Evening star., 1941-03-28

tain Pan-American Airways as
monopoly-has fortunately been
countered by the Senate Appropria-
tons Subcommittee. Export has
been awarded 100000 for weekly
nonstop flights between New York
and Lisbon.
With new Sikorsky planes, the
new company hopes to establish
competition in transatlantic air.
transport in the field where compe-
tition is consistent with safety, a
yardstick of comfort and depend
ability, and also a yardstick of &C
tual operating costs.
Passengers who have recently
made the Lisbon-New York fight
complain that the Clipper service is
on the same plane as that which
characterized the old Paris con-
cierges. There are reports of inciv-
ility, overlooking, discomfort, ruined
baggage and failure to supply the
services and comforts advertised, as
the Pan-American struggles to
handle part fthe great load of
refugees, officials, etc, who wish to
use the Clipper service--which now
follows the -Four Continent" route:
Portugal, West Africa, South Amer
ica and New York.
Political Lobbying.
Additional facilities are needed
for the transatlantic airways and
to prevent duplication of facilities
after the war, the Senate Subcom-
mittee proposes to reserve the New
York England run for Pan-Ameri-
can, giving the New York-Lisbon-
Mediterranean run to American Ex-
port. With more passengers at both
ends of the present route than can
be handled by the Clippers, Pam
American is protected from loss DUR
Ing the current emergency. while
after the war there will be plenty of
business from both routes to engage
the facilities Of both Export and
Pan American.
Some political lobbying has been
done against the Export air contract
on the ground that the parent or
anization-American Export Steam
ship Co.-already enjoys monopoly
of passenger service between New
York and Lisbon. This. however, is
due to the decision of the Maritime
Commission which denied applica-
tions from the United States Lines
for part of this trafflc-apparently
to avoid risking our large, crack
liners like the Manhattan on the
fringes of the European war zone. AS
it stands, Export would welcome help
in handling the present demand
for steamship passage and cargo
space, but has been refused permis-
sion even to put its new vessels on
the Lisbon run. Instead, the new
Export liners are kept in the India
trade around the Cape Of Good
Hope.
Big Business Opposition.
The real issue, as it is shaping up
in Washington, Is whether there
shall be privately-owned air
monopoly in control of every Amer
lean propeller which churns the air
outside of the continental United
States. At present, Pan American
is such monopoly 1t controls all
air services across the Atlantic,
across the Pacifc-both to China and
Australia-and between the United
States and South America. 1t owes
its monopoly position largely to the
work Of the State Department un-
der Coolidge and Hoover, and to the
skill with which its representatives
have urged Congress to appropriate
public funds for Its support on q
scale which bears little relation to
the air mail subsidies granted to
domestic United States air lines,
1t is a privately owned corporation
operated for private profit. The
question is being asked: Why should
monopoly be bad in domestic com.
merce and good in foreign COM
merce?
The administration is strongly be-
hind the American Export Airlines
project. Testimony by qualified
Army and Navy officials helped
swing the Senate subcommittee over
to support of the plan for another
transatlantic air service to ease
the load on Pan American. The State
Department, the Post Office, the
Commerce Department and the
Civil Aeronautics Board are for 1t.
The only opposition comes from Pan
American and from certain legis-
lators who are traditionally found
on the side Of big business, big
money and monopoly in every roll
call. 1t is they who have assumed
to veto the law of the land by "leg-
slating on an appropriations bill"
and refusing to allot funds under
the very procedure which Congress
set up three years ago in the Civil
Aeronautics Act.
(Released by Consolidated News Features