Evening star., 1934-02-16

quoted was inserted In the act:
Provided, that where the airmail
moving between the designated points
does not exceed 25 cubic feet, or 225
pounds, per trip, the Postmaster Gen.
eral may award to the lowest respon-
sible bidder, who has owned and op-
Grated an air transportation service
on q fixed daily schedule over a dis
tance of not less than $50 miles and
for a period Of not less than six
months prior to the advertisement for
bids, contract at a rate not to ex-
ceed 40 cents per mile for a weight
space Of Is cubic feet, or 225 pounds.
Whenever sufficient airmail Is not
available, first-class mail matter may
be added to make up the maximum
load specified in such contract.
Modification Offered.
When it was decided to strike from
the bill the authority to buy mail
space in passenger planes by negotia-
ton, believing that 1t would be i'm
possible to develop commercial avia-
ton through the air passenger lines
that had no airmal contracts, I sue
NCCAC0 III 1IhcCLJlllB III bCGIlOA "a
the bill after the phrase:
Orders that may be issued by the
Postmaster General for meeting the
needs of postal service and adjusting
mail operations to the art of flying"
and the following: And passenger
transportation" having decided that
passenger operations essential to per-
manence of the air transportation in
dustry must be developed, if at all,
by compelling the airmail contractors
to carry passengers.
The passenger carriers who had no
airmatl contracts, but who had been
very active in urging the passage of
the bill were greatly disappointed that
the proviso for their relief had been
stricken from the bill. A representa-
tive of one of them told me that
some Of the passenger carriers were
complaining that 1 had not made a
vigorous fight for the clause in which
they were interested and suggested
the propriety of inviting the paSsen-
ger carriers who had no airnail con-
tracts and the airmail contractors to
meet together with me for the pur-
pose of advising them with respect
to the Department effort to secure
the passage Of the bill in substan-
tally its original form and further
to see II under the law as 1t was
enacted any relief could be afforded
to the passenger carriers who had no
airmail contracts through the Coop
Grafton of the airmail contractors and
the Post Office Department The sug-
FneNT ION
be afforded In one or both of two
ways.
Sub Contracting Proposed.
First-By giving additional daylight
mail schedules to sirmail contractors
and permitting them to sublet the
same to passenger operators who had
no airmail contracts and whose opera
tions paralleled airman routes, and
Secondly giving extensions un-
der the provision Of Section 6 Of the
act to airmail operators and authoriz-
ing the subletting Of the same to pas
senger carriers that had no airmail
contracts.
The air transport operators who had
no mail contracts and the airmail
contractors Swere accordingly invited
to meet with the Postmaster General
on the 18th Of May, 1880. In opening
the meeting traced in detail the
various legislative proceedings con-
nected with the introduction and pas
sage Of the McNary-W -Watres act,
StreSSing the departments efforts to
preserve the provisions designed to
prevent the abandonment Of air pas
senger operations. I stated to the
meeting the practical difficulties in
the way Of giving them relief under
the provisions of law adopted In lieu
OF the authority to buy mail space by
negotiation, although that language
had been written into the act to as
sist the passenger carriers I re-
peated to the meeting the suggestion
made for their relief by the subletting
Of operations from the ailmail con-
tractors, without approving the same,