Brown's Solution

Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown made his appearance before the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce last week the occasion to announce his solution, which he will ask Congress to approve, of the government's air mail subsidy problem.

The operators now are paid so much per pound (67 cents to $3*) for mail actually carried. Most complain they are losing money. Some weeks ago Mr. Brown commanded them to present their complaints to Second Assistant Postmaster General, Warren Irving Glover (TIME, Oct. 21). Mr. Glover closely examined all the operators' books--a sight no man ever had before him. What he learned formed the basis of his superior's solution, which is: to contract with the operators for a certain amount of plane space, whether or not that space is always filled with mail, and to pay them a stated amount for every mile traveled. The base would be $1 per mile for 1,500 lb. of mail capacity. Where mail is usually small the base might be 30 cents per mile for space occupied by 100 lb. of mail.

In the course of his speech, General Brown enunciated a truth so homely that the industry has been hoping it would die. Said he: "The very life of the passenger transport industry is in the balance."

*On a very short, special route Varney Air Lines charge but 9 cents per pound.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.