Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-03
CONTINUED failure of the
Senate committee on mill
tary affairs to report to


.rk Senate committee on mill
sc tary affairs to report t
=. - the Senate the Furlow bill
= providing a separate promotion
= list for officers of the Army All
~ Corps, not only is imperiling the
:. chances of the measure for pas.
Usage but is striking a serious blow
at the morale of the Air Corps
personnel.
Justice to the officers of thu
Army Air Corps, they feel, de-
an immediate improve
ID ment of the conditions surround
ing the method of their promo
= ton. The Furlow bill, which has
/. been passed by the House twice
!, the last time by a unanimous
vote, is the only measure now
pending which will meet the stu
alton to the satisfaction of the
Air Corps people. This bill should
be passed, and it is the urgent
duty of the Senate committee to
take immediate and final action
on the bill.
The present session of Congress
is too far advanced to permit a
tying up of the Furlow bill with
any controversial Army legisla-
ton, which seems to be the desire
Of certain Senators. And if the
Furlow bill is not reported by the
committee and passed by the
Senate before March 4 the Air
Corps is likely to suffer severely
before the next Congress can
remedy the evil.
Finest Officers Resigning.
The promotion situation, from
the Air Corps viewpoint, is almost
hopeless. The finest officers i'll
the service, among them some of
the Nations foremost aviators,
are reSigning because they can
have no hope for advancement.
A few illustrations will show the
way the present system is operat-
ing.
Lieut.. James Doolittle, one of
the worlds really great aviatorS,
whose ability has been proved
time and again beyond question
and whose judgment is priced by
the entire aviation world, is first
lieutenant in the Army Air Corps.
He has been a lieutenant for near
~ IL years. He has 100 files to go
before he can hope for promotion
to a captaincy. In the normal
course of events it will be at least
two years before he will receive
this promotion. The Army plan
of promotion provides that an
able officer in any branch of the
service shall attain at least a ma
jority by the time he has been in
the Army Il years. When he
reaches this point in his period Of
\ service Lieut.. Doolittle will be
captain and not only that, he will
be the last captain in the promo
ton list of the Army.
Lieut.. Lester Maitland, who
piloted the first plane to fly from
the American mainland to the
Hawaiian Islands and who is
among the score or so American
aviators who have international
regulations as great flyers, also is
a first lieutenant. He cannot eX-
pect a promotion before 1888
Lack of ability? Not a bit of it!
The Air Corps promotion system
is at fault.
Lieut.. Albert Hegenberger, Lieut..
Maitland's navigator on the
Hawaiian hop, will become a
major when he is So years old, if
commercial aviation does not
snatch him out of the Army be-
fore that time and if he lives to
enjoy the belated fruits of his
laborS.
These are examples picked at
random. The same situation faces
every Air Corps officer. Is it any
wonder that they are leaving a
service in which they can expect
no reward for duty well done?
Every officer but one who partici-
pated in the famous Army round
the-worId" fight, which was one
of the greatest aviation achieve
ments in history, has left the
Army.
Capt. Lowell Smith, commander
of the fight, is on duty in Hawaii
He has announced that he will
resign Immediately to go into the
commercial aviation field.
Among Those Resigning.
The list of noted pilots who
have won fame in the Army Air
Corps and who have been forced
into private life by the unwhole-
some promotion situation is long
During the past year the corps
has lost Maj. Thomas G. Lanphier
commander of the famous first
pursuit group; Capt. Robert g.
Erwin, aide to former Assistant
Secretary of War Hanford Mac
Nider; Lieut.. Erik H. Nelson,
round the world flyer; Lieut.
James H. Collins, the now widely
known civilian test pilot who alb
ruptly joined the Caterpillar Club
when the wings came off plane
he was testing for the Navy here
recently; Lieut.. Lawrence G. FL
lot, Capt. Burdette S. Wright
who was one of the country'S war
time flyers and who organized the
Always section of the Air Corps;
Capt. E. E. Aldrin, who was per-
haps the Air Corps greatest aero
logical engineer; Lieut.. Howard
M. Fey, Lieut.. Harold C. King
Lieut.. Charles c. Coppin, Lieut.
Wallace S. Dawson and Lieut.
Floyd A. Lundell, whose exploit:
while stationed at Boiling Fielt