The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-05-03
AERIAL MAIL TO
CROSS COUNTRY
POstoffice Department Outlines
Plans for New York to San
Francisco Service.
STARTS EARLY IN JUNE
Later a Branch to Southern
States, Ending New Orleans,
Will Be Inaugurated.
STARTS EARLY IN JUNE

washington, May l.-OucIe SdIu VIII
soon have an air mail route from New
York to San Francisco. Soon means
shortly after June 80. Congress has
just increased the aerial appropriation
to $1,415, 900, an increase for the 1920
81 fiscal year of $664,5O0, to. be used
for this project.
This will mean that soon it will be
possible to mail letter in New York
at s p. m. Saturday and get it to San
Francisco by about 8 a. m. Monday. BY
rail the same letter could get there not
sooner than a. m. Wednesday, more
likely Thursday. The postage will be
cents. To get a straight 50-word mes
sage through by wire costs s47o, a
night letter $1.so, or a ten-word
straight message $3.50.
At the same time, Uncle Sam will
make a profit on the letter.
The air mail routes already estab-
Iished are from New York to Washing
ton, with a stop at Philadelphia; New
York to Cleveland, with stop at
Bellefonte, Pa. Cleveland to Chicago,
with a stop at Bryan, o.
The next extension was made May l
from Chicago to Omaha, with stop
at Iowa City. The route can fly to-
ward the coast. With the new appro-
priation at an early date the route will
be extended from Lake City TO Chey-
enne, to Reno, to Sacramento and to
San Francisco.
( The first branch route will run from
Chicago to st. Louis, which service is
to be inaugurated as soon as the fac
tory delivers the planes. which have
been ordered for some time. In due
time, when appropriations are made.
this line will be extended on south to
New Orleans.
At the present time twin motor De-
Haviands and single motor DeHavi-
lands, capable of carrying $50 and 400
pounds Of mail respectively. are being
used. These will be transferred to the
new routes and Martin and Thomas
Morse planes, 1500-pound capacity, es-
pecially built for mail service, will be
put on the New York Cleveland and
Cleveland Chicago routes. The air
mail business is growing by leaps and
bounds, despite the fact that it is car
ried for the same rate as other mail.
The experiment has been so successful
that Postmaster G e r a / Burlesona
looks eagerly to the time when all
first-class mail will be carried by air.
planes.
"An airplane can put cumbersome
mail distributing coach out of busi-
ness" is the way one aerial mail dl-
vision attache expressed 1t. Several OF
these distributing coaches have been
eliminated between Washington and
New York. The airplane simply car
ried the mail from :re south. destined
for New York, from Washington on.
It arrives in New York early enough to
be distributed at the postoffice to the
carriers for the days delivery"
Mail leaving New York at $3.50 a.
m. by air reaches Cleveland at Il noon
eastern time $3.50 p. m. by raid; Chi
cago at 3:15 central time (by rail at
4:3O the next morning). Air mail ieav-
ing New York at a. m. reaches wash
;ngton at 1886 a. m. and by rail it ar
riyes at the capital at p. m.
Five Martin planes have been deliv-
ered to the government. They cost
about $4,000 each. Four looo-pound
-. ma city Thomas Morse planes are be-
inc constructed and when they are de-
,i,,arad the Chicago-St. Louis branch
will be established.
The postoffice department now has
As planes and IS flyers. Wnen the
ro,,tas are extended to the coast it will
have so planes. Since the service was
stated May is, 1918, six pilots have
been killed.
Tbere are AZ letters to the pound.
4 Martin or Thomas Morse plane can
carry mail on which $3.50 ordinary I1,
nostaee has been paid, to say nothing
~ the stimulant the rapid service OF
ea.s - ~ ~ nersons to send letters special
selveGy dsls ee Al mail is supposed Tsa
70 60 by the quickest means. me
extra profit to Uncle Sam an tha in aoxc,e sps
cia1 is cents. the boy on .ne oa1yoie n.y.
raceiying rec. 5 cents for delivering It Inls
reov,o l'so,,,d make the gross revenue for 1900
na,'ndS m0u,d 'eaA Of special delivery mail $3.50
T ApnR UNIONS TO