Evening star., 1932-10-16

Development Of express business
loomed as the only solution. Before air
express service could be developed to
worthwhile proportions, the air trans
port officials realized that rates must
be made uniform and reasonable and
that the service must be made simple
and convenient for the average man to
use.
Creation Of General Air Express, an
inter line service supported by major
ity of the domestic airlines. was result
Of the application of sound business
principles to the development of the
aviation express service. Uniform way
bills, uniform rates. simplified service,
door-to-door pick-ups and deliveries
were initiated. The service went into
effect August and since that time air
express poundage has increased nearly
so per cent Air express carried during
August totaled 111,279 pounds, as COM
pared with the July total of 1881
pounds. though the new service did not
60 into effect until the beginning Of
the second week in August. Continued
growth in indicated by the preliminary
estimates for September.
The Department of Commerce has
made study of the air express business
and has listed more than 240 different
! kinds Of goods handled by air. Chief
among them in quantity are papers,
films. merchandise Of various kinds.
printed matter. electric goods. jewelry,
samples, records, hardware and flowers.
More than SIS per cent of the air
express business of the Nation origi-
mated in the Midwest; 17.43 per cent on
the Middle Atlantic seaboard ard 1417
per cent in the Pacific Northwest.
! Many Items Are Flown.
Important in the coast-to-coaSt ex-
press movement by air were bank clear
ances. advertising copy, clothing. cor
porate papers. deeds dentist supplies.
department store goods for prevleW
sales, documents. feature ard news
films. flowers and vegetables and fruits
for special occasions.
Gardenias are shipped regularly by
e ir from California to New York except
during a shcrt period when the local
crop Of this flower Is available. An
operator in the Midwest maintained a
steady traffic for a meat-packing plant
in transporting archaeological specimen
between plants and laboratories. Cloth
ing manufacturers in the East were
found to be shipping samples OF gowns,
cloaks and hats for preview exhibitions
to various parts of the country.
The Department of Commerce study,
the first Of its kind. was completed be-
fore the new unified express service
went into effect. 1t revealed that even
prior to the express agreement air ex-
press had progressed by a process OF
infiltration into the general shipment
facilities Of the country. The organized
efforts to build up this business which
now are being made as result CT eco
nomic pressure are expected to have
important results in bringing air ex-
press service into the realm OF every
day life.
During the past week a ton Of silk
hosiery was shipped by air express from
New York to 100 cities in all parts OF
the country. a large part of the load
moving through the National Capital
The shipment is said to be the first
! large-scale movement of hosiery by air
express and established records for a
single air express shipment in points OF
weight. number Of pieces and valuation
Ofdcials who announced the shipment
said:
Speed Is Business Factor.
Speed has always been a factor in
business but in the business Of today
and tomorrow. with its new and more
intense competition, 1t has become far
more important than ever before. Our
ability and facility to contact estab-
lished territories of trade is further
emphasized by this new air express serv-
ice, which makes possible the delivery
of merchandise within 24-hour pc
riod. no matter the distance from the
warehouse or factory.
The effects of air express en- general
business will. without a doubt, be far
reaching. Business first sent its mail
into the air. Then came a decided
trend toward actual air travel. not only
by salesmen. but By executives of in
dustrial and commercial organizations.
Now comes air express. which is speed
ing up the actual delivery of merchan-
disc on practical, economical basis"
International air express is being
used in an effort to establish this
country's bid for Latin American trade
Speed Is used to add value to the wares
Of the American merchant in his strug-
gle with his European brother for a
share in Latin Americas yearly S8000,-
600. 900 in trade.
New fashions in women's clothing
are shipped by air for display in the
SoutheEn capitals, making possible CO.
ordination Of foreign and domestic
sales 10000 miles apart. American
poultry firms have sought a hold in
Latin America by shipping Matching
eggs by air and more recently have
undertaken regular shipment Of baby
chicks by air from Miami and Browns
vile to countries more than 1000 miles
distant.
Delicate strawberry plants and rice
samples for planting and experimental
work, queen bees and even entire bee
hives have been numbered among the
shipments Yeast, fresh only for a
matter of hours. now is distributed sue
cessfully over the entire West Indies
area by airline.
Emergency replacement parts on
American machinery, medical and gen.
eral supplies, machine fittings. motion
picture films. perfumes, silks. wood SAM
piles and other articles are found In the
everyday air express shipments between
the Americas.
Recently the Detroit-built engine OF
a rich Colombian gold mine broke down
, Within two days a 3S7-pound replace
, ment part was loaded aboard Pan
American airliner at Miami and q
hours later was at its destination, where
mine mechanics waited to install 1t and