Evening star., 1934-02-13
PERMANENT MAIL
SYSTEM IS SOUGHT
Administration Hopes to
Reduce Subsidies to Fair
Profit Basis.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

With the Government prepared to
operate an emergency" airmail sery-
ice through the Army Air Corps next
Monday at midnight, administration
officials today continued their study
of the problem Of permanently re-
vamped airmail system.
Prominent among the tentative de-
cisions of the administration to date
are:
Determination to scale downward
the subsidies which have been paid
to commercial aviation companies for
transporting the mails, cutting them
to something more nearly approx
mating cost of service, plus a rea-
sonable profit.
Determination to get the airmail
service back into. the hands of private
airlines as speedily as comports with
the public interest.
Seek to Deal Fairly.
Determination to deal fairly with
| the commercial aviation industry and
not to permit it's breakdown or Sc
| rious hamstringing.
Legislation dealing with airmail
problems, particularly the matter of
compensation and the letting of new
contracts by the Government, will be
whipped into shape.
When the administration is pre-
| pared to act and has worked out a
! definite policy, President Roosevelt
| may, it is believed, send special
message to the Congress containing
the recommendations.
While there are demands from sup
porters of Government ownership
that the Government take over per-
manently the operation OF the air
| mail services, there are strong and
influential members of the present
administration who utterly oppose
such a proposal. They claim it would
| be very costly for the Government.
running many millions higher than
| the present subsidies of about Sl4.-
OOO. 900, that it would put the Gov
eminent into direct competition with
! commercial aviation companies, and
would be serious set back to further
| development of commercial aviation
Holding Hot Potato.
! One of the officials of the Govern
ment most concerned in the working
out of the program for the airmail
| said:
We have been handed hot potato,
| but we intend to handle it. We intend
TO be fair to all the parties and inter-
ests involved, including the companies
whose contracts have been annuled."
| The first new contracts may 60 to
| feeder" routes to the essential routes
now outlined for the emergency air
service.
| Commercial aviation companies
| which can show their contracts with
! the Government are not tainted with
fraud will not be diSbarred from seek
ing new contracts. And, it was point
ed out, Congress by legislation could
provide that even aviation companies
I whose contracts have in some way
been tainted with fraud should be
given opportunity to obtain new con-
tracts, after they had purged them
selves.
The emergency" airmail service,
which has been announced by Post
master General Farley, already pro-
vides for IA essential routes' with
| a mileage of 11,706, compared with
27,079 miles covered by existing
routes. In addition Mr. Farley hopes
to have in readiness for operation nine
more routes by next Monday night
All the details for the operation of
the emergency airmail services have
| been worked out by Mai Gen. Ben
| jamin D. Foulois, chief of the" Army
| Air Corps, following the determina-
ton Of the routes by the Post ONCE
Department.
Divided Into Sectors.
Brig. Gen. Oscar Westover was put
in charge of operation of the airmail
! services for the Army The centers
| Of the three zones into which the
country was divided are New York,
| Chicago and Salt Lake City.
The total number of officers in
cluded in the initial assignment for
the mail service is 200, with 324 men
and 122 planes.
The first list of routes announced
by Farley which will be ready to OPP
crate Monday night follows;
New York to Chicago, Chicago to
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City to San
Francisco, Salt Lake City to Seattle,
Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, Chey-
enne to Pueblo, New York to st. Louis,
St. Louis to Kansas City, New York
to Miami, New York to Atlanta, Chi
cago to Dallas, Cleveland to Fort
Worth. Chicago to Jacksonville and
Washington to Cleveland.
In addition to the service outlined
above, it is hoped to have the follow
ing service in effect at the same time
or soon thereafter: Chicago-St. Paul,
Boston-New York. Atlanta-New Or
leans, via Birmingham; Fort Worth
Brownsville. Fort Worth Houston,
Detroit - Toledo, Chicago Memphis,