AVIATION CONFERENCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 November 1944, Page 5

AVIATION CONFERENCE

U.S.A. SCHEME OUTLINED

SOVEREIGNTY RIGHTS WASHINGTON, November 3. The Chairman of the United States delegation to the International An Conference at • Chicago (Mi Adl. Berle) to-day outlined the United States’ views on post-war air transport. He said that -die air, in comni’on with the sea, was a highway t t nature to all men. “The air differs from the, sea inasmuch as it is subject to the sovereignty of the nations oyer which it moves,” added Mr Berle. “The nations ought therefore arrange amon b themselves for its use in a manner of the greatest benefit to all humanity The United States believes m and asserts the rule .that each country has the right to mamtam soveieignty of the air over its land and tenitoiial waters There can be no question of alienating or qualifying this sovereignty. Consistent with sovereigns the nations ought to subscribe to ttoserute of friendly which shall operate among fondly States in peace time so that air navigation shall be encouraged, and communication and commerce losteiod among all peaceful States. “Mv Government’s view is that we are in a stage in which there shoula be developed, established and settled customs of friendly permission as between friendly nations. Failure to do so would actually jeapaidise situation of most of the smallei nations. Otherwise they could at an times be subjected, even m peace, to air blockade. Clearly, this privilege of friendly passage accorded by the nations can only be availed oi,- or expected by, nations which themselves are prepared to accord like and permissions. No greater tra to ec,7 could befall the world than to repeat in the air the grim and bloody histoiy which tormented the world some centuries ago, when the denial of equal opportunity for intercourse made the sea a battleground instead of a highway The United States will accordingly propose that there shall be an exchange of needed privileges oi intercourse among all friendly patioio without exclusion or discrimination against others. . The right communication by air is not the n & ht to wander at will throughout the woi Id. “In air commerce at present there appears little place for tramp trade,' continued Mr Berle. “The great an routes are not yet sources of piofit to carriers, but have been developed at large expense by subsidies ana othei assistance. It would seem ’neither equitable nor just that routes so developed should be claimed by othei. countries for the purpose of speculating on the possible profits of commerce worked up by others. In this respect world air routes are more like railroad lines than free shippingThese problems may well be left toi later conferences. The business we now hcive to hand is establishing u means whereby inter -country communications can be established with reasonably direct economic routes and convenient landing points connecting the chief traffic basins. In establishing routes not affecting the United States, we disclaim any desire to intervene. Rather, by common counsel, we should work out a general form of friendly permissions.

NAVIGATION AGREEMENTS “In addition to route agreements for the present the United States believes there should be air navigation agreements which shall modernise and make effective aerial navigation rules. The United States believes that an international organisation at this time in the economic and political fields must be primarily consultative, fact gathering and fact finding, witn power to' bring together interested States when friction develops. After a reasonable period of experience and development through the processes ol consultation and mutual agreement, we may then re-examine the possibilities of entrusting such an organisation with such added powers as experience has' shown to be wise. ••No one in the English-speaking world is unfamiliar with the real and poignant hopes lying behind the position of our friends from New Zealand and Canada who have been most active in propounding the doctrine of organisation with power as the solution. I would not willingly close any door to the ultimate realisation of that splendid dream. I believe that painfully, point by point, we are approaching an era in which, it may be realised. For that reason the United States will support an international organisation in the realm of air commerce having power in technical matters, consultative functions in economic matters and' political matters directly connected with it, under plans whereby continuing and collected experience and widening custom may establish such an added basis as circumstances may warrant for future consideration of enlarging the functions of the consultative group. “It is the United States’ view that each country should as far as possible control and direct its own internal air lines. For this reason this country reserves the right to internal traffic known .as cabotage, so that traffic between points within its borders may be carried by its own national lines. Clearly the right of reserved cabotage can be exercised by one country only. Partly as the result of the turn which' has been taken by war production, the United States has at the moment substantially the only supply of transport aeroplanes, and ol immediate productive facilities to manufacture the newer types of aeroplanes. Far from using our temporary position of monopoly as a means of securing a permanent advantage, we feel it is against world interests to try to use this as a means of preventing others from flying. . “Consequently, this Government is prepared to make available on nondiscriminatory terms civil air transport aeroplanes when they can be released from military work to those, countries which recognise as we do the right of friendly intercourse to others. No country can expect at present to have wide-flung aviation lines without a subsidy, but while a subsidy is legitimate and useful to keep needed aeroplanes in the air, it is certainly abnoxious if designed to knock the aeroplanes of others from the air. Therefore, the United States is prepared to discuss ways and means whereby minimum rates can be agreed upon, and whereby the subsidies involved shall be used for legitimate air communication and not for assisting rate wars or uneconomic competition. Oppressing none, considsidering all, and establishing a law where we can take common counsel where a law has not emerged through custom and experience, we shall succeed if our decisions are formed by honour, vision, common kindness, and wisdom.” AUSTRALIAN-N.Z. VIEWS The Australian Minister of Air (Mr. Drakeford), in a speech at the international air conference at Chicago, said New Zealand and Australia both publicly had declared that in the interest of the future peace of the world and in order to facilitate rational development of the world’s air commerce, an. international air trans-

port authority should be appointed which through appropriate organisation would own aircraft and operate prescribed international routes on behalf of all nations, and that such an international air transport authority should be the organ of the proposed world security organisation. In order that these services may be operated effectively, all the countries of the world should be willing to concede to the international air transport auth ority the greatest possible measure of freedom in its development of ai commerce. Only through an tional authority does it seem P° ssld to achieve that permanency of tenure making for the efficiency economy in operation, and c^ ta mty °f a satisfactory service that all thet ns tions expect when peace returns. “There is no more favourable time than the present to achieve these desirable objectives. Any postponement, of a solution of thjese problems can result only in the developme vested interests m many countries which will prove a s . b H CI < •{} inter years, when inevitably it wu be necessary to bring a g eal g measure of international contro . At the same time we realise, it is me sovereign right of each nation to develnn air services within its own ter ritbry for the benefit of its own peonle The- principal of international ownership leaves each country complete freedom regarding the development and control of internal air communications, and the righv to mak agreements and establish seconda 5 air routes and services with continuous countries for the purposes of tffe promotion of regional development and mutual interests, and conti ibu tion to regional security. The New Zealand delegate (Mr. Sullivan) traversed much the same ground as Mr.,Drakeford. He pointed Sut that if the prevention of future wars was to be entrusted to an in ternational body, there should be no. hesitation in empowering an interna tional organisation to own and operate international air transport services. Any other system must lead to international competition. International ownership would through supervisory power afford a very large degree of safety against the misuse of aircraft. By this means national rivalries, which had been such fruitful sources of misunderstandings and had led to open breaches among the nations, would be avoided. Lord Swinton, m presenting the British plan, clearly indicated a willingness to accept Mr. Berle s compromise offer. Lord Swinton said that some sort of agreement, no matter how limited, must be reached at Chicago He proposed the establishment of°an interim council to iron out disagreements which cannot be settled during the short span of the Confere The leader of the Canadian delegation, Mr. Howe, strengthened the belief in a compromise between the British and American positions. He declared that the allocation of routes for each nation should depend, not only on its needs, but also' its resources , „ . . , p Mr. Berle was elected President ot the Conference. RUSSIAN ABSENCE OTTAWA, November 3. The Canadian Minister of Reconstruction (Mr. C. D. Howe) said the international aviation conference decisions would not be affected by the absence of the Russians. The president of Trans-Canada Airlines (Mr. J. H. Symington) said the Canadians were sorry that Russia was absent but the Soviets would be in a position to come into the plan whenever they liked. Mr. Howe said he expected the conference to reach full accord among the nations in coming great air dev e 1 o pm en ts.