The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-09-23
NEW TELLS
STORY OF
AIR MAIL
Postmaster General Takes
Stand in Presidential
Air Probe
REVIEW ACHIEVEMENTS
State Commercial Aviation Is
Now Established on
Firm Basis
REVIEW ACHIEVEMENTS

asHlnGLoH, sept. Z3.-J9)-lhc
postoffice department., boss Of the
air mail service, added it's endorse
ment today to the stand Of the war
and navy departments against Il uni
lied, separate air service in which
all the air activities Of the federal
government would be consolidated.
Postmaster General New, appear
ing before the presidents special air.
craft board, was asked whether he
favored a unified air service like
that advocated by Col. William Nit
chell, and he replied:
81 believe the postoffice depart
ment should control its air service"
Then. after pause. he added,
"That is ALL"
With other officials of the depart
ment, Mr.. New outlined the benefits
of the air mail service as now con-
stituted. The next cabinet member
to be questioned by the board will
be Secretary Hoover, who will appear
late today or tomorrow.
Washington, Sept. 23-(P)-
Achievements of the postal air SER
vice were reviewed before the Presi-
dents air board today by Postmas-
ter General New, as demonstrating
that commercial aviation .'is an en-
tirely feasible thing"
One motive in instituting the trans
continental air mail service, he said.
had been to demonstrate to "men of
means" that commercial aviation is
i possibility.
"How far that had succeeded in
attracting capital to new industry
was best shown, he thought, by the
fact that the department recently
received 10 bids for eight new mail
routes it proposes to place in op,r-
alton
States Position
The Postmaster General prefaced
his statement to the board, with an
allusion to the controversy over the
nations air defense in which he de-
clared ''it is, of course, understood
that the postoffice department has
no place in any differences existing
among military and naval authorities
as to the best method for carrying
on their aeronautical operations
"Our activities in the air." lie con-
tinued, "have been directed toward
the performance of an important
public service in a manner to DEM
onstrate to men of means that COM
mercial aviation is Il possibility. This
is what we have had in mind in
carrying the trans-continental air
mail. 1t is not our belief that the
government should permanently con-
tinue to provide this service under
government auspices and govern
ment expense, but the service is
most important one and, if it was
possible for it ever to be undertak-
en- by private agencies, it was first
necessary to demonstrate that it was
an entirely feasible thing"
Cite Achievements
Postmaster New said that prior to
the institution of the transcontinen-
tai air mail service, air mail lines
over short distances were establish
ed but then abandoned because there
was no substantial saving in time
accomplished. Later longer lines
"CAc eSIdplISHeO, ana on september
8, 1920, through service between New
York and San Francisco was at
tempted.
''The schedule westbound," he
said, "New York to San Francisco, a
distance of 1865 miles, is 81 hours
and 20 minutes, which includes stops
at Is stations for service and ex-
change Of mail; that for the east
bound trip is 20 hours and Is MIN
utes, the difference between account
ed for by the fact that the prevail
ing winds are from the west and
help the eastbound ship while they
correspondingly retard the one west
bound
During the fiscal year ending
with the Both Of last June, we flew
on this trans-continental route,
2,076,764 miles, with percentage Of
SO. That is to say, we flew that
many miles with mail. Including
mail, ferry and test we flew 2,5O1, ,555
miles.