Evening star., 1925-03-26

The United States air mail service
sustained many vicissitudes before its
promoters saw its true uses. They
found in time that airplane delivery
was impra racticable over comparatively
long distances, and that 1t must in
volve steady night flying. Take for
example the New York-Washington
run, the first experiment. Practically,
this venture did nothing to speed up
business. Few firms finish, sign and
mail their first letters of the day
much before noon.
A letter stamped for the air and
mailed in Washington at noon had to
be sorted, transported by truck to the
flying field; flown to New York; again
carried by truck to the post office: re-
sorted 1t could scarcely reach its ad-
dressee before closing time. The
night trains between New York and
Washington run on a five or six hour
schedule. A letter posted in the Capt.
tai at closing time and carried by
railroad usually arrives at a New
York office in the first delivery next
morning. The same thing is true of
letters between New York and Bos-
ton or Buffalo. On these comparative
ly short jumps the air mail did not,
in practical terms, expedite mail de-
livery.
Better Results Elsewhere.
But as regards more distant points,
like New York and Chicago, there
was a different story. A letter mailed
in New York at closing time on Mon
day and sent to Chicago by train can
not reach the addressee until the first
delivery on esday-if then. But
send mail by airplanes between the
two cities at night, and you can
make" the first delivery on Tuesday.
In this circumstance the two cities
would lie as close to each other by
mail as New York to Boston Chicago
to ST. Louis.
However, before trying to link up
New York and Chicago, the promoters
of the air mail made more ambi-
tious attempt. AS soon as they proved
that night flying under proper condi-
tions was not unduly dangerous they
built between New York and San
Francisco our first air lane. An over
land air lane is not situated in the
air, but on the ground. 1t consists
first of small landing fields, as a pre-
caution against damage in forced
landings.
These must lie at short intervals
apart-under ideal conditions not
more than 20 or 25 miles-and must
be properly lighted. At longer in
tervals are larger fields stated with
mechanics to make injury repairs.
On these the relay riders of this spec
tacular pony express land. transfer
sacks and hop off. A system of
meteorological information more COM
plete and special than that which
the Government maintains for ground
people forms a prime necessity. That
is what the modern aviator means by
an air lane.
Worked Well In Summer.
The overland lane was opened
few weeks experimentally and closed
while the service made further i'm
provements. Last Summer, however,
the transcontinental air mail began
real and permanent operation. When
it runs to form it delivers letters be-
tween San Francisco and New York
in two days. Ordinary first-class mail
takes at best between four and one
half or five days. 1t worked like
charm all Summer and Autumn.
When the fierce Winter storms beat
on the Sierras and the Rockies things
did not go quite so we'll STILL these
same conditions often delayed the
train-borne mail from six to is hours.
On an average the air mail has halved
the speed of transmission between
Atlantic and Pacific. Already it has
become almost a commercial neces-
sity Herbert Hoover testified before
the House committee on aircraft that
the close link 1t affords between San
Francisco bankers and the New YORK
Clearing House saves our financiers
thousands of dollars a week in In
terest.
Has it paid? In terms Of direct
balance between expenditure and
revenue, certainly not. 1t has turned
into the department since last sum-
mer some three-quarters of million
dollars in revenue. But it has sus-
tanned the heavy expense of con-
struction and tuning up an air lane.
And this, like the post office service
in general, is not thing to be re-
garded in strict terms of profit and
loss.
New Type Approved.
In the matter Of rolling stock" it
has worked so far under a handicap.
We inherited from the war surplus
of old type D. II. planes. They are
grand old knockabout buses as
the aviators say. But they were
built for military purposes. Re
vamped into freight carriers, they
could handle only $50 or 400 pounds
of mail. The biggest bombing planes
have a lifting power of 1000 pounds;
this may indicate how inadequate the
reyamped d. HIS are as freight car
riers.
Now, preparatory to opening the
New York-Chicago line, the air mail
service has tested and approved a
new and suitable type of plane. 1t
has equal touring speed with that of
the D. H 1t lands at lower speed.
And It will carry 1000 pounds of mail
or freight. There are special pre-
cautions against fire. the personal
devil of an airplane. A pull on a lev
er will drop out the gasoline tank.
Pressure on a foot-button will spray
every dangerous part with fire ex-