COMMON WELFARE

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 7, 10 January 1938, Page 10

COMMON WELFARE

ENGLAND AND STATES

PART OF AIR SERVICES

"Co-operation between England and the United States in the inauguration of air services over the Pacific and the Tasman has a significance that should gratify those people who advocate a drawing together of these two nations whose foreign policies run on parallel lines," said Mr. A. Archer, a New York business man who is visiting Wellington. "The meeting of the Centaurus and the clipper ship at Auckland is the meeting of America and England in a common purpose, the circling of the earth with air services."

Mr. Archer is particularly interested in air services, having travelled widely and covered about 50,000 miles by air.

The two great nations were co-oper-ating in the Atlantic service, said Mr. Archer, For a while they had been approaching the problem separately, but a surprise flight by a German plane fom the Azores had demonstrated there was competition from a third source with the result that England and America were now working together for xhe inauguration of the service. While it was not definite that ihe Governments were directly concerned, it was obvious that the air service would have a strategic value for defence purposes and their establishment indicated closer contact. DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA. One of the most interesting developments in air services was in Canada, said Mr. Archer. For a number of years air facilities' had lapsed in that country but they were being * revived and modernised, larger planes were being used arid chains of landing fields with runways up to 3000 yards were being provided. It would soon be possible to breakfast at Montreal and dine at Vancouver, '2500 miles away. The Canadians were.fortunate in having at their disposal increased knowledge and improvements from America. In Canada aeroplanes were a great boon in isolated districts in the north, in previously inaccessible gold regions in Ontario and in Alberta. They provided speedy transport to places inaccessible by other means of transport:

High praise for New Zealand's air services was given by Mr. Archer, who considered they compared favourably with those in other countries, although the planes were not as large as the four-engined machines used 'on long trips over the Alleghanies and the Rockies in America. New Zealand should be proud o^ the prominence it had gained in aerial navigation through the flights of such people as Miss Jean Batten and Captain Burgess.

Although' he had not seen a great deal of New Zealand people he considered they bore a marked similarity to many Canadian types, said Mr. Archer. They were a fine people of robust health and good physique. If the whole-hearted manner in which they had enjoyed the festive season was an indication of their attitude towards all matters they must be a progressive people, too, he added.