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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



ing peoples of all nations ; expedites com- 

 merce, with resulting prosperity ; provides 

 more effective means for exterminating 

 crop- and life-destroying insects, and as- 

 sists beyond measure man's battle against 

 the destructive forces of fire and flood. 



"There is not a man, woman, or child 

 in this Nation to-day who is not more 

 secure in, and better able to enjoy, all that 

 life holds dear by reason of the pioneering 

 that has been done in civil aeronautics. 

 Comparatively few in number are they 

 that realize this, and still fewer fully com- 

 jjrehend its future possibilities. Truth is 

 not always obvious, but faith sustains 

 when vision fails. 



"May I recount briefly something of 

 what our Nation has contributed to the 

 development of aviation. It includes the 

 invention and first flight in an airplane, 

 the first transatlantic flight, the only flight 

 around the world, and the first flight to 

 the North Pole. 



"During this year alone American pilots, 

 using aircraft and engines designed and 

 built in the United States, completed a 

 series of world-renowned transoceanic 

 flights, spanning time and again the At- 

 lantic, and the Pacific from the mainland 

 to the Hawaiian Islands. These expedi- 

 tions are frequently referred to as 'Amer- 

 ican stunt aviators,' but their real signifi- 

 cance is far greater than that designation 

 implies. They have done much to pro- 

 mote international good will, as well as to 

 stimulate interest in aviation. All the 

 participants in these great undertakings 

 are worthy of our unstinted praise. 



NIGHT FLYING PROVED PRACTICABI^E BY 

 POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT 



"Our Post Office Department first dem- 

 onstrated to the world the practicability 

 of night operations of aircraft for com- 

 mercial purposes when it established regu- 

 lar night service between Chicago, Illinois, 

 and Cheyenne, Wyoming — a distance of 

 about goo miles. This original service, 

 which has not as yet been equaled else- 

 where in the world, in a little over three 

 years' time has increased nearly fivefold. 

 The operation, wholly in the hands of pri- 

 vate enterprise, is now self-supporting, 

 while every European air line is heavily 

 subsidized. 



"Our supremacy in air-mail volume, 

 mileage, and profitable enterprise is gen- 

 erally conceded. While our passenger and 

 express traffic on scheduled lines is not 

 comparable to our air-mail record, it is 

 greatly underestimated. Air-mail contrac- 

 tors are now directing their attention to 

 this branch of service, with every indica- 

 tion of equal success. 



"Activities in all other branches of civil- 

 ian aviation in the United States exceed 

 the combined similar activities of the en- 

 tire world. This includes the number of 

 planes produced and in operation, miles 

 flown, goods and passengers carried on 

 other than regular schedules, photographs 

 taken, areas patrolled, acreage dusted, and 

 money earned. With these achievements, 

 no longer should an inferiority complex 

 impede our aeronautical progress. 



"The Army and Navy have participated 

 in and contril'nited much to the pioneering 

 success of civilian aviation. It is but logi- 

 cal that there should always be the closest 

 cooperation between civil and military 

 aeronautics, for they are indispensable to 

 each other. We may all take pride in 

 these accomplishments and should render 

 our whole-hearted support individually 

 and collectively toward making and keep- 

 ing America first in the air. 



HOW THE PUBLIC CAN AID CIVIL AVIATION 



"The prosperity and political success of 

 our Nation is in no small measure due to 

 its highly developed systems of transpor- 

 tation and communication. That form of 

 transportation which exceeds all others in 

 speed and flexibility is bound to play an 

 important part in this Nation's future. 

 Whatever else may be said about aircraft, 

 certainly it provides the swiftest and most 

 elastic means of transportation that ever 

 has been or probabl}- ever will be devel- 

 oped. 



"We are still in the initial stage of its 

 application to the needs of industry and 

 commerce, as well as its service to the 

 general well-being of mankind. Each and 

 all of us may cooperate in one or more 

 capacities, by using the air mail and ex- 

 press, traveling by air, fostering com- 

 munitv airport development, keeping in- 

 formed about aeronautics, and applying 

 our ability toward solving technical and 

 economic problems. 



