MAILS BY AIR

Evening Post, Issue 113, 10 November 1930, Page 10

MAILS BY AIR

A GROWING SERVICE

"SPEED KILLS DISTANCE"

NEW ZEALAND IN LINE

Now that New Zealand is about to embark ; upon air mail services it is interesting to review what has been achieved in the carriage of mails by air in other parts, of the world. In a comparatively short space of time, the air mail services have been extended in a really phenomenal manner, until to-day there are . few countries which have not adopted that system of carrying mails. In "Air," the official publication of the* Air League of Great Britain, there appears an article dealing with the history of air mails,' and; many of the facts quoted are of interest in view of the recently-announced proposals of the New Zealand Government. "During the siege of Paris in 1870," states the writer, "when that city was completely cut off by the Prussian army, the first experiments were made to convey mail by air to and from the city and to maintain communications. Balloons were sent up from Paris containing mails and carrier pigeons; these latter were employed to carry back from the Provinces despatches, private mail, copies of the 'Journal Official,' and, on occasions, the English 'Times.' This was made possible through micrography, an art which developed rapidjy at this time. In all, fifty-five postal balloons were despatched, the first leaving on 23rd September,: 1870, and the last on 28th January, 1871. Of these two were lost at sea, eleven fell in other Continental countries, three were captured by the Prussians, two fell in Germany, and the remainder landed' in Prance. They carried 238 passengers, about ten tons of letters and newspapers, and 384 carrier pigeons. : EARLY BEGINNINGS. "About 1871 air post, to all intents, and purposes, ceased, as the ordinary means of conveyance' were sufficient for the needs of individuals. Only in exceptional circumstances could such means be- utilised. In New Zealand, for instance, pigeon services were operated from 1898 to September, 1908, from Great Barrier Island and Mirotiro Island to the mainland. '''Semi-official air mail flights were made in France in 1910; Great Britain and". South Africa, 1911; Germany, Argentine; andv Sweden, 1912, other countries ;soon following suit. Official-air mail of regular operation, however, was not in force' until 30th March, 1918, when: a'postal service between Vienna, Cracow, and Lemberg was inaugurated. Hard on the heels of Austria followed the United 'States, which established its first-official air mail on 15th May, 1918, between Washington and New York, a distance of 201 miles. That this air mail is an important factor in the business life of the American is shown by the fact that, besides ordinary commercial air routes, there are -to-day no less than 27,667 miles of air mail routes in regular operation, the majority of them working both-day and night. "The first real attempt to. carry mail by air. in England was on the occasion of the Coronation of King George V. and Queen Mary. Flights wero made between London (Hendon) and Windsor, special cards and covers being sold for these flights for the. benefit of charity. From June,'l9lß, to 1919 an air mail.service was run both ways between London and Paris, but this was operated by. the Royal Air Force, official correspondence and documents only being.carried. Air mail for general iuse by, the public was commenced in July, 1920, and has been in operation ever since. ■;; /. NOT APPRECIATED. "Complaints have been made that insufficient use is made of the air mail, and that this is the case cannot be denied, but it is. doubtful whether one person in a,thousand of the total population in the United Kingdom has, any real conception of what the air mail is and how it can be used. No one nowadays would dream of trying-to run a business without some form of advertisement, and there- are well-known cases of old-established businesses, holding practically a monopoly, which have ceased to exist, or have been merged, into-other concerns, simply because of their neglect, wilful or otherwise, of this vital form, of business insurance. ...'.,. , "Figures show that during December, 1929, on\ the England-India air mail alone, 40,000' letters were flown weekly —a total of 160,000 for the month, and yet not one of those ■letters advertised the fact that they had been conveyed by air other than 'by the small blue label printed, 'By air mail,' and- then only if the sender had taken the trouble to obtain such a label. In many cases 'by air mail' was simply written on the cover.'. N,o foreign country-using the air mail is without its series.of special air. mail stamps, which .'arc in themselves !aot, only, an advertisement, but also.an additional .source, of revenue, as stamp dealers .and collectors all over the world -in their hundreds of thousands purchase used sets. . Assuming that one million dealers and, collectors each bought only one 3d unused air mail stamp, the revenue from this sale alone would amount to £12,500, and these'figures. can be taken as ridiculously low. ' Such a source of profit would not be overlooked by a commercial firm, apart from the publicity gained. The value of the stamps as advertisements is demonstrated by the fact that many business houses have for some time placed on their letters and envelopes 'stamp posters 3 extolling . their goods or emphasising their business slogans. Among these will be found /Imperial Airways, Ltd., who use the. slogans, 'Use the Air Mail' and 'Give Your Letters Wings.' That the Post Office itself admits the importance .of advertising is seen by the cancellation of stamps on letters which urge us to 'Buy British Goods,' 'Post Early,' etc., and yet the obvious publicity of the airmail stamp is coldshouldered, and the authorities can see no useful purpose in such an issue. There is also an extraordinary lack of interest.in the. branch Post Offices in the air mail.' One office in the Strand still proudly displays a poster to the effect that the public may despatch mails, etc., by the Handley Page Transport, Ltd. —a concern which ceased to exist over six? years ago. EXISTING SERVICES. "Letter air mails may be despatched daily from England to all countries on tho Continent (except Eussia) for an air fee ef 2d to 4d an ounce (according to the country) in addition to the ordinary . postage, etc.; these are in many cases delivered the next day, and in specific cases tho same day, if posted at the G.P.O. before 7 a.m.; where there is no 'through', air route, combined air and ordinary service is employed. Letter mail from Europo to certain States in-South: America is flown the whole way, with the exception of that portion of the route over the Southern Atlantic. It costs from 3s 6d to 4s 2d per half ounce, but the saving in time amounts to from nine to .thirteen, days over the ordinary service. The direct India Air Service has accelerated tho delivery of mails in Persia, India, Straits Settlements, East Indies, Chiua, and Australia very considerably, and the air mail fee over this route is from 2d to 7d a half-ounce.". After referring to other air mail

routes, the writer concluded: "'Speed annihilates distance' is a truism which might well bo adapted as a slogan for the air mail, and it is inconceivable that this form of conveyance should bo neglected in favour of the. old methods, by which so much time is lost. The advantage of the air mail to the business man in the forwarding of samples, tenders, drafts, letters of credit, etc., is inestimable, and to the private individual it gives closer and more frequent contact with those relatives and friends whoso occupations have taken them to distant lands and to whom the arrival of mail from 'homo' is an event of eager anticipation."