Evening star., 1934-03-13
l|NDBERCH CALLED
BY DERN TO AID
IN A|RMA|L PROBE
0rviIIe Wright and Cham
berlin Also Named on
New Commission.
GEN. DRUM APPOINTED
CHAIRMAN OF GROUP
Body Asked to Consider Safety
instruments and Expert
ence of Personnel.
BY the Associated Press.

Secretary Dern today named a spe-
cial committee of aeronautical au-
thorities including Orville Wright,
Charles A. Lindbergh and Clarence
Chamberlin, to investigate the Army
carrying OF the airmail.
He asked it especially to consider
"such flying instruments as are
deemed necessary for efficient avia-
tion and night. beacon and radio
controlled flights and landings" and
in consideration of personnel to
weigh their training and experience
in cross-country flying, in night fly
ing, blind flying and in instrument
flying, and their understanding and
employment of the instruments re-
ferred to above"
Gen. Drum Chairman.
Maj Gen. Hugh A. Drum. deputy
chief of staff, was named chairman.
Other members are: Maj. Gen
Benjamin D. Foulois, chief of Air
Corps; Maj. Gen. George S. Simonds.
commandant of the Army War Col
lege; Maj. Gen. John w. Gulick,
chief of Coast Artillery, and Brig
Gen. c. E. Kilbourne, assistant chief
of staff in charge of war plans.
All Army members belonged to the
Drum board" which surveyed Air
Corps activities at the time last Sum-
mer that the Air Corps came under
the jurisdiction of the Army general
staff.
The commission will be authorized
to call all witnesses and take any
testimony it may deem necessary.
Dern began organizing the group
last week. having a three-hour discus
sion with Lindbergh Saturday. The
flyer at that time gave the Secretary
his opinion of the Air Corps organi-
Zation. planes and personnel and was
asked to serve on a committee. Ac-
ceptance from him. Wright and
Chamberlin have yet to be received.
At almost the same minute that
Dern and Lirdbergh were discussing
the survey, President Roosevelt's let
ter curtailing Army airmail flying,
criticizing the Air Corps for its failure
to meet the emergency, and suggest
ing that some plan be adopted by
which the efficiency of the Air Corps
would be improved. was made public
at the White House.
Plan New Routes.
Addition of two new airmail routes
to those operated before the general
contract cancellation is contemplated
by the Post Office Department, it
was revealed today.
Harllee Branch, Second Assistant
Postmaster General, told the House
Post Office Committee lines from Chi
cago to Spokane and from Billings,
Mont, to E. Paso, Tex, were planned
under the sl20OO,0O0 appropriation
asked for the fiscal year starting
July l.
Practically all the old routes would
be maintained.
Il am quite sure" he said, that at
least 95 per cent of the routes in OPP
Grafton on February 10 would be in
cluded in the air map we make up"
Chairman Mead suggested to
Branch the possibility of limiting all
airplane mileage to, say, 27,000 miles
in order to prevent uncontrolled
expansion;
Undoubtedly that would limit the
money to be expended under what
ever plan is adopted" Branch said.
Il apprehend there might be a reason
able justification for readjustment of
some of the smaller routes to reach
more communities and such.
''As far as the Post Office Depart
ment is concerned, it probably would
be great relief to us to have the
limitations. because when we say. for
instance, we are going to add
thousand miles, great many persons
come to us to try to tell us where it
ought to CO."
Army Double Checking.
Meanwhile. the Army's high COM
mand was double-checking all safety
factors before giving the word go" to
its mail flyers.
The order to resume flying the mails
was withheld temporarily, not only to
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