Air Mail scandal

Air Mail scandal
Keystone B-6 twin-engine air mail plane of the US Army Air Corps in snow storm
DateSeptember 28, 1933 (1933-09-28) – June 12, 1934 (1934-06-12)
Also known asAir Mail fiasco
ParticipantsUnited States Senate
Walter Folger Brown
William P. MacCracken Jr.
U.S. domestic airline industry
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Charles A. Lindbergh
United States Army Air Corps
Major General Benjamin Foulois
Outcome13 airmen killed in accidents
Air Mail Act of 1934 enacted
Modernization of the Air Corps begun

The Air Mail scandal, also known as the Air Mail fiasco, is the name that the American press gave to the political scandal resulting from a 1934 congressional investigation into the awarding of contracts to certain airlines to carry airmail and the subsequent disastrous use of the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) to fly the mail after the contracts were revoked.

During the administration of U.S. President Herbert Hoover, Congress passed the Air Mail Act of 1930.[1] Using its provisions, Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown held a meeting with the executives of the top airlines, later dubbed the "Spoils Conference", in which the airlines effectively divided among themselves the air mail routes. Acting on those agreements, Brown awarded contracts to the participants through a process that effectively prevented smaller carriers from bidding, resulting in a Senate investigation.

The investigation resulted in a citation of contempt of Congress on February 5, 1934, against attorney William P. MacCracken Jr., who helped draft the law while working for the government and brokered the meeting of the airlines. It was the only action taken against any former Hoover Administration official for the scandal. Two days later, Hoover's successor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, cancelled all existing air mail contracts with the airlines and ordered the USAAC to deliver the mail until new contracts could be awarded. The USAAC was ill prepared to conduct a mail operation, particularly at night, and from its outset on February 19 encountered severe winter weather. The operation suffered numerous plane crashes, resulting in the deaths of thirteen airmen and severe public criticism of the Roosevelt Administration.

Temporary contracts were put into effect on May 8 by the new postmaster general, James A. Farley, in a manner nearly identical to that of the "Spoils Conference" that started the scandal. Service was completely restored to the airlines by June 1, 1934. On June 12, Congress passed the Air Mail Act of 1934 cancelling the provisions of the 1930 law and enacting punitive measures against executives who were a part of the Spoils Conference. Although a public relations nightmare for the administrations of both presidents, the scandal resulted in the restructuring of the airline industry, leading to technological improvements and a new emphasis on passenger operations, and the modernization of the USAAC.

  1. ^ "The Airmail Act of 1930". AvStop.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.