Evening star., 1933-03-12

tractors in written documents be
Office Department, under the old
pay the operators "and then fits
pay to the formula"
It is the opinion of member
formula for determination of pa,
which carry the mail "is the prin
rendered and for such subsidy !
the purpose of establishing an airr
permanently exceed the revenues
In its report to the House, the COM
mittee, after months Of careful study Of
the entire airmail structure. said:
THE most important result to be OBJ
tanned from the structure Of the rates
we suggest would be the establishment
OF a self-sustaining airmail service as
the goal and the elimination at stated
time of all subsidy payments. 1t has
been suggested that further to encour-
age commercial aviation and advance
the art Of flying premium be paid to
those carriers who improve their service
with faster and more efficient airplaneS
of larger carrying capacity, greater pas
senger comfort, longer cruising range,
better instruments. and further adapta-
tion of radio. The committee favorS
such advancement of the flying art"
As a step toward the determination OF
fair rate of pay, the committee pro-
poses that the Post ONCE Department
be required to conduct at least once a
year a thorough field audit of the com
panies holding airnail contracts.
The application of proper account
ing" 1t was pointed out, would result
in the department getting the service
now performed for much less money
than it costs at the present time"
It was explained that under system
OF field audits the subsidy pay will vary
from company to company on basis
of the true costs of operation as deter
mined by the audit, upon reserves 1or
depreciation and other deferred charges
upon the return upon investment In
property and equipment actually used,
and upon consideration OF revenue re-
ceived from other sources.
Through proper control OF the ac-
counts of the companies by the depart
ment." the committee declared, TINS
pure subsidy can be reduced year by
year in the proportion that expense
per unit of mail service Is reduced anc
revenue from other sources increased.
"Our committee believes, therefore
that the most effective safeguards that
could be provided for all concerned IN
the payments for airmail service Woulo
be the incorporation in the alrmall law
of a provision for regular and contlnu-
ing audits and investigation OF contrac-
tors accounts by the Post Once Depart
ment and the mandate that supSIoy
nav must be determined IN accoroallce
with recognized and estaohsneo ac.
counting practice and paseo upon 'Ae
results Of the audits." T.
In view of the approaching crisis IL
the airnail service, great interest Is
felt in the industry in the appointment
To the Office Of Second Assistant Fost,
master General, who exercises gensaa'
s,,nervision over the airmail, OF VII
liam w. Howes, Democratic natlonal
committeeman for South DaKota
HoWes is an unknown quantity 10 tne
aviation world. as is Postmaster Cen
eral Farley. and announcement OF tilei,
policies with regard to the airmal!
service is awaited with some 1eeNhs VI
The new Fourth Assistant Postmaster
General. Silliman Evans, though nus
office now has nothing to 90 Win tns
airmail service. has had aeronaut1catt a.
experience as vice president, up 10 ns.
wear. of American Airways. he ma
been active in aviation circles IN tlie
National Capital as representaIlve ~, y,
the organized air transport lnoustrs. ., ~
This ,connection he has become known
to members of Congress and the FED
eraI service dealing with air mall ano
air transport matters.
Army Air Progress Shown.
So rapid has been progress IN the
DEVELOPMENT of new military airplane
types for the Army Air Corps during the
past two years that, for economical and
engineering reasons, period OF con
solidation has set in and 1t is not hkely
that there will be outstanding increases
in performance or changes IN deslgIl
during 1888. in the opinion OF Maj. q
w. Howard. chief Of the engineering
section Of the Air Corps.
The new type planes which nave
come into existence in the Army during
the past few months represent such a
long step forward that it is planned tc
continue these new types in production
for some time until their possibilities
can be fully exploited. 1t was pointeo
out that there remains much to be ac'
complished toward taking advantage
of all the potential possibilities OF these
new designs and types of structures.
Many Of the new types compare Ia
vorably with the most advanced military
planes in the world today. Maj. Howard
declared in a summary Of aeronautical
developments at the engineering center
The new P-26 pursuit plane. now ready
for production. he said, will place the
Air Corps in secure position In rela-
ton to performance, judging from what
we know of developments OF this type
abroad"
In the field of bombardment aviation
the new Boeing B-9 and the Martin
XB-907 are ready for production "and
occupy even a higher position on the
scale of comparative performances" he
said. but added the Qualification that
lit is anticipated that there will be ad-
ditional engineering required before
they will be accepted by the tactical
organizations as enthusiastically as the
pursuit type"
The Douglass O-31 and Curtiss O-4o
observation planes are reported to be
faster than any observation types IN
like stage Of development"
International Record Claimed
BY flying 12.445 900 miles of total of
IL, loo, 900 miles scheduled during the
past calendar year. United States Air
lines completed more scheduled mileage
last year than anv other transport COM
pany in the world, it is claimed, on the
basis of an international check just
completed. The mileage completed was
e5 per cent of the total mileage sched-
,,1oI