While political difficulties continue to obstruct free communications, there is little possibility of improvement in the air mail situation as it involves China. Nevertheless, the original services created to link China with the United States and Europe continue to function suecessully and, at the one point of contact in the world system of airways—Hongkong—the results predicted for air communications are being enjoyed. In his annual report to President Roosevelt, Mr. James A. Farley, the U.S. Postmaster General, revealed that on the Trans-Pacific route flown by Clippers of the Pan-American Airways, in the fiscal year ending June 30, performance had averaged 90.84 per cent. of the service scheduled for the year. In view of the pioneer character of the Pacific route, with its climatic difüculties and its long ocean flights, this is excellent, and a coincident tal increase in traffic both ways along the route is.public testimony to the reliability of the service. Naturally, international air mail interest largely centres on the Atlantic across which scores of experimental flights have been made by interested nations and an ample degree of security and reliability has been attained, but no regular service between the United States and Europe is in operation although it is hoped that something will be done in the near future. The two oceans, the Atlantic and the Pacific, offer different problems to the commercial air line and not the least important is the political side, for half a dozen nations are desirous of using the Atlantic route but the United States is fortunately situated to have the Pacific to herself. This does not deny equality of opportunity to other countries but it does credit the United States with any rewards for the enterprise displayed in opening and developing this route to China. It is reported that next February one of the new 72-passenger Boeing Clippers will be placed on the new service for experimental purpose. The new Clipper weighs 41 tons and the problem of the big machine on long ocean trips has thus to be studied before these machines are placed in regular use. Other lines entering Hongkong report improvements and acceleration and the introduction of new machines, but to China generally nothing can be done until conditions become stable and the national services, which operated so successfully and efficiently before the hostilities, are allowed normal activities. Then Shanghai may again appear on the world's air map and the long-delayed plan to extend Imperial Airways from Hongkong to Shanghai may be realized. In the meantime, opportunities for development are unhappily being lost.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.