New-York tribune., 1918-12-07
Head of Aero
Mail Service
Resigns Post
Capt. b. B. Lipsner Asserts
BurIeson's Plans Means
Waste and Inefficiency

Captain B. B. Lipsner, superintendent
of the ain mail service since the Post
department took over it's opera--
tion from the War Department last
August, resigned yesterday, saying that
the plans outlined by Postmaster Cen
cral Burleson in his report for extend
ing the service all over the country
and to Panama and the West Indies
evidently were to be carried out in such
wastcfu and inefficient manner that
he did not care to be associated with
them.
81 am a public servant ali the time, .
said Captain Lipsner last night, land
it would be false to the people whose
money is to be invested to remain.
under the circumstances. | am not
going to be downed by anybody or by
any faction. | am not politically IN
clned, and | did not enter the service
with pvlitical ambitions. | have re-
signed and | am not afraid to state my
reasons or to have my record scanned.
Amazed by New Plans
In his letter of resignation Captain
Lipsner wrote that he had "read with
dismav and amazement" statement
by Second Assistant Postmaster Cen
eral Otto Praeger, that special planes
were to be built Tor the mail service
and that "novices" were to be placed
in executive positions.
This was waste and inficiency, Cap
tain Lipsntr said last night, in addition
to being unfair to officers of the air
service.
"Why build new aeroplanes," he de
nanded, "when Millions Of the peoples
money already is invested in planes
that are lust as capable of carrying
mail as cf dropping bombs, Just as TIT
to serve the American people in a
peaceful way as III killing the Hun?
'There are thousands OF experts.
probably soon to be mustered out OF
military service, who are fitted t., to
handle executive jobs for which
novices are slated"
Captain Lipsner resigned his army
commission to take the post of super
intendent of the air mail service. Up
to August 12, when he took charge,
army officers had been running the ser
vice.
Twenty-Five Trips Failed
Between May Is and August 10, he
said, eighty-seven days of army opera
tion, there were failures on twenty
two legs of trips on account OF weather
conditions and ten landings were fall
With the same equipment used by
the army, he said, there were only two
failures on account of weather and
three on account of accidents in the
III days between August II and De-
cember l, when the service was under
his control. Weather conditions, he
said, were more unfavorable in the lat
ter period than in the former. His
letter of resignation, in part, follows:
an the last three weeks, since the
ending of the war, there have come to
my attention apparent efforts made by
representatives of certain aircraft
manufacturers and the Manufacturers
Aircraft Association to have the Post
office Department spend tens of thou
sands of dollars unnecessarily in con-
structing special aeroplanes made for
mail carrying and having extensive al
terations made on the military air.
planes which the War Department, by
direction of Secretary Baker, has
turned over and ia turning over to the
Postotfice Department, to be utilized ir
the aerial mail service.
Opposes Expenditures
Approaching that my duty as a pub
lie servant is to avoid all unnecessary
expenses, and knowing that the public
expects the aerial mail service to
make every effort to salvage and
utilize the thousands of military aero
planes left over from the military air
craft programme, | have opposed the
policy of going into these unnecessary
expenditures, having in mind also the
disaproval expressed by the Senate in
vestigating committee last August of
the methods of the Manufacturers Air
craft Association.
81 have also been fearful Of the de-
lays in the extension Of the aerial mail
service which will take place il so
called technical men and noviccs lack
ing experience in this new field should
be permitted to Interfere in the han
lli - ...i