To: the Editor of the "Nontit-CHiNa Daily News."
Stt,—The article "The Cancelled Air-Mail Contract" ineyour issue of to-day is of particular interest to me, as'I often use the air-mail for correspondence to Hankow. What, the explanation of the cancellation? Can you, Sir, not persuade either China Airways. or the Post Office to give to the public, the patrons of the service, some ex: planation of the apparent mystery?
In the articles referred, to, the following statement appears:
"The China Airways, on the other hand, state tat ai mail hag had Here profitable to the, government Pound. They hold that air mail Charged for at the rate of $6 per ind and. that on. this basis their planes could carry 900 Ib. each which would give the govern.
profit of $6,930 each round Suse on etshan at $2.50. ae Hoagie: und the increase had been ily upbeades Tease Now, taking the Sgures presumably given by China Airways, and the average of 40 letters per pound stipulated by them, it follows that 900 Ibs. of mail call for 36,000 let ters daily from Shanghai to Hai ow, and the same on the return trip. A recent passenger to Han-informs me that the mail-bag saw handed over at the aerodrome by the Shanghai postal messenger could not have weighed over 15 Ibs. fud may have been much less.
Will the Post Ofice say why newspapers and parcels were accepted up to a few weeks ago, and ver since refused? The contract, quoted by you, refers only to air mail", so that, presumably, newspapers had also to be paid by the Post Office at the rate of $6 per pound.. Now, three. copies Of your issue of the 7th. weighed be charged by China Airways at least $6, or $2 per copy. You, Sir Jean perhaps tell us what you paid Yo the Post Office per copy when newspapers were accepted for airmail to Hankow. Surely not $2.
T asked a friend of mine, who knows a man in one of the big newspaper offices, to find out what Chinese newspapers paid in air-[mail postage to the Post Office. He informs me that the rate was 80 cents for the first kilo., and 40 cents for every Kilo. after that. As one kilo, is 24 Ibe, and as each pound has to be multiplied by 40 (letters per Ib) and again by 15 cents, it would seem that the Post Office paid China Airways $13.20 for what it charged the public 40 cents. I have myself posted a parcel by air-mail to Hankow at 60 cents for the first kilo, and 0 cents for each subsequent kilo. This, perhaps, explains the alleged: great volume of mail jearried by the planes up to the: period of stoppage of newspapers Jand parcels. Can China Airways. tell us what is the recent daily average weight?
Why the Post Office accepted newspapers and parcels at these rates puzzles me as much as it must do all who read this. It would be easy to have an enormous turnover in any commodity if one charged customers 40 cents for what cost $18.20, Tam, ete,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.