Billy Mitchell Hits Air Force as Inadequate and Sees Return of Air-Mail to Private Companies

"What kind of a showing do you think we could put up in a war if the army can't fly the mail across country even in peace time?" said Brigadier General William (Billy) Mitchell, one-time stormy petrel of the Army Air Force in a CRIMSON interview. The General, who was in command of the Air Force of the Second Army during the war, resigned several years ago after a violent altercation with his superiors on the subject of a unified air force.

Leaning back in his chair on the sunny veranda of his mansion in Virginia whence he flies to Washington at frequent, intervals to confer with the President, General Mitchell took off his campaign hat and mopped his brow. "The trouble with aircraft companies in this country," he resumed, "is that they compete in terms of dollars and not of airplanes. If we had gone at it right, we could have airplanzed the world just as we motorized it. But now the European nations have achieved a big lead over us. The army Air Force is in terrible condition: they have no good planes; they have no money to get them with; the pilots aren't well trained; the mechanics aren't well trained; the officers haven't the slightest idea what they're doing.

"Airships are fine! We need more of 'em. But they have got to be handled by people with some common sense. The Akron disaster was a classic example of thick-headedness and incompetency. There is only one capable airship commander in this country, and that is Rosendahl. He's a good man, but they've got him out at sea on board a battleship, while a lot of inexperienced pups fool around with the Macon.

"If I had my way I'd banish aircraft stocks from the market. An industry that has to be subsidized by the government shouldn't be allowed to become speculator's material, and the industry certainly cannot support itself without government aid. Of course the ideal thing to do is to consolidate the military, naval, and commercial branches all under one head, and thus get things done efficiently. The President, I believe, could do this any time he saw fit, and I shouldn't be at all surprised to see it happen.

"Yes, I do believe that the air-mail contracts will have to be returned to the lines pretty soon, but the government will have to keep an eye on those fellows. They're out for whatever they can get."