Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1920-02-03

Congress seems reluctant tC make further
appropriations for airplane mail service,
many members believing that such service is
needlessly expensive. This opinion is shared
by the UTICA OBSERVER DEM which
points out that the House postal committee
finds the service of little practical value
except as an aeronautica, experiment" and
adds:
This has Deen The observation OF bust
ness. The carrying Of mail by flying machine
is curiosity, a fad. somewhat novel thing
but it is of little practical value. When
great haste is required III business or
private communication in these times, the
telegraph or telephone is used. The or
binary mails are reasonably speedy and sat
isfactory, while the air mail is unreliable. To
spend large sums upon it without securing
greater return is one of the extravagant
propositions of the time"
But many other opinions are sharply at
variance with this The CHARLOTTE OBJ
SERVER lind. DEM, for example, thinks
that 1.-The people today would be no less i'm
patient with a proposition to hold the mail
service to the railroads than they would
have been years ago over a proposition TO
keep the mail service confined to steamboats,
and stage coaches Furthermore, this au-
thority tells us that contrary to public I'M
derstanding, airpIane mail is cheaper than
railroad mall and that "the air mail service
has paid for itself in the sale of special air.
plane postage and the saving Of car space
and cost of distribution in trains"
Even if operated at loss" says the IN
DIANAPOLIS NEWS (Ind.), supporting this
opinion, cit should be retained and extend
ed for "the country must support the avia-
ton industry" and 1.-The demand for air.
MI in
cial purposes is not large enough to keep
this country abreast of the minor powers in
the air The government must patronize the
industry a safeguard in case OF wal" A
similar view is taken by the GRAND RAPIDS
PRESS Und.), which declares that 1.-The de-
livery of mail by airplane is not only bust
ness convenience but would keep in service
skilled aviators who could be drawn upon by
the country in an emergency and would
greatly encourage the building of airplanes,
and that unless congress grants appropria-
lions for carrying on the service the indus
try can pull through "only because of the
pluck and personal sacrifices of the, manu-
facturers who are now holding exhibits, akin
to the automobile shows in various cities in
the hope that private interest in aeronautics
may be aroused
1.-THE United States has been VIGOROUSLY
negligent in the matter of developing the
airplane" the OMAHA BEE (Rep) submits.
practical flight was proved possible, we
have allowed Europeans to surpass us in
every point Of the road to it's adoption for
services. Our flustered efforts to repair this
omission on entrance to the war turned out
to be a tremendously costly and not alto
gether creditable performance The $780,
900 stricken from the bill should be re-
stored"
''Long enough" thinks the DETROIT
NEWS (Ind.) has the United States been
a laggard in this aerial activity; The
government owes a duty TO progress TO do
it's share in stimulating interest and secur-
ing the benefits of advancement" And
apropos of the compromise" proposal to
turn the air mail service over to the War
Department, the OMAHA DAILY NEWS
(Ind) remarks that commercial needs are
ever present, while the next war may be
decades distant" and that there would be
fully as much sound business Judgment
=. in handing over the railroads, the
telegraph system, or industrial plants capable
/. of making munitions to Secretary Bakers de-
partment because these, too, will be needed
to fight the next war This opinion is
echoed by the ST. PAUL DAILY NEWS
Qnd.), CINCINNATI POST (Ind.D, CLEVE-