The border vidette., 1928-01-14

day is almost exclusively in such
hands.
Passenger, mail and express
line air transport has reached a
high stage of development on
the Pacific coast. This is prob
ably due to the fact that men on
the Pacific coast have bad many
obstacles to overcome in horse
drawn stage line development.
rail development, road develop
ment and automobile transport
lines. In each instance, they
have overcome mountains, des
erts, dense forests and large
rivers, and are giving perfect
service in those branches OF
transportation. 1t is only ma
tural that the same type of indi.
Yiduals who pioneered other
means of transportation, should
turn to the airplane.
AS an example, the president
of the Pacific Air Transport. Is
years ago, started with a small
stage line in a sparsly settled
district in southern Oregon. La
ter, be enlarged his activities
and covered isolated districts in
the coast country and through
the Coast Mountains. Anyone
familiar with the roads in west
ern Oregon at that time, knows
the difficulties that were encoun
tered and the determination and
perseverance required to over
come them. Previous to the
coming of the automobile on one
of the routes on which motor
cars pioneered faster transpor
tation, it had taken q light stage
with four horses some 20 hours
to make 65 to 20 miles to a rail.
road.
Mr.. Gorst made a success of
operating automobile stages un
der such conditions. and it is on.
~ natural that he drifted from
these to airplanes as faster
means of transportation. Today
his Pacific Air Transport han
dies United States mail and pas
sengers up and down the Pacific
coast from Seattle to Los An.
geles.
The Pacific Air Transport is
typical of several, we'll estab
lished air lines .handling the U.
S. mail in the far west, the
mountain states and through to
Chicago. These lines have all
had to develop under adverse
conditions just as did the first
automobile lines. All of these
lines have had vast distances of
mountains, timber and desert to
traverse. with landing fields few
and far between. without guild
ing lights and other innumera
BILE obstacles to contend with,
which only men with the pio.
neer spirit would ever attempt
to surmount.
Air transportation is here.
Most of US do not realize it. But
this does not change the situa
tion. The man who would not
ride over a can Of gasoline is
today riding or driving in an
automobile as a matter of course.
The man who today will not fly
in an airplane will shortly be Us
ing them as an indispensable
means of quick travel. Fast
mail and fast express will gravi
tate to the airplane as a matter
of necessity. Air ports and
lighted air routes will be built
just as have our state highway
systems:
Lindbergh focused the atten
tion of the world on airplanes.
It remains for men like those
now operating our commercial
lines, to demonstrate TO the WOrld
that the airplane is practical for
transportation and business pur
poses.
In going from San Francisco
to Chicago by plane. Mr.. Gorst
said that. he felt entirely com.
Portable, relaxed as be would in
an easy chair in his own parlor
and enjoyed the varying scenery
which could not be observed in
any other manner. He said there
was no feeling of instability and
that when he was tired, be took
nap. Wonderful scenery was
encountered and even herds of
antelope and other wild animals
were visible. The time required
was 81 hours from San Francisco
to Chicago.