The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-06-03

The confusion began when Loan Administrators Jones let slip 6 re- mark that he might want to estab- fish Q government airline between the Americas. That was followed by surmises that maybe the United States government would want to take over, own and control certain airlines In South and Central Ar1l- erica. Those remarks could not have had a more unfortunate effect.
 It made the South Americans sore because they figured this was just more Yankee Imperialism, instead of good cooperation. It upset the airlines in the United States because 1t was another threat of govern ment competition with the private airlines. And in some quarters it was interpreted as an administra- ton slap at Congress.
 TOO MUCH TALK
 ABOUT TALK
 Instead of clarifying this mess, however, Secretary of Commerce Jones took tho position that since 1t was already confused badly enough by too much tolk, more talk wouldn't help, as the agencies concerned didn't know exactly what they would do. Therefore things would have to stay confused till they found out.
 This deliberate distortion of the remedy only brings Into sharper relief the definite symptoms of what ails the South American aviation setup. Of tho A commercial airlines operating In South America over 97 ,00O route miles, l3 are Americans, 20 are local and nine are operated by German and italian subsidies. Furthermore, 0 i,the 20 lines oper- ated by South American companies or republics themselves, German and Italian equipment predominates and 1t Is operated by German and 1tal- ian pilots.
 It is the liquidation of this axis control that the United States IS most interested ir as a measure of Hemisphere defense.
 CASH MIGHT
 CLEAR IT UP
 Solution of this problem will in all probability not come from start Ing any U. s. government-operated airl!neS in competition with private companies now operating from the U. S. to South America or within the Iatin. American republics. 1n- stead, the play will help the South American republics finance purchase of controlled airlines. Due to the pressure for military flying equipment, South America got only i5 per cent of U. s. plane output in l940, and that must be increased.
 The fact is that some time before the Jones departments of the gov- ernment took this project under their wing, the Rockefeller office had been working on 1t. Some Of the bright young men of that office with knowledge of investment banking, aviation and South Amer lea had been assigned to the job. They will now probably be taken over by the REC and gradually work out the program of eliminating the axis finger.tip hold on the tail of South American aviation.
 Irving IT. Taylor, manager Of trade development for the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America, has estimated that there are today about l40 transport planes below the Rio Grande, 56 of which are of European origin. To replace these planes with American equipment will, he believes, require an initial outlay of nearly $l0 million, while the ultimate outlay to completely Americanize the air over the Vest ern Hemisphere, will require an eventual sum of perhaps $l00 mil- lion, administered on the same basis that the lease-lend program Is ad- ministered for aid to Britain.
 Such a program would insure that the feeder lines operating within the 20 American republics would be un- der domestic, South American $on- trol, and furthermore, as aviation developed in these countries, 1t would provide an outlet for postwar production of U. S. airplane nanu- | facturerS.