PACIFIC AIRWAYS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 200, 24 August 1937, Page 6

PACIFIC AIRWAYS.

AMERICAN OFFER—AND BRITADC.

(To fie Editor.) Obvionely tie fears widely entertained regarding successful termination of negrjtiations for a San Francisco-Auckland air service had eome justification. It 5& reported. that Washington hae proaous-*.-! tie scheme "not practicable." Against, this conclusion, however. «an be placed the enthtLEiastic repoj* of Captain E. C. Musick after his pioneer air survey of tie San Francisco- Anckjknd rouse. The answer to the contradictory puzzle may be that Washington intends to veto the PaaAmeriean Airways project, cut- •β-rra tie usual diplomatic indirectness affected fey State Departments everywhere. Our Minister of Finance says he is unable to zb» Washington message. It may be recalled, however, that almost the last, definite news regarding the Xew Zealand- Pan- American Airways negotiations was to the effect, thai Mr. Xash had advised the American Conrpanr to take up the matter with Imperial Airways; the they "reluctantly-"' agreed to do. Box whv did what, in effect, was to be an international agreement hare to be referred to a private company? Pan-American Airway* offered Xew Zealand a service that reduced travel time between San Francisco and Auckland from three weeks to three days; all that the company asked in return was permission to land its Clippers on the Waitemata. And, strange as it may seem, there were neither strinss nor catchee to the proposition. Xo wonder local enthusiasm for the service ran high: here, actually, was the elusive "something for nothing." Why, of course PanAmerican Airways could use tie Waitemata for its terminal, and welcome. AH tiw Americans had to do was inspect tbe h.arb>;.-jr facilities, choose a location, and it was theirs to land their Clippers on, if . If what? When the lae-t has been said ai>d written about the necessity for an AJi-P.ed route, Empire defence, patriotism end prestige, one eold fact wiU stLO obtrude, namely: That the price of pleasing the Imperial Airways-British Government combination is for Xew Zealand Hzh — much too iigh. R. WATSOX.