Milford chronicle., 1955-05-27
A COMPLETE SERVICE

.
ters of recent moves by the Post Office De-
partment which have diverted much three
cent mail from the railroads to airlines and
motor carriers.
The reason for the criticism is that the
trains are the very backbone of. the mail
system. They do the job with unparalleled
economy and efficiency.
An official report covering late year
shows that railroads moved about 85 per
cent of all non-local domestic mail-yet the
payments they received for the service
amounted to less than 13 per cent of total
Post Office expenditures. For carrying a
frst-class, Scent letter the railroads receiv-
ed an average of only one-eighth of one cent
By contrast the airlnes received 2-2/3 cents
for carrying the average air mail letter. On
first-class mail-mOved mainly by rail be-
tween cities-postal revenues exceeded pos
tai expenses by more than $39,000,00O. On
domestic air mail letters and cards, on the
other hand, postal expenditures exceeded
revenues by $29,000,000, including subsidy
payments to the airlines.
On top of that, the railroads provide a
complete mail service. They maintain faci-
| tiles for matchmaking at 35 900 points. They
provide and maintain the post Office cars on
which sorting and distributing functions are
accomplished enroute. They provide the
services of armies of workers who separate,
load and unload the mail. They also provide
all needed switching and terminal services
Yes, the Iron Horse is the backbone of
| the mail system. Anything which under
mines railroad mail operations cannot help
but undermine the whole system.
So&s
HUNGER FIGHTERS
| When we speak of mass-production, we
automatically think of industry. Few of us
connect it with agriculture as WE'LL Yet, as
an Eastern bank points out, Recent devel-
opments in farm machinery have been so
rapid that the farmer has outstripped other
segments of our economy in mass -produc-
/ tiOn methods"
The farmer now has available combines
capable of harvesting 80 acres of wheat a
day; mechanical corn pickers that can har-
vest two acres in a single hour; cotton pick
ers that do the work of 40 men, and all man.
ner of other machines and appliances that
do the work of agriculture swiftly, efficiently
and economically, and with minimum of
human sweat And modern equipment does
more than just handle the crops. 1t makes
| it possible for the farmer to conserve the
land for future generations.
| We have over 30000,000 more mouths to
! feed than in 1910. We eat better than ever.
Yet, in those Is years, some 100000 farm
workers have left the farms and entered in
dustry. The machine, by bringing mass-pro-
duction to agriculture, made that possible.
Moreover, American farm equipment
doesn't all stay home. Since 1916 we have
exported $2.000,000,OOO worth of it. The
Eastern bank says, abroad, American farm
machines are known as hunger fighters" !"
They are helping to solve the grave food
problem that has plagued much of the world
since history began.
~>o&S
ACADEMY OF THE AIR
Three hundred-and-one young men have
been appointed to the first class at the new
United States Air Force Academy. The class
of cadets will begin their studies at the Low
ry Air Force Base, Denver, Colorado The
permanent site of the Academy will be at
Colorado Springs, Colorado; this should be
| ready for use in the fall of 1857
| There were 5000 applicants for the 301
vacancies. This indicates that the earlier
fear that young Americans were not inter-
ested in such appointments was groundless
1t is right, with air power playing an
ever increasing role in our national military
strength, that the young men who are to
lead our air forces be trained in a school set
up particularly for that job. Our other SER
vice academies have proud records. Ameri-
cans can be confident that the young men
who will study at the Air Force Academy
vii Give equal cause for pride