Evening star., 1933-02-19

pointment before President RooSe,
Navy will do so on the ground tha
to round out the few remaining n
head OF the bureau to which he
1t is especially fitting that Admiral
Mohett should be continued at the
head Of the naval aviation service for
the few months of active duty remain
ing to him in view of the fact that the
Navy airship program for which he,
more than any other person, is respon-
sible, now Is nearing completion. The
U. S. s. Macon, second of the giant
dirigibles for which Admiral Moffett
fought so long and hard, is nearing
completion and will take the air
early in the Spring. Without Admiral
Mofett, 1t is contended, the Macon
never would have been created, and it
is no more than justice that he should
be at the helm when it goes into COM
mission.
Admiral Moffett assisted in the for
nation Of the Navy Bureau Of Aero
nauticS. Though he was not a flying
man at that time, he turned his back
on the old Navy of which he always
had been part, without complaint,
and accepted Fundamentally his as
signment to the new branch of the
service. Since then he has fought with
every power at his command to build
up the flying service, even though his
efforts brought him into conflict with
many Of his old comrades Of battleship
days.
So thoroughly has he become identi-
fed with naval aviation that 1t prob
ably would be a hardship to him to
have to go back into the regular service
during the few remaining months of
his naval career.
Created Air Policy.
Admiral Moffett directed an eight
fold expansion of naval aeronautics
and the merging of aviation into the
Navy during q period when aeronau-
tics was in a formative state. He al
ways had stressed the Importance of
fleet aviation, and no man has worked
harder for adequate aircraft carriers or
for the carrying of aiplanes on fighting
ships. Under his supervision the
United States built its first expert
mental aircraft carrier, the U. S. S.
Langley, and converted into carriers
the battle cruisers Lexington and sara
toga. This country now Is completing
its first real aircraft carrier. the u. 5.
S. Ranger, the only ship designed spe-
cifically for the purpose. Inrougn sne
efforts of Admiral Mofett, alrplane
CdJdpL1J1 AAaNC NSNAA PAS~S~ - -
tleships and cruisers.
1t is largely to Admiral Mofett's
credit that the Navy has gone into the
building of large flying boats. There
now is in process giant which Will be
equal in carrying capacity to the Ger
man 12-engined DO-X and far superior
to the German ship in range and per-
formance Its construction, however,
hinges upon congressional approprla-
tions.
Admiral Moffett has taken a broad
view of the aeronautical needs OF the
country. He has co-operated TO the
limit of his ability with the struggling
aircraft industry and always has en-
couraged commercial aeronautlcs.
Since his graduation from the Naval
Academy in 1890, Admiral Moffett has
been continuously on active duty. He
served with Admiral Dewey at the
battle of Manila Bay and won the
Medal OF Honor for ability during the
occupation of Vera Cruz in 1914, while
in command of the cruiser Chester. He
won the Distinguished Service Medal
for his services in training naval per-
sonnel during the World War. HIS
ability in organization led to his ap-
pointrnerlt by President Harding as the
FIRST chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics,
then in process Of formation.
Ludington Lines Sold.
Sale OF Ludington Airlines to Eastern
Air Transport during the past week
marks the greatest change in the Ma
tional air transport set-up since the
sale of F,rrett L. Cords Century Airline
interests last year. In a way it marks
the close of a very definite period In
air transport history in America-tne
day of the pioneer Independents.
Passing of the Ludington Airlines
ing to those vino are advocating COM
plete wiping out of airmal subsidies"
No air transport line ever was more ef-
ficiently operated than Ludington dur
ing the months before its sale. Yet II
was not able to make money without an
airmail contract and it is certain thaC
no large air transport line can do SO
with conditions as they now are.
The time will come, unquestionaoly,
when air transportation Will pay lts own
way. That time, however, has not yet
come, and If the life-blood OF the air.
mail subsidy is withdrawn financial
ruination of the air transport system
of the country is regarded as certain.
Ludington was the last of the great
independents It represented a real
pioneering effort-the establishment OF
passenger service on, frequent schedule.
1t was set up as "short-hauP' line
in competition with some OF the flnest
railroad service in the country, where
the factor Of time-saving was reduced
more than on any other major air
route.
World Records Broken.
In the face of almost universal
skepticism Ludington was able to eStab-
lish a service which from its very first
week made world records and opened
the door on a new phase Of air trans
portation. From the first day it jumped
into a position of world leadership in
air passenger transportation, exceeding
in this respect even the world-fsmous
London-Paris service, UP to that time
the cream of the worlds air transport !
services.
AS is the case with the railroads, the |
air transport systems OF the country are |
consolidating: Today there are only |
four major air transportation groups in |
the United States, and there are tndi- |
cations that further consultations are |
in prospect. One by one the independ- |
erts have failed or have been bought |
out. Eastern Air Transport today |
reigns without competition in all the |
Atlantic seaboard region south Of New |
York.
With the purchase Of the Ludington |
system Eastern Air Transport not only
eliminates the last competition In its |
own area, but also takes over the control |
which Ludington had of Central AAir1
port, Camden, N. j., and Washingten- |
Hoover Airport here. Ludington had |
an agreement with the local airport |
officials which limited Eastern Airs use |
of the airport. This limitation, though |
it did not interfere seriously with East |
ern Airs plans, presented a source Of |
difficulty IN case of future expansion. |
At Camden the situation was more |