The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-07-25
FIRST STRIKE KNOWN
FROM BIRDMEN.
Aviators Refuse to Fly, and
Thus Cripple Aerial
Mail Service.
STORM CAUSES ROW
Government Has Made No At
tempt to Secure Non
Union Fliers.

StrlkS OF ueIldl IHdll Cuiilels III tht
history OF the world badly crippled
the United States governments ALI
postal service today.
Twelve big mail carrying aero
planes were lined UP at Belmont
| Park field terminus Of the Chicago
to-New York and Washington-to-
New York air routes, but not single
propeller was whirring. Pilot Ang-
lin, scheduled to depart this morn
ing with the Chicago mail, failed to
appear. Only two OF the twenty
striking airshipmen were on the field
| Pilot Reddick and Pilot Hamilton
| Lee, whose discharge because he re-
| fused to take the air last Tuesday on
the ground that weather conditions
made flying dangerous, precipitated
the aerial walk-out.
The air mail carriers on the west
ern end OF the Chicago-to-N New York
route went about their business of
distributing mail from the skies. The
| Chicago pilot hoped off for Cleve-
land and another pilot left Cleveland
for Chicago with sack OF mall.
Mail Goes by Train.
The Cleveland to-N New York mall
came by train. The Washington pi-
lot. left for New York but New York
air mail for Washington went by
train.
Eastern Division Superintendent
Stanton and postoffice inspectors
conferred at Belmont park with
Hamilton Lee, but would not make
public the result of the conference.
Lee said that neither he nor Leon
Smith, the other mail pilot dis
charged for refusing to fly last Tues
day, had changed their attitude.
II won't go up in foggy weather
with a machine that flies 100 miles
an hour" said Lee, "for / can only
see seventy-five feet ahead. In foggy
weather 1t is necessary to fly only $50
to $50 feet above the ground to get
direction and In case something went
wrong and / had to make quick
landing when flying over a large city
such a landing would be dangerous
to the people below as well as to
me-"
Thus far the government has made
no attempt to employ "scab" avia-
tors to replace the men on strike and
1t is the Impression at Belmont park
that the strike will be settled satis-
factorily. t'.
Need Of Regulations.
Secretary Post, of the Aero Club
Of America, said that the strike dem
onstrated the need of a govern
mental department Of aviation.
charged with establishing flying regu-
lations for aviators in civilian
branches of government service, such
as the postoffice department and
forestry department, as well as for
army and navy aviators. POST
pointed out that on one occasion the
crew Of German Zeppelin obeyed
orders and took their craft into the
air in a severe storm, though they
knew they were going to certain
death. He cited this. he said not In
iustication Of the governments at
titude, but merely as in incident IN
the controversy. TT is easy TO give
orders" said Post, but not always
possible to carry them out. We should
work for sanity in flying. Under the
best of conditions air mail carrier al
ways encounter certain risk" i
Hamilton Lee, one of the discharged
avintors. said today in speaking OF ms
dismissal: 80,
a 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 iog-
gy weather it is often necessary to ny
only $50 to $50 feet above the ground |
and a high compression liberty motor |
is apt to get hot at a low altitude, |
causing n forced landing. II am
over a large city such flying |
is dangerous to people below as wei as
Wien TO Fly and When Not TO Fly.
Washington, July 25.-Follow New |
York; The postoffice department can
AI,n ruff nf NJ
and when not to fly in each instance TO |
the Judgment of dozen different avia- |
tors" declared Second Assistant POST
ma ster General Otto PraeEer this after
dismissal of two postoffice. aviators who |
refused to make their trips. with the
result that their fellow flyers called a
strike.
Praeger's statement was devoted en-
tirely to justifying the dismissal of the
two aviators-E. Hamilton Lee ana
Leon Smith, and did not even indirectly
relate to tho refusal of other ayiators
to take the air today. The only m
formation forthcoming from the depart
ment up to noon was that the air mails
had left Washington for New YORK ana
Chicago for Cleveland at the scheduled
hour. No reports had been received
from other points. 1t was stated
Praeger declared that in the case OF
Iilots Lee and Smith " safety of life
and limb and property was not the
adding that on the day when
hey refused to take the trip the wealth.
,r, while not good, was not as bad as
{ had been on days previous.
He also declared that there was no
ruth in the statement that the depart
nent had refused to equip mail planes
With gyroscope turn indicators" adding
hat Instruments are being developed
md IL will require two months further
by factory.
"The facts in the controversy that
,hould not he lost sight Of" Praeger
continued. is that the pilots did not
ontcnd that the weather was such that
he route could not be flown and this
$ borne out by all the weather reports
n the hands of the department on that
lay, but that the pilots refused to fly
N the theory that tlle mail machines
IRE planes not OF the type the pilot
insists upon using. and which type is
practically obsolete in mail work and
las been in the course OF retirement
or the past few months.
THE postoffice department has taken
very precaution for the protection of
Is pilots against death or injury and |
he years operation of the service with
Is small casualties is proof of the
attention given by The depart
1ent to make the mail plane flying
afe for the pilots.
"Of course there is an element Of
anger in all airplane FIXING, hut, the
ecords show that. the air mail by It's
fforts for safety has reduced these
angers to a negligible quantity.
The department. however cannot
ave the question OF when TO fly and
hen not to fly to the judgment of n
Oxen aviitors. II this were done II s
ould he impossible TO operate a mail !
,hedule with any degrees Of dependa- {