OCR Text |
Show The Air Mail Sensation. National pride in the development develop-ment of aviation in this countiy received something of a shock when all domestic air mail contracts were cancelled as a result of recent disclosures dis-closures before the Senate investigating investi-gating committee. What were the revelations leading to such drastic action? To begin with, let us understand that the government, through liberal payments pay-ments for carrying mall, has subsidized sub-sidized the extension of commercial commer-cial air lines, recently requiring, in addition to transportation of mail, that passengers be accommodated. The plan was that air mall routes would be advertised and let to the lowest bidder so that the government govern-ment would pay the smallest subsidy sub-sidy that would enable private companies com-panies to operate. How did this work? Well, testimony before the Senate committee indicated that air mail operators got together in a clandestine meeting, drew up an airmail map and that, by extension the former postmaster general gave them the business without "open bidding." There were other ugly details In various testimony, relating to lost flies, burned letters and missing papers. Moreover, several companies compan-ies made fabulous profits so that a few thousand dollars worth of stock sky-rocketed into millions. Plainly, the air-mail subsidy, if these facts were true, instead of being necessary, was piling up huge profits for the companies which benefitted from air-mail contracts. Without any discussion as to the merits of the subsidy, as originally ntended, the government, it seemed, was being bilked. It was paying, apparently, more than it would have had to pay if the air mail routes had been given to the low bidders. Moreover, its contributions to a "struggling" industry was creating amazing profits, entirely out of proportion pro-portion to any idea of "help." Convinced Con-vinced that fraud and collusion . penetrated the contracts the government gov-ernment cancelled them. The presumption is that the President, in so acting had ample facts, which may or may not have been fully revealed. That innocent employes of the air mail companies suffer the loss of their jobs is regrettable. re-grettable. It should be blamed, how ever, on those responsible for the wrongful acts, not upon a government govern-ment which protects Itself. |