The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1919-09-12
MAIL SERVICE BY
AIR IS SUCCESS
Postotfice Department Says It
Has speeded Delivery All -
= Over the Country. "
EXTENSION Being PLANNED
New Routes Will Link Up st. Louls
and Omaha to Speed Up Deliv.
cries to and From the
Pacific Coast.

ana Omaha to speed Up Del1v.
cries to and From the
Pacific Coast.
Washington, D. C.-Records for
transportation of mail along the east
-ern seaboard and from New York city
west are being established daily by the
airplane mail service which now is
well along toward it's fifteenth month
of existence. The service, according
to Otto Praeger, second assistant post
master general, who is in charge, has
speeded mail delivery all over the
country.
Letters mailed in New York city or
arriving there from New England be-
fore eight o'clock in the morning are
sent by airplane 50 far as possible, in
surfing their delivery in Washington by
noon. Those for Washington are sent
out on the first mail delivery in the
afternoon and those intended for cities
farther south are forwarded in earlier
trains than otherwise would be posi-
bic.
The same is true of the New York
Chicago airplane mail route, The time
from New York to Chicago is cut down
to between nine and ten hours. There
Is corresponding saving on mail from
Chicago and western cities intended
. for New York.
There are two airplane mail routes
in the country, one between Washing
ton and New York city an the other
between New York city and Chicago by
way Of Cleveland.
r. Air Service to Be Extended.
= Flights are made in both directions
over these routes every day, with such
success that the postofice department
is about to institute other routes which
will link up Omaha, Neb., and st.
Louis, Mo. These latter routes are to
be opened almost Immediately, to care
for the volume of mail and to assist
I'm quick deliveries to and from the Pa
cific coast.
Airplane mail service started on May
Is, 1918, largely as an experiment, with
q route between New York city and
Washington. Two trips day had been
arranged, one in each direction. The
first flight from Washington was a
spectacular affair in which President
Wilson and other officials figured prom
inently, and sent letters just before the
aviator started. Since that time the
service has continued without inter-
ruption.
Postage for airplane mail at the time
was fixed at fifteen cents an ounce, the
postof1ce department figuring that
speedy delivery made that price fair.
In addition to being carried by air
plane the letter was to be specially
delivered which ordinarily costs ten
cents in addition to letter postage.
Airplane mail service continued on
paying basis for time, until the nov
city wore off. M;.ny persons at first
used the airplane mail for it's novelty,
and the letters carried were unimpor-
tant, apparently. At any rate, after a
few months, the sale of airplane stamps
dwindled, as did the mail.
Reduction in Rate.
Then the postoffice department de-
cided to fill the pouches when possible
with ordinary first class letters. This
was continued until July 18, when the
rate for airplane postage was reduced
from fifteen cents to two. It Is prob
able now that this rate will be con-
tinued, for while the service does not
nay for itself the added facilities in
deliveries are regarded by the post
office department as worth the price.
When the service was started the
postof11ce department co-operated with
the war department, which supplied
the airplanes and the aviators. This
arrangement had been suggested by
the chief signal officer of the army,
who saw in the project an additional
means of training aviators for the
western front.
Army participation continued until
last November, when it was agreed for
the sake of efficiency that the entire
project should be taken over by the
postofice department..
For this reason the service now Is
entirely in the hands Of the postoffice
department and the aviators are of
civilian status. However, the pilots
now engaged in the work have come
largely from the army, being officers
discharged from the service at the end
Of the war.
The type Of airp1ane used is the ordi-
nary Curtiss machine, but the post
Office department is preparing and, II
congress provides the funds, will soon
put especially built airplanes at work.
. These new airplanes are designed
primarily for carrying mail, stabilized
automatically, so that there is no dan
ger of q crash. In this regard they
viii be different from the army type
machine, in which ability to maneuver
rapidly is an element of safety. The
mail airplanes will be designed to carry
heavy load with safety.