The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-04-09
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORMATION BURIAL
FREDERIC J. HASKIN, Director.
Washington, d. c.
THE AERIAL POST.

New York. Philadelphia and Wash
ington. Negotiations for landing sites
in .hese three cities are now oelng
made, ami the work of constructing
hangers is to start at once
At the beginning, two machines
will make The trip every day; one
from New York to Washington, and
one from Washington to New YORK.
Each will carry 500 pounds OF mat
which would be about 12,0Oo letters
They will fly regardless of bad wealth
err and reports will be flashed at IN
termediate points along the line SO
that III case of an accident a motor
truck may be sent to meet them anu
the mail carried on to the next nan
gar where another machine VIII take
up lie flight. Several machines WI
be l.eld in readiness in each OF the
three cities.
1t is estimated that the trip each
day will take only three hours, IN
GLIDING the stop in Philadelphia. IN
der present conditions this means that
a letter sent by aeroplane Will get
to it's destination quicker than a tele-
or m. for while the telegram can
actually be transmitted quicker, the
delivery system of the postoffice de-
partment is much more rapid
letter leaving Washington at
noon, for example, will arrive in New
York in time to catch the afternoon
deliveries Moreover, it will make
train connections with Atlantic City in
Philadelphia, and with the Jersey
towns. those of New York state and
New England in New York City. The
advantage of such rapid mail serV-
ice from both the military and the
commercial viewpoints are self-eVt-
dent.
Under war conditions, mail by rail
and even kilograms are becoming in
creasingly unreliable Complaints
have been numerous concerning the
unusual time required for letter 10
reach Washington from New York
and vice versa, while the sudden
slump in the speed of kilograms is
causing evaporation. A Washington
man asserts that it took seventeen
hours for a straight telegram to reach
him from Atlantic City the other day.
| This particular telegram was a
message that his wife was ill, and he
was compelled to go to Atlantic City
at once. But the delay in the tele-
garm prevented him from making i'm
mediate train connections at Phila-
delphia, so he had to drive from
Philadelphia to Atlantic City in
taxicab. This gentleman will doubt
less be an enthusiastic patron of the
new aerial mail service.
The cost of the aerial service is to
be almost as much as that of the
telegra phi. The rate has not yet been
definitely decided, but bill fixing the
| rates for mail carried by airplane at
not to exceed "a cents an ounce or
| fraction thereof was introduced in
the senate a few days ago by Senator
Sheppard who has always been one
! of the most enthusiastic advocates of
such a service.
The postoffice department has con-
templated the use of aeroplanes for
malice frying for number of years.
When Orviiie Wright made his first
successful flight at Fort Myer, Va,
| Senator Sheppard introduced a bill
into congress appropriating $50, 900 to
experiment with aerop1anes for mail
I purposes. The measure, however, was
neatly pigeon-holed by congress
which refused to allow itself to be
visionary.
The idea of carrying the mails
thru the air persisted, nevertheless,
and when air flights began to be the
| chief feature of fair grounds in all
part of the country permits were
siven by the postoffice department
| for these machines to carry the mail
to these grounds. At st. Louis, par
ticularly, the scheme was thoroly
| tried out, for here a mail flight was
mad every seven days.
Much impressed with the success of
this experiment. congress now appro-
priated $4,000 for an aeroplane mail
service, which the postmaster general
asked to be increased to 100000. But
at this point the aeroplane itself
proved a failure. 1t was. too unreli-
able, and could not be used at all in
bad weather.
During the next few years great
progress was made in the develop
ment of the aeroplane, and in 1915
| the poStoffice department again con-
sldered using it for the transmission
of mails, this time in Alaska The
limited transportation facilities of
| a lxxyaxy ,l+
for the government to operate a con-
sistent mail service there. The long
pulls by dog sledge into the interior
are so dangerous that often neither
the mail nor the mail carrier ever
reach their destination
By aeroplane the flight could he
made in a few hours, at much less
expense of energy and money The
proposition was greeted enthusia stical-
ly by the Aero club of America and
other orga nizations interested in aero
planes, but when the time came there
were aviators. The advertisements
of the postoffice department placed
in all the local papers for an aerial
mail service in Alaska were ignored
Alaska still receives its mail by dog
| Sledge.
But with the war came tremendous
strides in the development of aero
planes and their motors. Heretofore
no machine had ever been produced
in this country capable of carrying
: | heavy weights in sustained flight
We had no Zeppelins. In fact, we had
| few aeroplanes at all in this country
which gave the aeroplane to the world
While the armies of Europe had taken
care to increase their aerial forces
during peace times; the army of the
United States at the beginning of the
war had about three good working
: aeropIanes, and the navy about four.
The fastest machines still cannot
i hI1f m
provements in motor construction are
rapidly reducing even this handicap
} The aviation corps, it has recently
: been stated. risks less than the in
fantry The aeroplane is now as re-
liable as a motor car.
. Hence the postoffice departmeni