The New York herald., 1921-05-14
BURLEsoN called In the army aircraft
experts TO help him investigate.


on October ., 1920, Mr.. BURLEsoN
made official admission that many of
his machines were equipped with a
defective gasolene system, that there
was no provision for ventilating or
draining the fuselage and that the
cooling system was made useless by
the jarring Of ordinary flight. In
short. the pilots went their way sit
ting over pans Of gasolene which soon
ignited. either from backfire or from
the unprotected exhaust manifold,
and we're burned 10 death.
After that investigation, the re
suits ~ which Postmaster. General
HAYS doubtless can find in the files,
We heard less from BURLEsoN about
stupid partisanship." His depart
ment had been sending men to their
death In machines the defects OF
which were SO elementary that a
garage apprentice ought to have dis
covered them; sending men to death
and growing about progress"
Now comes more evidence from Chi
cago. and II piles crlminality on igno-
rance. An inspector az the Minneap-
oils field declares that planes were
sent out with propellers so badly
split thar they were In danger OF fall
Ing on al any moment. OF eight
tunkcr planes. costing S235,o00, five
were wrecked az the cost Of seven
lives and the others were withdrawn
because the Pilots noted though they
are for their bravery, would not 20
out ID them. The men nc Checker
board Field gave long odds. when an
other tyre ~ machine. nicknamed
'sshcans." took the air. that they
would never reach their destination.
And there are tales Of drunkenness
and lnefFiclency.
Has this kind Of progress" been
worth the lives Ii has costf We were
assured early In the history OF the
air mail that II would result not
only IN wonderful delivery but in
great scientific advance. Well. the
service has been going on for three
years Now IL the time for the Post
mssier-G General 10 find out exactly
what new steps In aerial science have
been made through the mai! service
a. II has been conducted What in
ycntions IN the way 81 safety. speed
or strength have come from these
long flights, these deaths Of men by
the dOzeng
Last September the Assistant Post
master-General IN charge OF the air
mail. MFR. PRAsGrR. Informed Us. when
we objected 20 the killing Of 80 many
pilots. that Commercial aviation has
received its principal encouragement
and development from the air mall"
Mr.. PEAEGER was stating "a IN ac-
complishei fact what everybody hoped
at the beginning of the air mail ser
vice would one day be true. But
does anybody believe that commercial
aviation has received the slightest Cor
ward impulse from the black history
Of our air mail servicel IL Is not
aviation In general that is az fault
but human stupidity and vanity. The
air mail service was made an adver.
Using stunt for the Burleson admins
tration. The quality OF the planes
and the personnel, which should have
been the all important feature OF the
service, was neglected. The admins
tratIon had It's air mail circus; the
pilots who drew the rotten machines
had their funerals.
If Postmaster-General HAYS has
the regard for life, property and avi-
alton progress which we believe him
to have he viii clean up the mess he
has inherited. even II he has to take
every mail plane out of the sky until
he knows that II 4 the safest machine
he can give 70 his fliers
No more manslaughter for the sake
OF stunts.