Evening star., 1934-03-11
Declaration Held Pointed.

WIN III Army myers kllleQ III JHe
brief experiment, the Presidents dec
laration, in his letter to Secretary
Dern, that the continuation of deaths
IN the Army Air Corps must stop
was held to be very much to the point
There has been no occurrence since
the beginning of the Roosevelt ad-
ministration which has aroused sc
much public criticism as the course
pursued with regard to the airmails
With commendable hindsight it was
said last night in some quarters il
would have been far better to have
halted the airmails entirely until new
contracts with the commercial avia-
ton companies could have been com.
pleted or until the Army flyers coulo
have been provided with planes
equipped with radio for flying the
beam" as the commercial air pilots
have done.
Responsibility for the annulment OF
the airmail contracts and the hand
ing of the airmails over to the Army
Air Corps will be fixed if members OF
Congress have their way. The Presi-
dent has stated that definite assur-
ance was given him that the Army
Air Corps could carry the mails.
Senator Metcalf OF Rhode Island is-
sued a statement last night in which
he said:
IF the President had assurance
that the Army was equipped and
trained to fly the mail routes it must
follow that some one is guilty of fur
nishing gross misinformation Not
only have the planes been without
safe bind-fying equipment, but they
have been piloted by men who have
had no opportunity to prepare them
selves for cross country navigation of
the nature required by cross country
flying"
Metcaf began his statement with a
declaration that 1T is most unfortu-
nate that the President has waited so
long to halt the legalized murder of
young Army officers who have been
forced to carry the mails" He con-
tlnued that the country would be far
better OF with no airmail at all than
having a temporary system in which
the people have no confidence and
which has turned out to be a medium
of death and destruction for loyal
officers of the Army"
Resolution Asks Inquiry.
At the House end of the Capitol
Representative Fish Of New York Of
fered resolution providing for an in
vestigation into the Army Air Corps
operation, equipment, type of plane in
use, training of Army pilots and the
serious accidents and major crack
ups since February 10 in carrying the
mails. He was unable to get con-
siGeration for his resolution. The
Democratic leadership of the House
shut cut both Mrs. Rogers and Fish
when they made efforts to have their
resolutions taken up and to discuss
them. Fish in statement issued
later characterized the deaths of the
Army air pilots in the mail service
"legalized" and political murder
and charged that the handing of the
airmails over to the Army amounted
to playing politics with human lives"
and should be stopped at once Fish
said also that the Army had been
given inadequate appropriations by
Congress for airplane equipment, and
he added that the President and the
director of the budget had cut the
congressional appropriation from SIS
1884 to S7.293,4l6 for maintenance
and operation of the Army Air Corps.
Mrs. Rogers said she thought the
Executives statements, including a
request for additional training for
Army pilots, would be bound to re-
suit in supplemental appropriations to
provide it."
Its a plea of guilty" was the
way the Executives letter was in
terpreted by Representative Taber,
Republican, of New York.
Representative Reed of New York.
another but less frequent critic of
the Army mail flying, pointed out
that years had been required for
the mail pilots to master their dam
eerous routes, with such results that
the official record showed only one
death to each 4,488,726 miles.
On the other hand, he declared,
40 Army aviators have paid the
price of political incompetency with
their lives" and added that the Army
pilots need not have been sacrificed
in this ruthless manner"
Senator McKellar, chairman of the
Senate Committees on Post Office and
Post Roads. announced that hearings
on the permanent airmail bill, which
he introduced few days ago at the
request of the President. would be
begun at 10 o'clock tomorrow morn
ing. He said that officials of the
first would be heard and
hen "other persons" would be given
an opportunity to be heard if they
desired. These others. he said. might
include representatives of the avia-
ton industry, If they wished to ap-
pear 1t was suggested in some quar-
ters that perhaps Col. Charles Lind
bergh might be a witness. Repre-
Mead of New York. chair
man of the House Post Office Com
mittee, introduced the companion bill
in the House
Every effort will be made to put
this legislation through promptly,
Senator McKellar said. He said that
under the terms of the bill the COM
panies that formerly held airmail con-
tracts could bid for new contracts,
provided they purged themselves of
officers who had had part in max
ng the abominable contracts" which
mad been Cancelled.
Temporary Bill Pushed.
Senator McKellar made an attempt
o have the Senate put through the !
;o-called temporary airmail bill, un-
Ter which the authority would be
'iven by direct act of Congress to use
he planes and pilots of the Army
Air Corps in carrying the mails for
lot more than one year. 1t has been i
'harged by Republicans that this bill |
s merely an effort by the administra- !
ion to make the Congress share the
'ssponsibility Of having the mails