Show hectic days for the air minded Q 10 J 1 aw W M 7 21 1 V top federal aviation commission center ill fated navy dirigible macon below commander wiley of the macon by WILLIAM C UTLEY I 1 SH have been hectic days for commendations THESE the nir minded and reports suggestions recommendations for governmental policies toward aviation have poured into congress faster than proposals for new government bureaus A new plan calling tor for ordination coordination co of nil all forms of transportation under federal control has been suggested by joseph B eastman federal co ordina tor of transportation the federal aviation commission has suggested that a temporary air commerce commission to bear the same relation to air transport that the interstate commerce commission bears to the railroads be created president roosevelt in a message with which he presented the recommendations ions of the federal aviation commission which was created jaine ne 12 of last year to make a study of aviation agreed with the premise that all forms of transportation must be coordinated under one regulatory control but disagreed directly with the plan of establishing a separate commerce commission for the air lines the aviation commission recommended that the interstate commerce commission be given immediate ou authority thorit y to regulate up or down the rates which the post office department pays the air transport companies tor for carrying the mall the rates which have come ever so near to ruining some of the companies involved the same commission rm commended that the government start work as soon as possible on a new dIrIg dirigible IbIe airship as the forerunner of an american intercontinental air transport system either to asia or to europe perhaps patterned after the travel service of the graf zeppelin which makes scheduled trips between germany and rio de jannaro Jan laro less than a week later the united states dirigible macon the most modern lighter than flar craft existent an and d the pride of the navy foundered and disappeared into the calm pacific with two of its crew crew of 83 men submits three plans Ird co tat castim Ea eastman submitted th three ree plans to congress for the unification of transport but only one of them had his approval the others other s being offered merely to show what the alternatives are adlof them while affecting aviation were aimed principally at rescue of the railroads from their current financial plight the favored plan includes 1 extension of fei federal leral control under the ICO to cover all forms of transportation 2 association of planning prevention and ordination coordination co with the regulatory functions 3 a dismissal compensation system plus retirement pensions so BO that the railroads without infringing upon labor rights can tal take e advantage of mechanical improvements and labor laborsaving saving saying devices to reduce labor costs and 4 financial reorganization the first alternative plan combined the eastman plan with the compulsory consolidation of american railroads into seven sT customs steins two in the east two in the south ati and d three in the west the other ather advocated out and out government purchase and ownership of nil all railroads this in mr east mans opinion held the greatest apor eunity for good and the greatest chances tor for harm lie ile did not think that the american people were ready to accept it now and did not favor the addition to the already gigantic list of government expenditures at the present time in approving the unification of transportation por tation the president recalled that when the interstate commerce commission was created in 1887 the he railroad was practically the principal method of rapid interstate transportation since that time this monopoly of transportation enjoyed by the railroad to it a very important degree has been limited by the development of the automobile and good interstate roads recently water wafer transportation by lake by river by canal and by ocean has largely through the construction of the panama canal and our inland waterways definitely brought ships and shipping into the he general interstate field more recently still air transportation has become an element dwelling more upon the aeronautical element of the reports the president said there are detailed questions 6 that require early action our extended mall contracts with airlines expire on or about march 1 and existing legislation dealing with primary or secondary routes should be revised before that time the commission suggests that the interstate commerce commission be temporarily given the power to lower or increase airmail air mail mall rats rates as warranted in their judgment after full investigation the purpose of this Is to prevent the destruction of any efficiently operated part of the present system pending suitable on by the congress of what permanent measures should be taken and what whai amendment if any the present general transportation por tation policy of the government should undergo 1 I concur in this recommendation of the federal Av aviation lation commission provided always that the grant of this duty to the interstate commerce commission be subject to provisions against unreasonable profit by any private carrier on account of the fact that an essential during this temporary period Is to provide for the continuation of efficiently operated compan companies les and to guard against their destruction it la only fair to suggest that during this period any profits at all by such companies should be a secondary consideration er era tion government aid in this case Is legitimate in order to save corn com panics from disastrous loss but not in order 0 to provide profits report slaps parley farley the report of the commission was a direct slap at postmaster general james A Far parleys leys power proposing to strip him of every vestige of control over airways of the country it was found that several of the important companies were tottering very nearly upon the brink of bankruptcy because of tho the ridiculously low bids they were forced to make bolsec to secure re air mall co contracts n the aviation commission proposes vesting the handling of air subsidies entirely in the propos proposed bil air commerce commission while the president favors simply turning them over to alie already functioning plan Is adopted the ruling commission would decide which of the rhe airlines were in the public In interest teresi these it would license for service and would arrango arrange the det details alls in each case casa of whatever subsidy sub sady lemed to be necessary to secure these lines from loss the coro mission asks that provisions of the present airmail laws be extended by additional emergency legislation until january 1 1038 1030 expiring on march 1 some of these provisions it Is said would force the breakup break up or of several existing lines 09 ostensibly to prevent monopoly the present airmail air mail mall law stipulates that no company may hold more than t three air mall contracts and PD Po operator cooperator can hold two primary rouff contracts contract after march 1 1935 transportation au authorities thorl ties whose notable spokesman of recent days has been prof hampton K M snell of the university of montana believe that the geld field should be limited to a few strong air systems as fundamental for best deVelop development men cheapest and most efficient service air transport service despite all the alleged handicaps to service there are today approximately miles of regularly operated air transport routes in the united states there Is an average of MM plane miles scheduled to be flown by all lines in the united states every day scheduled air lines serve directly 71 of the 00 06 metropolitan districts in the united states counting a as s a metropolitan lt a n district an area having an aggregate population of or more and containing one or more central cities of or more inhabitants air travel has grown in phenomenal leaps and bounds within the he last eig ht years air aar alnea in the united states carried approximately pass passengers edgers gera in 1026 1926 in 1934 this figure had fiad multiplied times to approximately GOO COO ow express and mall carriage have increased at a similar rate F for or example one of the flie largest of the companies united air lines had an increase in express tonnage from tons in 1933 to tons in 1934 this line carried pounds of mall la in the first nine months of 1934 ah contrasted with pounds during the entire year 1933 perhaps the most spectacular of nil all the recommendations of the federal aviation commIs commission slon was its vision of huge amerlean built dirigible air liners plying in regular service across the seas it was a dream t that at had these giant air leviathans levi athans cruising crul sing the great pacific to many parts of asia funds like the funds for so many proposed new governmental adventures were to come out of the much discussed GW work fund which president roosevelt Koo sevelt has asked congress to appropriate for his direct personal administration the commission sion said in its report airship construction st should be started promptly in order to afford much needed employment this winter sink millions in dirigibles the united states navy has already sunk millions upon millions of dollars la in the construction of dirigible s and the latest of these millions sank into the pacific with the Ifa ancon conor or february 12 the shenandoah doab cost the 2 the akron this includes the cost of building the goodyear zeppelin hangar at akron ohio and the macon the los angeles cost the nation nothing being received from germany in the treaty of versailles oddly enough it Is the only one we have left now the whole plan of airship construction st ruction seems likely to be shelved the beacons alaconis BIa cons crash while the alert action of corn herbert V wiley with the operation cooperation co of ships in the united states battle fleet hold bold the loss los s of ute life down to only two members of the crew has just about convinced a large chare share of officials that the united states simply cannot build and operate airships president roosevelt made albe open statement that tie be would not ask congress for any money with which to build airships agreeing with him was admiral william V standley chief of naval operations who said that he be had never approved the use of at airships r ships 4 for other than commercial purposes and Is 1 more than ever convinced of their unsuitability for military and naval yur poses senator william D kim king g of utah declared declare 4 that be would propose an amendment to 0 the presidents works bill that would forbid any of the 1 being spent for diri dirigible kible airship construction while disapproving the immediate ex expenditure of money toy tot airships the president indicated his opinion that such craft were by no 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