New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1920-05-21

which will leave New York at day
break, will be in Omaha that same day
before sunset. Mail leaving New York
Monday morning will arrive in San
Francisco by nine o'clock Wednesday
morning. The best schedule that can
be made by train would be taking mail
leaving New York at $40 p. M. and
delivering it in San Francisco at - 80
y. IN. ON the fourth day.
The railway mail service can accom-
plish this only if it makes the trans
continental connection at Chicago, and
this connection is missed whenever the
train is as much as an hour late. On
the average the train leaving New
York at $40 p. m. misses this me
ton 40 per e of the time and the
mail takes "a hours longer to get to
San Francisco. During the month Of
January, 1920, the $40 train out of
New York missed this transcontinental
connection out Of Chicago 100 per cent
of the time.
The air mail can be - hours behind
IT. schedule from New York to San
Francisco and still beat the train mail
into the Golden Gate city by 20 hours
If the train connection is made at
Chicago, and by A hours if that con-
nection is missed.
Praised by Foreigners.
This is only the beginning of COM
mercial aviation in the United States.
1t ]" being accomplished with mill
tary planes which are not adapted for
commercial service. The work that
partment has received perhaps greater
recognition in Europe than it has by
the people of this country. Foreign
diplomatic representatives have sent
the fullest reports to their governments
about the air mail operations and have
expressed TO the post office department
their admiration of the service. its de-
pendability and economy of operation.
The air mail has made many inter-
csting contributions to aviation. the
greatest of these being the s~alvaginG
and rebuilding for commercial work
of more than 100 De Haviland war
planes, and finally. the transformation
Of the single-motored De Haviland
plane into the double-motored plane,
either of whose motors al keep the
airplane in the air and enable 1t TO
reach its destination.
At the recent aeronautical show In
New York city, the greatest advance
shown In airplane construction consist
ed of two ships built originally for the
post Office department. One of these
is the largest ship ever constructed in
America and can carry two tons OF
letters, and the other is n specially
designed mail ship which can carry a
mail load equal to 30 per cent of its
w weight.
The air mail has developed a staff
Of excellent a~eronautical mechanics,
the result Of whose work Is seen in
the records of some of Its pilots. One
notable instance was that of a pilot
who in eight months made 106 trips
with but a single forced landing due
TO mechanical trouble. On the Chica-
go-Cleveland division In 1919, 205 con-
secutive trips of 325 miles each were
made without a forced landing for any
cause whatever.
Bird Lovers Rejoice.
Bird lovers from one end of
the land to the other. and In
deed In other lands, are grntltled with
the decision of the United States Su-
preme court unfolding the migratory
bird act. The law has been In effect
some years but because some local
courts looked upon 1t Al u~nc0nstltu-
tional and because Of delay In getting
a decision from the highest court of
the land, 1t has not been enforced with
rigidity In some sections Of the u
try. The case decided by the Supreme
court came up from Missouri where
the local court held that the federal act
interfered with the sovereignty of the
state and the proper rights OF the peO-
Pile. The Supreme court sweeps all
such argument aside and gives the
winged creatures absolute protection
under the law.
As is generally known. the United
States and the Dominion of Canada
have entered into a treaty based on
this act under which all migratory
birds will be protected In Canada as
well as In the United States. In sus-
tanning the bird law the Supreme court
has, of course. upheld the treaty.
Now that the highest court has spok-
Ell, the department Of agriculture.
which is made responsible for the en-
forcement Of the migratory bird act.
proposes TO see that 1t is enforced
without fear or favor everywhere.
Justice Holmes Opinion.
The department has asked states to
cooperate in every way with the fed
eral government. and In doing this II
has called attention to the language
used by Justice Holmes. who wrote
the decision sustaining the migratory
act. 1T Is a national interest Of nearly
the very first magnitude" said the JUS
tice In referring to the migratory bird
situation. ave see nothing in the con-
stitution that compels the government
to sit by while a food supply IL cut Off
and the protectors Of our forests and
u crops are destroyed. 1t is not suf-
fclent TO rely on the states. The
question is whether the United States
is forbidden e act. We are of the
opinion that the treaty with Canada)
and the statute must be upheld"
Nearly all birds that are to be seen
In the North are, as most persons know.
migratory. going South in the fall and
returning in the spring. Many spe-
cies are wantonly slaughtered in the
South during the winter months and
.nlh for food Even robins. the agri-