The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1934-02-17
ny Z. +. PYLE

BY r. r. PYLE
NEA Service Special Correspondent
Washington. Feb. l7.-One night
In March, 1880, when the air was
laden with moisture and the tenn
perature stood just above freezing, q
little man In an airplane was trying
to get from New York to Richmond,
Va, with q load Of mail.
He knew from his weather report
that he would have trouble. But he
thought he could get through. He was
veteran Of the night mail-Vernc
Treat by name.
He had lived through one forced
parachute Jump and 20 nighttime
crackups along that foggy eastern
sesboard route.
But he didn't get through that
night. The fog closed in before he
got to Washington. An hour later he
was over Richmond, but there was no
hole In the solid mass Of fog.
He stayed In the air as long as
his gas held out, hoping for q break
in the white dense mist. And while
he was waiting. he kept edging back
toward the north and west, to be
sure he stayed over dry land, for he
knew what was coming.
s. Two Miles Up; Steps Out
And finally 1t came. His motor
sputtered and died. He took the
heavy leather report case from its
pouch in the cockpit. and propped it
against the control stick, to hold the
plane level.
re. took off one glove. felt Of his
parachute harness, rose In the cock
Fit. looked at the altimeter-it read
1000 feet-and then stepped out into
the night two miles above earth.
That was about 2 o'clock in the
morning. BY .. m. Treat had picked
himself and his parachute out Of a
tree, had located his wrecked plane,
taken out the unchanged mail, Dor
rowed an auto and driven IS miles
to washington, and again was in the
air In another plane, on his way to
Richmond.
Experiment for Decsde
There aren't many such episodes a.
that In the airmail nowadays. Flying
machines and all the scientific de-
vices that 60 with them have advanced
too far for that.
But for the first 10 years after the
Postoffice Department started air
mail service in 1920, It was pretty
much an experiment.
On that first New York-San Fran
cisco line there was but one plane q
day each way.
They flew only In the daytime, and
at night put the mail on the train
It took % hours for q letter to get
from New York to San Francisco.
Night Flying Starts
But gradually both planes and pi-
lots became moro proficient. The
poStoffice didn't see why the mail
couldn't be flown at night. So off,
cjals lighted part Of the airway-
built towers every 20 miles or 20, and
put powerful rotating beacons on
top Of them.
The first night mail was flown In
July, 1924. between Chicago and
Cheyenne. It worked Ill right. Night
service between New York and Chi.
cago was inaugurated the next year
The next step was radio. They
didn't try radio communication with
planes In the mir ct first. It was Just
the old-time wireless" In which one
station would report the departure Of
. plane to the next station, and give
3 little weather information on the
side.
BY 1925 the government felt that
It's airmail service (still consistina
Of the single transcontinental line)
was getting proficient enough that II
could be turned over to private con-
tractors. The government never had
intended to stay In the business. any
way.
Contracts Are Let
So airmail legislation was passed BY
Congress, bids were called for. and in
1926 the now famous transcontin-
entail was let Chicago west. To
Boeing Air Transport; Chicago east
to National Air Transport.
Col. Paul Henderson, second assist
ant postmaster general, who had done
much to build up the airmail for the
postoffice, became president Of NAT
At the same time. several new
lines were created and awarded to
private contractors, al after COM
petitive bidding.
At first the pay was ct the rate Of
four fifths Of what the government
actually took In on postage. But this
required that oil letters be counted
and weighed and this took % lon1
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