The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-02-24
NEA Service Writer


 Washington. "A not inconsider- able portion of the government is now accustomed to travelling about l by air.
 In the cabinet, in the little cabinet of assistant secretaries, in congress and generally among several of the government depart ments are found officials who do most or nearly all of their travel ling by plane.
 Those who pilot their own ma- chimes are usually found in the | war, navy and commerce depart ments, to which are assigned about all of Uncle Sans aircraft. 1 The aeronautics branch of the ! commerce department, which has Supervision and regulation of civil aviation, has about a hun- dred pilots on its staff and there is no official more air-minded than Assistant Secretary of Com tof the aeronautics division. Young goes everywhere by air, flying a modern single-engine plane of about nine hours cruising range and speed of about 145 miles. He usually flies alone.
 Has Flown 3O,OOO Miles
 The other day he flew down to Florida. Not long ago he flew a Canadian ship from Ottawa to Montreal. the temperature of 2S below zero contrasting with about 70 above in Florida. Young has been flying for IA years. includ- ing war service, and last year made about 30,000 miles in the air.
 Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley. who recently flew to To- peko for a speech, makes most of his official trips by air. He doesn't take off or land, but likes to take the controls and pilot the ship Assistant Secretary of War Fred erick H. Payne also travels most ly in an army plane.
 High officials in the army and navy air forces. perhaps naturally enough, usually are veteran flyers who almost live above ground. r. Trubee Davison. assistant secretary of war in charge of aeronautics, is an old army flyer. He cracked up while training in war time and his feet still bother carries a pilot who can take the controls if necessary. Early in February he flew to New York to attend dinner and returned the same night by train. About once a week he drives over to Boiling Field for an aerial spin, in case official duties have not been taking him out of the city
 | Generals J. E. Fechet and B. D.. Foulois, chief and assistant chief of the army air corps, fly every l original army pilot. The Wright brothers built the army a plane in 1908 and congress voted $500 for it's fueling and maintenance during Experimentation. It was Foulois who took it to Texas to find out what it could do.
 | The navy's most prominent flyers are Assistant Secretaries ErnS est Lee Jahncke and David s. In- gals and Rear Admiral William A.. Moffett. head of the aeronautics bu- for air, was the only American naval ace in the World War. He brought down five planes along the North Sea coast as a member of a bombing group.
 | Last fall he flew by himself to San Diego and is now attending the maneuvers at Panama, having been flown first to Miami and then to the Canal Zone. Jahncke is not a pilot, | put uses planes 10 get pidces anu has flown from Washington to his home in New Orleans and to the Pacific Coast.
 The outstanding congressional inyer is Representative Melvin J. Maas of Minnesota, who served as 6 marine aviator in the war and is a major in the marine corps reserve. Maas was "guest pilot" of Pan- American airways on Q trip to Gen. tral America during the Christmas holidays. but he generally uses an army plane with a pilot and GUS !!tomarily goes by air when returning to his home in St Paul.
 IAGuarflia Was War Flyer Congr essman LaGuardia of New York, another war pilot, also flies frequently, but no longer pilots Sem Iator Bingham of Connecticut. deeply Interested in military aviation. also has flown considerably but has not been off the ground since he attended last summers air races. Senator James J. Davis of Pennsylvania dem- onstrated fondness for travel in government planes when he was sec Iretary of labor. Congressman w, Frank James of Michigan, chairman