lie over noun
tains and desert. From Santa Maria
to Shale, Cal. for example. the dis
lance is not over nifty miles as the
crow flies. but over the mountain
range that separates them 1t takes two
DAYS for the mail to travel. AS imDor-
tant oil interests are located In each OF
these towns, the slowness OF the mail
Is a great hardship. An aeroplane
could make the distance from Gallup,
N. NJ, to the Indian agency at keams
Canvon. Ariz.. which Is less than
hundred miles, in little more than an
hour, while under the present system
1t requires two days for the mail to
arrive by wagon. Again. Phoenix ana
Globe, Ariz., are only seventy-two
miles apart, but a journey OF twenty
four hours lies between them. The
rapid DEVELOPMENT of the aeroplane Is
watched with much interest in these
places, where a national aerial mail
service would be distinctly welcomed
The great stumbling blocks In the
way Of a national aerial corps OF ma.
carriers are the tremendous costs OF
such a system. and the attitude Of con.
eress which builds ten thousand dollar
post offices in remote districts not IN
dire need OF them, but which can not
see the necessity of buying aircraft
either for the mail, the army or the
navy. It has been estimated by the
Aero club Of America that on the day
President Wilson's note went forth TO
Germany, there were only three up 10
date and efficient aeroplanes IN the
United States navy and only twice as
MANY in the army. At the beginning
Of the war, Germany had an aerial
fleet of over thousand craft, manned
by trained experts, while England had
nearly as many, leading in speed ma
chimes. and France possessed fleet OF
six hundred after discarding many OBJ
solete models. Now, through the ef-
forts of the Aero Club of America, two
aviation schools have been establish
ed in this country-one at San Diego
and one in Texas-and fund is being
raised by patriotic Americans to pro-
vide the state militia with flying squad
rons.
There have been several reports re-
Gently that the importance of the aero
plane in the European war has been
greatly exaggerated, but these are
hardly borne out by the speed WIN