Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-15

Post Office Department to
Auction 20 as 1t Begins to
ReIinquish Control.

The Post Office Department, IN
bringing 10 a close its production Of
the air mail drama about August !,
will ring down the curtain on an ac-
tivity which had a successful run Of
more than three years in Washington,
come years ago. The personnel Of the
Governments air mail service IS
being taken care Of and It's material
will find its way into the hands OF
new masters.
The department will begin In earnest
TO relinquish control over the air mail
service in favor Of private contractors
tomorrow. with the auction of % If
its Douglas planes. The ships" will
be knocked down TO the highest bidder
that meets requirements in the Office
Of Second Assistant Postmaster Gen.
eral w. Irving Glover. at Eleventh
street and Pennsylvania avenue, at
noon
AS these machines are suitable only
for carrying mail, the postal authori-
ties anticipate that contractors inter-
ested In continuing this business will
bid. Eight Of the planes will be sold
at not less than $1,000 each; 10 at
not less than Sc 200 each, and at
not less than $4,000 each.
AS a further step in the retirement
Of the Post Office Department from
the aerial field, the Department Of
Commerce will take over the lighted
airway from New York to Salt Lake
City and the radio service July l.
The repair depot and warehouse at
haywood, ILL.,, near Chicago, will be
moved to the east end of the trans
continental system on that date.
The Washington personnel OF the
service will be absorbed by the CON
tract air mail service. which will as
sumo the same rela ton to the private
air mail contractors as does the rail
way mail service to the railroads
with whom they make contracts for
carrying the mails. Practically all
the pilots now in the Government
service will be taken over by the new
operators of the routes, SO that the
airmen will have their old jobs with
new bosses.
President Coolidge, in keeping with
a law recently passed, is expected TO
issue an executive order directing that
hangers and other equipment not
needed by the Government at this
time be turned over TO communities
along the mail atrways that have all
lowed the Government the use Of their
municipal ny1nS neldS ana DOOSteu
the service Equipment that might
prove serviceable for other Govern
ment departments will be placed with
the chief co-ordinator for suitable
distribution.
Post Offices to Handle Mall.
The post offices at the points IN
terested will handle the mail trans
mitted by airplanes. BY August II,
the Government expects to be entirely
out of the mail-carrying business by
air, retaining only that supervision
that it does over other contract
agencies.
Thus will close a service that started
in Washington May Is, 191S-the first
air mail route to be established in the
country. With the aid of the Var
Department, which gave men and ma
chimes, the service was conductedI be-
tween here and New York.
The sister department co-oper4ted
until August IL, 1918. Then the Post
Office Department took over COMPLETE
operation and the service continued
until May 81, 1921.
The first leg of the transcontindnta
New York-San Francisco route waE in
augurated between Cleveland and
Chicago, May Is, 1919, and night fly
ing between New York and Chicago
started July /, 1925.