Evening star., 1925-04-16
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

Henderson, Second Assistant Post
master General. who is in charge of
the Air Mail Service, has computed
the cost per ton mile possible under
full service of 10 planes each way TO
be only 80 cents in place Of S3.4S per
ton mile.
The economy is not merely theoretic.
The present cargo capacity of an air
mail plane is 500 pounds. When that
capacity is increased in the indefinite
future of invention to 10000 pounds,
the cost will be only II cents per ton
mile. That is impossible today, but il
is possible to carry $500 pounds. The
cost consists of the following items:
as9. FsS
Capital account NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 1%
Maintenance of way .................. ~
Maintenance of equipment ....... 81
Overhead expenses 49,. ....... 3
Transportation tpilot and gas and oil :. 20
Total ..........-......... 100
A large proportion Of the cost would
remain stationary if the service were
multiplied 10 times. While no route
would be able 10 supply mail to the
amount of capacity proposed, there is
no reason why passenger traffic should
not rise to full capacity. II is found
that on the basis OF a 1O-trip service
daily, averaging 10 passengers per
plane, the cost would be 3.5 cents per
mile per passenger. Railroad fares
now cost about 4 cents a mile. hence
air travel is already an economic pos
slbility. City suburbs then may range
$50 miles in radius about any city, per
mitting the commuter one hour morn
ing and night for his trip-no longer
than many a clerk requires to reach
home, standing in the crowded aisle of
street car. Why swelter in the eve
nings in a city, when one may live
upon the mountain peaks 100 miles
around? The fare-35 cents morning
and night-would be more than offset
by savings in rent.
The period of experimentation has
been amazingly costly. There was no
greater scandal of waste in connection
with the war than that of aFplane
manufacture. II has been stated that
with billions squandered in expert
ment of new ideas and new engines,
no planes were produced i'll time to
be of service before armistice. That
is authoritatively contradicted Before
the armistice we had shipped abroad
$50 planes, of which 800 were in serv-
ice at the front, according to the
aviation officers of the Army. How
long prior to the armistiCe is not al
legged. but it is asserted that q total
of IA 200 planes had been made, all
but the $50 being used in our train
ing camps. At that time there was O
capital investment in airplane manu-
facture of S100,000,000, with 25000o
men employed.
Since the war there has been spent
by the Army and Navy no less than
$3.50 100000 on aeronautics, yet to-
day it is said that the cost per plane
now in use exceeds a million dollars
each. Today not more than 1000
employees are engaged in airplane
manufacture outside of the Ford
works.
Under the new law known as the
Kelly law the Postmaster General Is
authorized to contract with private
parties to carry the air mail over any
routes where he sees the practicable
ity of making it pay. The contrac-
tor will receive four-fifths of the post
age paid, and the minimum rate Will
be 10 cents an ounce or fraction
thereof for the first zone of 1000
miles. is cents for a distance I'D to
1,500 miles and 90 cents for greater
distances. Only American-made air.
craft may be used in this service,
and there is no restriction as to
carrying passengers or express in
the same planes. Thus a new field
for private enterprise is opened
which will not only invite investment
but will have as great an influence
upon social conditions as had the
railroad, the telegraph and telephone,
the automobile and the radio. No
one believes that air traffic will de-
stroy surface traffic; it will create
new needs and change living condi-
lions.
tCanyHsA& 1a2S. ~ Fan T. COllinA.A