Evening star., 1926-05-23
Romantic Pioneer Spirit of L. Mail Reaches Climax in Air

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I huskies. A mail plane now travels
| the distance of 2s0 miles from Fair
banks to McGrath in three hours, as
| 1t flies In a straight line, and the
| huskies then continue the trip 10
| ldtarOd.
Both methods of transportation will
probably be used TO carry the mails
| in Alaska for some time to come,
! though the future may sec the sue
cess of the present experiment and
planes be used exclusively.
THE old time slogan OF the beckon'
ing West was California or
bust" but this was translated in tho
Air Mail Service to Fly or resign By
the hardy pilots who winged tlfeir way
across the perilous uncharted air lanes
of the early days, which have been
succeeded 10y Well lighted fields with
beacons and a1-night flares along the
highway $50 miles in length
In order to fly at all through iW
possible weather conditions and by
night the air mail pilots. or "beczos.
as they arc humOruuslv called bX the
mechanics. according TO an account in
| the Geographic Magazine by Lieut..
Van Zandt of the United States Arm
| Air Service. are not unlike the van
ished race Of Mississippi River pilots
They must learn their long cours"
as YOU follow the hall at home in
the dark and like them, too. they are
as picturesque Il type as in the Old
| steamboat days when every man was
| half a horse and half an alligator.
! Pilot Dog Collins once remarked. IN
! fact, that he had 50 much to remenl-
Der that it made him stoop-shou!-
dered."
1t was in May. 1918. that the air
mail was born. when former President
| Wilson, with his staff, watched the
| fight Of the first plane in the servicr
as it took off from the polo field in
| Potomac Park. Put a series OF a"el-
dents prevented the successful issue
of the flight to it's destination.
| However. the senior pilot IN the
| mail service. T.. Hamilton Lee, has
record of over 500, 600 miles. with
! fewer accidents than any other man
! in the air service, and since the PoSt
! Office Department has nearly hun
| dred planes for the airway routes, this
| is a fine record.
The base pay Of each pilot is $1,000
for day flights and $500 for night
| flights. plus To : cents per mai"
extra for day, and 10 - IA cents for
night flying. Thus a mail pilot can
earn as much as $500 a month, hu'
! this means an unusual amount Of fly
| ing, and the average is probably
! around $500 a year for most OF
| them.
/ The mileage rate between New York
| and Cleveland and between Reno ana
! san Francisco. is : cents. as against
| 8 cents from Reno to Cheyenne and "
cents between Cleveland and theN-
enne. the difference being due 10 the
! extra hazards incident To the country
| side far below.
| The tree-crowned AlleGhenies are
! most deceptive and dangerous. and
brilliant beacons guide the air CourierS
/ of the night to warn them of the
threatening peaks and Crests. It was
! in this section that Pilot AmeS, one OF
the crack flyers of the air mail serN-
ice, lost his life last october, and for
some DAYS the fate of the pilot was
discussed in the headlines of papers
| throughout the country.
Mail planes have proved invaluable
| in saving time in the speedy trans
! portation of valuable documents Uf
| all kinds, and though the Federal
| Reserve Bank Of New York refuses
| TO give out official statements on the
| subject. il is understood that consider
! able sums Of money have beer saved
| on one or more occasions by the
| prompt use of air mail service in
| Transporting bonds from one city tO
another in few hours.
! Womens gowns. movie films. golf
| sticks, candy and jewelry have ell
| been sent by airplane mail. and the
| Cancelled stamps testify TO the swift
\ fight in hours over route that once
| required weary days of dusty travel.
No mention of the post office would
| be complete without reference TO
Owney. the dog mascot that was
beloved by all mail men from coast
! TO coast. He wandered in originally
TO the Albany post office. and WAS
so genuinely interested in the process
of dispatchnE the mails that the
men adopted him.
| Subsequently he seems to have
| travelled to nearly every city in the
country, and bore so many medals
| and baggage tags attached to his col
| lar that a harness was purcha sed
| in order to distribute the weight.
! Some of the tags are most amusing.
| and are equivalent 10 a loaf of
bread" on sight. Others bear the
| imprint of hotels he stayed in. appar-
emily as the guest of the manage
| ment. and he was evidently under
| the protection of the Masonic order
rs one of his tags bears that mystic
! symbol. with his name on il. Several
! OF his tags We're presented by dog
| shows that he took in on his wander.
ings. OIL one of which is inscribed.
Bench Show of Grand Rapids.
1896. Medal TO Globe Trotter 'Owney,
I Nov. Sill"
| fnnunerable hotels were glad to rc.
| ceive so famous Il canine guest, and
| the Boston Safe Deposit & Trust
| Company offered a reward n one tag
| for his return if lost. His q was in
| sured by two companies. probably in
view of his trip abroad TO Japan and
| elsewhere. from which he returned IN
| high state, to receive a medal from
| the Atlanta Constitution and the
| Tribune of Cheyenne. Wyo.
| He died about 1897, and the body is
! being loaned to the Post Office e%-
| hibit at the Sesqucentennial Exhibit
| ton at Philadelphia by the Smithso-
! nian Institution. which had him stuffed
| and mounted as a memorial of hap
pier dog days on the railway mail
| trains, to which he always brought
the best of good fortune.
| --s---
Uncovering he Sphinx.