Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-05-22

5000 Letters. Specially De
signed Airplane Postage
Stamp.
The first aerial mail service in the.U Unit
cd states was inaugurated May 18TH. T91S,
with the departure of airplanes laden
with letters from Washington for New
The plane leaving Washington got away
at 1145 a. M. and that from New York
promptly at II 30 a. m.
The President and Mrs. Wilson, Post
master General Burleson, Secretary of the
Navy Daniels Assistant Secretary of the
Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt Second AS
sistant Postmaster General Otto Praeger,
Third Assistant Postmaster General a. M.
Dockery, Postmaster Merritt Q. Chance,
the Postmaster General of Japan, Il;
Kamdara, and members of the house and
among those present in Potomac F ARK
to bid godspeed to the machine which
departed from Washington.
Carried $500 Letters.
The Washington plane carried $500 let
tiers for New York City; 500 letters for
Philadelphia. and 1900 distributed among
all the states of the Union. There were
bags of mail, weighing 140 pounds
The mail was carried from Washington
by Lieut. Geo L. Boyle, Reserve Military
Aviator, Aviation Service Signal Reserve
Corps. So
Special motor trucks took the mail from
the Washington post offices and its sta
tions for the airplane.
Postmaster General BurleSin sent the
following letter to the postmaster at New
York. on the envelope of which was az
fixed the first airpane postage stamp
autographed by President wilson ana 20
be sold at auction for the benefit of the
Red Cross:
Postmaster Generals Letter,
Office of Postmaster General,
May IS, 1918
Hon. T. H. Patten.
. Postmaster, New York City.
My Dear Mr. Patten: With this letter
the Post Office Department in augurates
a regular aeroplane mail service. In TINS
important work of developing an advanced
medium of postal transportation Ieel
that the Post Office Department viii have
the fullest cooperation of the New York
post office in making it success.
This letter will be dispatched under the
first aeroplane postage stamp to be sold
h3-, the department and Cancelled and au-
4 raphed by the President of the United
81 tes Please deliver the envelope to
York City, who viii arrange to have. it
solo at auction for the benefit OF the
Red Cross. and who will start the bid
ding at $1,000.
A. S. BURLESON
Postmaster General,
Leave at 1880 a. m. Each Day,
The mail airplanes will fly promptly at
H.
mail will close for this service viii be
fixed by postmasters from which he de-
parture is made. The postmasters WIZ
also designate the stations where man lof
the Airplane Mail Service may be de-
posted The airpane leaving New YORK
will be scheduled to arrive in Phladei-
.phia at 1890 o'clock p. m, AZ mat poIae
Fthe following connections will be mace
with mail trains to points outside me me
of the air route 4:32 p. m. Tor Atlahtlc
City: $3.50 p. m Tor CadInea, e'iaSSpo 80 y.
Cape May: 1850 p. M for Paoll' IA 4,99
D. M for Downingtown, Lancaster, ana
Harrisburg, Pa; 4:O6 p. m Tor o N ts,i,lo.
4:30 D. IN. for Bethlehem; 3 p, M Tor
chester, Wilmington. and Delmar $50
u. m. for West Chester, Pa; 4;3O p m
At $50 D. m. the airplanes are sched-
uled to reach Washington. making con
nection with the following mail trains
going south 9nG vest 5itt ebI p H. Cincinnat
and St. Louis; 4:15 p m. train tor mar maj,
lottesville Lynchburg. DanVillte,, Green's a,s5
boro, Salisbury, Charlotte At taa co., ,a,1H
11ecfions by rail it would be necessary 10
make dispatch by train leaving NY, NV
York at s al m, arriving Phiaaeip 1
a. 10.93 a m6 Washingto nat 40 p. III
"' igpbi,adelphja / 80; New York 2;3o,
The airpaIres leaving washington are
ecbeduled to reach Philadelphia a. l;9o
n m and will make connexions WIN VI one
p,l llf nail trains as are made by planes
coming from New YORK
Arriving in New York at 2:SO P. m m:
I ,p9de With the $50 p. m train for Bridge
port New Haven sRrq fg hb and B Gtea
SIiuacnSe Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland,
Toledo. Elkhart and Chicago
The time taken for the tra4 Np[a Yd2R
6 6g 'r offce " is from six to seven hours.
The time required for the, transportation o
by airplane viii not exceed ~? hQufs ; IN
the landing field at Belmont Park 70 the
i New York post office.
: The air route will make a saving Of at
+ least two houras IN the delivery of mail
!, at terminals But a much greater saving
q of time than this indicated viii be made
on account of the special-delivery TEA