The sun., 1918-12-18
ARMY FLIERS FOR AIR
MAIL ROUTES URGED
La Guardia Attacks Plan to
Establish Duplicate
Equipment.
PROMISES A, SENSATION
Will Tell "Insidc Story" Of
Aviation During War in
Week or Two.
sp,cia, D,spa.ch 10 Tur sus.

HptC1ut DrSVuEN 10 tuE GUM
WASHINGTON. Dec. 17.--The Post
Office Department plan to interlace
the country with aerial mail lines fron,
coast 10 coast and border to border
wns hauled back and forth over the
Goals to-day by the House in discus
sion OF the Post Office appropriation
bill.
Representative La Guardia IN. "
attacked the evident programme of
the Administration for failing to util-
lie the army aerial equipment by turn
ing the service over to the War De-
partment. Representative La Guardia
has just resigned as Major in the air
service. He did a great deal Of flying
vGdsr war conditions.
The fight started when Chairman
Moon (Tenn) of the Post Office Com
mittee introduced an amendment to
provide for taking over a large num-
Der of machines and engines from the
War Department. The amendment
provided for giving the Post Office
Department 100 Hispano-SuiZa motors
of one type, seventy of another, 100
extra Liberty motors, 100 De Havi-
land fours and ten Glenn Martin day
bombing machines for use in the mail
service. He was supported by Repre-
sentative Madden 1ll.), Republican.
The amendment finally was lost when
a point of order against II was sus-
tanned.
According to Mr.. La Guardia the act
ual cost of the aerial mall would be
concealed through such procedure. as
the War Department would be giving
up equipment worth s5,000000 or s6.-
100000 and the Post Office Depart
ment would be getting it for techni-
cally nothing.
In the course OF his speech Repre-
sentative La Guardia promised to
spill the beans" on the INSIDE story
OF aviation during the war in a week
or two, when he will address the House
for two hours. Mr.. La Guardia called
attention to the fact that while the
Post Office Department had asked only
100000 for maintenance and opera
ton OF the air mail service the Post
Office Committee had raised this figure
to s2,1S5.000.
II want TO make II clear" Mr.. La
Guardia said. that l am not opposing
an air mail service. am In favor of
it, but I am opposing a certain waste
OF 100000. We have an army air
service, naval air service, marine
corps air service and postal air SER
vice, all overlapping but the time Is
not distant when we will have one
comprehensive unified air service"
Mr.. La Guardia then pointed out
that the Post Office Department
planned to pay fiiers $500 month.
mechanics 1925 n month and helpers
S75 n month. on the Department s
estimates OF The number of pilots. me-
chanics and helpers needed for the air
routes planned the item of pay alone
in year would exceed s7,20o,0O0, he
pointed out. The same service run
by the army. he showed the House,
would cost about 100000 less and
this would be a complete saving. too,
because If the Post ONCE Department
keeps the service the army must still
send its pilots flying around doing
nothing useful but merely maintaining
the air service.
Development of the night flying
route to Chicago from New York, he
said. would cost millions of dollars
because of the fields and signal system
which must he developed.
Mr. La Guardia called attention to
the fact that the War Department now
has $500 planes for which II has
no other use than training fiiers. be-
sides two completed Handley-Pag ma
chimes and 200 under construction and
1,495 De Haviland machines in reserve
not yet assembled. The nation has
60s3 finished pilots he pointed out,
and 1895 flying cadets finishing their
courses.
So far as the ambitious plans of the
Post Office Department are concerned.
he added, 1t will take many months,
probably as much as two years, to
establish the trGrsContinental air
routes laid out by the Post Office Do
partment with the cross routes in the
system.