Evening star., 1928-05-13
Getting Air Mail Through

connection with the establishment ans
maintenance of lighted airways.
After all deductions are made, all W,
ton history is $9.500,000.
In building up this service the Pos
ONCE Department gave night flying 4
the world and created an organization
which, in the words of Lindbergh, is tn,
envy Of all Europe,
It was a demonstration in the feaSi
bihty Of continuous air delivery. 4:
soon as commercial aviation becam
strong enough it received not only In
physical sssets of governmental service
but also the technical knowledge bull
up through those first years of expert
ence in this new field
Private Firms Garry On.
Coming INTO the department already
an enthusiast. have backed 1t. as hare
as could, from the beginning, Wher
we had demonstrated that it was posi-.
ble to cross the continent with unfau-
ing regularity except for impossiol;
weather conditions--and. remember
even railroad trains are occasionally
biockaded--I was ready to say that thc
service could be better carried on under
private capital than by Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam had to make the demonstra-
ton. Uncle Sam had to show his nerve
1t is up to the private firms to carry on
That the experiment was successful IL
illustrated by the fact that today there
are 81 commercial air firms actually
carrying American mail. and requests
are constantly coming in from every
section of the country for the establish
ment of air mail routes where such &c
not already exist.
These requests are the result Of o
growing recognition on the part %.
American business of the value oi
speedy communication. One recent
example will illustrate
Portland. Greg, needed q new set oi
water meters A firm in Newark, N. J,
heard about it just as the date advcr-
tised for bids was about to expire. The
Newark firm sent its bid by air mall
For that reason--and that reason only
the bid arrived in time to be considered
and the Newark firm got the con-
tract.
Practical~-as it iS-the air mail has
already given the country a record OF
performance eaualed only by its record
of devotion.
Pilots Are Praised.
have said that achievement was
possible only through the nerve Of the
pilots and the nerve of the hackers
And our pilots have shown In full meas
ure they are the stuff of which heroes
are made Bring the Mail Through
That slogan of the Post ONCE in al
its departments has inspired them
whether, like Lindbergh. they carried
mail for private contractors or whether
they date back to the days Of Govern
ment operation.
do not believe in stunt flying
The public mind often dts TO avia'
ton a series of failures In efforts that
could have been accomplished only by
miracles-efforts doomed from the first
The attempt to accomplish the inn
possible can end only In defeat be-
lieve in the practical rather than tbs
spectacular.
These 10 years since our first air mail
fight have been spectacular In their
of the practical. And the
records of the air mail pilots glisten
with stories of their abilities as flyers az
well as of their personal heroism and
their unfailing sense of humor. 1t is in
vidious TO choose among them, perhaps
Yet a few Illustrations. taken almost oil
random from the records, will give some
idea of how they have brought the mail
through.
Some Heroic Feats.
There was H. @. Boonstra. Forced
down uU0n a rocky ledge 9400 feet high
somewhere between Salt Lake City and
Rock Springs. he crawled for SO hours
On his hands and knees through snow tc
an abandoned ranch house. Thence he
got to a telephone. When he finally
got back. got the mail and brought II
to ColesvilIe, Utah, the whole town
turned out with band 10 celebrate hi
arrival
When r. H. Ellis plane literally stuck
its nose into the perpendicular side OF z
mountain in Wyoming he rolled his mai
down the ledge and got 1t through.
Eugene Joilnson's ship fell straight
down, in a flying position, for i.500 feet
with Mount Rose ahead Arm over eye
he waited the crash. when the winc
struck the ship with jar that carried
it up and turned 1t in the opposite di
rection. And he got tflrough-with TIT
mail.
J. H Knight. flying by compass in th'
fog 5000 feet up. as his gas gave ou
dropped under the pank to find Lak'
Erie. He played hide and seek with
the docks and dredges TIL he wormet
the mail home.
Paul Scott, out In Nevada. took thu
mail into a hole In the fog In Saddle
Pass. The fog closed down. He banked
turned 10 ccme out with visibility o
20 feet. leveled and started climbing
when he found he was scfaping thu
tops of the trees. Crashed at 1900 fee
on the edge Of the pass, he found hi
left shoulder out Of Joint and his ief
arm beginning TO freeze. He noticed n
had cigarette. Then he noticed n
had left his gun. Then he noticed th'
heavy fog. giving no sun for bearings
Then he noticed he was lucky TO be abl'
70 notice anything. Struggling through
and slid and turnbled 900 feet--it pu
hts shoulder back into joint and re
stored the circulation. He got through
to the railroad.
Flames Fall 10 Stop Him.
Wesley Smith found flames bursting
through the motor wall at his feet
Though the fire burned through the mo
tor cowiing and singed his face ant
clothing, he was calm enough to Sent
hts companion into the cabin 70 pill
all the mail as far back as possible
Then he managed 10 bring the mai
through" by clever landing in corn
field
Benny Eielson. who recently crosses
the Arctic with Capt George H. vii
kins. was made chief Of the Yukoi
Indians under the sobriquet Of "Moos
Ptarmigan" when. back In 1924, h
brought the mail through dark AM
snowstorms into a country that pre-
Viously had known only dog teams.
Before the completely mapped al
routes, the lighted airways Of today
r. r. Jevisce owed his life 10 his mem
ory for air landmarks. Running out o
gas, oil and water 20 miles east o
Placeryiile, he suddenly remembered
certain pear-ghaped clearing he had oh
served on previous flights, Prom 500
feet up he made "dead-stlck" land
inR-and brought the mail through