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Show ! "WASIINQIDN Qi if oIDMiMiaflio .y-irr;-.! f gfej-j Only One Pilot for the National Aircraft WASHINGTON President Harding Hard-ing favors the proposal to place all the aircraft services of the government, govern-ment, military and civil, under one central authority. There has been an Impression that the President was opposed op-posed to this plan and that Impres-l Impres-l slon was emphasized when Major General Menoher, chief of the nlr service serv-ice of the army, asked the secretary of war to remove the assistant chief. Brig. Gen. William Mitchell, who was a persistent advocate of amalgamation of the army and navy "air services. It is learned, however, that the President is heartily in favor of the proposed amalgamation and that the Joint reorganization commission, which Is engaged in preparing plans for a reorganization of administration of the executive branch of the government, Is inclined to recommend the unification unifica-tion of all the government's aircraft . activities. The position of President Harding in the matter is that amalgamation will work to eliiciency and economy. ' One great difficulty pertaining to tha present separate aircraft services that has impressed him is that there is no systematic method of awarding contracts con-tracts for the construction of aircraft. One branch awards contracts without regard to any other government aircraft air-craft organization, and the President bel'eves that this is detrimental to the upbuilding of private aircraft manufacture manu-facture in the United States. The aircraft manufacturers are dependent de-pendent almost entirely on government govern-ment patronage, as commercial demands de-mands are small, and it is claimed that unless the government so arranges ar-ranges its contracts as to distribute contracts among all those concerns which produce aircraft meeting government gov-ernment standards, some of them may be obliged to go out of business. In these circumstances President Harding is understood to feel th a central government aircraft organization organiza-tion will be better able to determine how contracts should be awarded for the entire government. Inference is drawn from what Is learned of the President's position tint he is in favor of the amalgamation amalgama-tion of the War and the Navy departments depart-ments into a department of national defense. |