Evening star., 1934-04-15

legged graft, fraud and collusion. In
deed, there have been ominous hints
from Washington that the foreign air
mail operators were saved from
similar fate only because an order for
the Army or Navy to take over the
routes flown by them would have been
construed by host Of small but SEN
sltlVe Latin American republics as
tantamount to armed invasion.
Even so. there is no assurance that
the Roosevelt administration still may
not at any moment abrogate the Gov
ernment'S agreements with Pan
American AirwayS as it conceled the
domestic airmail contracts. For there
is. little doubt that If the standards of
judgment used in the latter case were
applied to Americas foreign airmail
contracts, it could be shown that
nearly everybody in the Hoover regime
from the President down "colluded"
with Pan-American officials to win
this country dominant position in
the struggle for commercial air su-
premacy in South America.
Besides asking the Post Office De-
partment to authorize Semi-Weekly
airmail service between Miami and
BuenoS Aires. there is one other ex-
pedient to which Pan-American Air
ways can resort. This is the substi-
tuition Of faster equipment for the
fleet of Commodore flying boats now
used on its East Coast run. Actually.
the emergency is considered so grave
that the company is about to disrupt
its whole developmental program by
allocating its as yet uncompleted
transatlantic type" flying boats to
stay the tide of Latin American trade
from its threatened turn into French
and German channels.
$50 Miles an Hour.
These giant craft, the first of which
Is now in the fight test stage-the
other five are still under construction
at the Sikorsky plant in Bridgeport.
Conn, and the Martin factory at Bal
tlmore-are expected to cruise at $50
miles an hour, as compared to the
Commodore'S go. In conjunction
with present overnight airmail serv-
Ice to Miami they should reduce the
New York-Buenos Aires trip to five
business days.
AT best, however, the shortening of
this schedule by three days-no mat
ter how spectacular such an achieve
ment IS of itself-can be but a STOP
gap measure unless supplemented by
increased frequency of service. Both
the Germans and the French have
faster equipment of their own sin
the works" and may be counted upon
10 match the latest product of Amer
lean aeronautical genius without un-
due delay; whereupon the Latin Amer
ican aerial trade balance will be back
again in its present upset condition.
Besides. no matter how fast our mod
ern Yankee Clippers of the air
may roll off the miles, New York is
still that many days. plus another
week, away from our South American
business representative whose cor
respondence just misses the plane for
the States" And his European COM
petitor. though one day farther re-
moved in travel time from his home
office, actually is two or three davs
closer because of a semi-weekly air
mail service.
Such margins may seem of little
Importance to the average reader, but
those with experience in a foreign
market know that a days advantage.
or even one of hours, may mean the
difference between gaining or losing
an important contract; that, no mat
ter how little appreciation of time
customer may have in making I'D
MS mind to buy, once that decision
mas been made-other things being
anywhere nearly equal-the firm Civ
ing him the promptest service will
get the business.
A classic example is the Argentine
governments order for galvanized
iron "grasshopper fence" which ran
into thousands of dollars and was
obtained solely because-if one NAV
take the word of Uncle Sans COM
mercial attaches in Buenos Aires
the Yankee salesman attempting to
land the order was able to airmail
the complicated specifications, blue
prints, drawings, ETC., home, get back
satisfactory quotation by cable and
guarantee delivery in time to fore
stall threatened destruction of crops
by the anticipated plague. A grass
hopper fence" it might be explained,
is made of metal strips a few inches
wide which are set at a 45-degree
angle against the invasion of Crawl
ers," toppling them back into a trench
where they can be sprayed with
kerosene and burned.
Business Advantage.
Others may wonder why recourse Is
not had to cablegrams or radio if
quick communication is so essential.
The answer, of course, is that these
mediums are used wherever they af-
ford a business advantage, but that
photographs, blue prints, detailed en-
gineering specifications and drawings
and even the latest sample of any
particular product-any or all of
which may be vitality necessary to
close a contract-cannot be trans
mitted over a wire or through the
ether.
Whether a Post Ofice Department
that already is spending $7,000,000 a
year on foreign airmail (all but $780,
057.44. Of which goes to Pan-American
Anyways or af1liared companies, which