Evening star., 1938-07-17
fronting the individual agencies which it
will absorb.

fronting the individual agencies which it
will absorb.
No Automatic Decisions.
For example the Post Once Department,
having decided upon the Inauguration of
. new airmail route. with the sanction of
Congress- simply calls for bids from the air
transport companies and awards the con-
tract to the lowest qualified bidder The
authority, however does not work on the
contract basis. It must decide, without
the relatively simply machinery Of bids,
which airline win be permitted to fly the
route over which the Post Once Depart
n1ert wishes new airmail service.
Should the authority select one of the
pioneer air transport companies to operate
the new route, 1t obviously will be subject
to the suspicion that 1t is freezing out"
newcomers. If it grants too many routes
to any one company it exposes itself to
charges Of favoritism.
1t is equally obvious, however tnat the
competitive bidding system now in oper-
alton is pure farce. No better evidence Is
needed than the two bids received by the
Post Once Department for airmail service
over new route from Houston to Browns
vile, Tex, and from Houston to San
Antonio. Bids were opened June 1s. There
were only two. Eastern Air Lines, Inc, of
New York bid zero cents per airplane mile.
Brani1 Airways. Inc, of Oklahoma City,
Okla, bid 0000l90737s cents per airplane
mile. Braniff thereupon protested the bid
OF Eastern. contending that under the law
the Government could not accept voluntary
and gratuitous service. The bids were re-
ferred to the solicitor Of the Post Once
Department. who ruled that the Eastern
bid to fly the mail without charge is legal
Problem Goes to the Authority.
During the past week, however, the Post
Once Department announced that no
award Of contract will be made on the basis
OF either OF these farcical bids, referring
the matter to the new authority.
1t is perfectly obvious that Eastern and
Branin hoped to win the award, whatever
the temporary loss to the winner, in the
expectation that the Interstate Commerce
Commission or the new authority subse-
quently would award it q Just and reason
able return for the service. This has been
the guiding policy Of bidders for airmail
contracts during the past several years.
Bids tumbled from the legal maximum of
331s cents per airplane mile until Eastern
finally reached the ultimate, jump ahead
OF its disgruntled competitor.
Even should the authority resort to a
policy Of drawing the names of prospective
operators Of new routes out of a hat. the
procedure could be no less ludicrous than
that now in effect.
The members of the new authority are
now deep in their organization plans
They hope to have the authority itself
set up and functioning in readiness for
the transfer to it Of employees, funds,
equipment and records OF the Bureau of
Air Commerce and the airmail division of
the !. C. c. by Executive order on or soon
after August 20.
II Contracts In Effect.
On that date the present airmail con-
tracts awarded by the Post once Depart
ment will expire. The present operators
will continue to render service, however,
under certificates to be issued by the new
authority. . process which is mandatory
under the law. There now are Al contracts
In effect and one pending. The Post
Once Department also has received bids
and has certified awards for four addi-
tional routes.
The personalities of the members Of the
new authority are of nearly as great in
terest to the American aviation industry
as the law itself. One Of the Nations
foremost airline executives has been quoted
As saying that "the caliber Of the authority
will be measured by the ealiber Of it's
members" That feeling IL rather general
IN the industry.
It Wa With considerable 1azpeiss, there