Republican farmer., 1919-08-01
Air Postal
 Pilots All
 OIl Strike
New York, Ohio and Penn sylvania Aviators Halt
 Aerial Mail Lines.
FIRST STRIKE OF ITS
 NATURE ON RECORD
Bad Weather Prevented Flight; Told They Had
 Option to Resign"

New York, July 25-A strike of aerial mail pilots began today, no aviator appearing to take out the plane with Chicago mail, due to start for Bellefont, Pa. at a. m. The strike, the first of its kind in the country, follows the refusal of the postofice department to reinstate two pilots discharged for refusing to take out planes Tuesday on account of the fog. Postof1ce officials at Belmont Park, Long Island, the landing field for mail planes, stated that they had received instructions not to discuss l the situstion.
 A protest against the discharge of the two pilots, Leon Smith and Hamil- ton Lee, was sent to Second Assistant Postmaster General Praeger on We'd nesday giving him "A hours to make known his decision. MT. Praeger in his reply which was received by the aviators last night announced that had not been revoked. '"They came into the service" MT. Proager's tele- gram said, ''as every other pilot, with the knowledge that they must comply with the departments orders to dy with the mail and where flying condi- tions are such that they cannot oper- ate they have the option to resign"
 The aviators state that they have complained on several occasions that the planes supplied them were poorly equipped for flying, even In good weather. because of their high speed. They said they desired lighter and slower machines as in misty or foggy weather the visibility was so poor as to make high speed dangerous. The men declared that since July 15 not fewer than 15 accidents have occurred in which 10 planes were demolished and two aviators killed.
 Aviators of mail planes at Chicago, Cleveland and Bellefonte will join in the strike, according to local aviators Twenty pilots at Belmont Park, all civil employees of the Post Office De- action.
 Hamilton Lee, one of the dis charged aviators, said today in speaking of his dismissal:
 "I won't go up in foggy weather with a big machine which travels 100 miles an hour. The smaller ships are all right because they are slower. In foggy weather 1t Is often necessary to fly only 150 to 250 feet above the ground and a high com precision Liberty motor is apt to get hot at a low altitude, causing a fore ed landing. If I am travelling over a large city such flying is dangerous to people below as well as to me-"
 Cleveland. Ohio, July 25-No avia- tor reported at Woodland Hills Field up to S:30 o'clock this morning to take out the airplane with New York mail scheduled to leave here at 7:45 a. m. for Bellefonte, Pa.
 It Is understood that at meeting of the aviators here last night 1t was decided not to report for duty this morning if the New York aviators did not report for duty.
 Be1lefonte, Pa, July 25-Up to 10 o'clock this morning no airman ap- peared here at the flying field to take , the airplane with mail for Cleveland, which was scheduled to leave at a. m. Up to that hour no preparations had been made to leave with the mall for New York, scheduled to start at II o'clock. None of the aviators who were to take the mail out could be located.