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| Long title | An Act to encourage commercial aviation and to authorize the Postmaster General to contract for air mail service. |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Kelly Act |
| Enacted by | the 68th United States Congress |
| Effective | February 2, 1925 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | Pub. L. 68–359 |
| Statutes at Large | 43 Stat. 805, Chap. 128 |
| Codification | |
| Titles amended | 39 U.S.C.:Postal Service |
| U.S.C. sections created | 39 U.S.C. ch. 54 § 5401 et seq. |
| Legislative history | |
| |
The Air Mail Act of 1925, also known as the Kelly Act, was a key piece of legislation that intended to free the airmail from total control by the Post Office Department. In short, it allowed the Postmaster General to contract private companies to carry mail. The Act was sponsored by Pennsylvania representative Clyde Kelly, and became legislation in February that year.
The act created a bidding period for small airmail routes, setting rates and subsidies contractors would receive for flying mail. The first contracts were awarded to Colonial Air Transport, National Air Transport, Robertson Aircraft Corporation, Western Air Express and Varney Air Lines. Contractors were paid $3.00 per pound of mail for the first 1,000 miles traveled. Due to the surplus aircraft available after the First World War, particularly de Havilland DH-4s, the act bolstered a nascent aviation industry in the United States.
By 1927, over 2.5 million miles were traveled by US Airmail Service planes, carrying over 22 million letters. Further regulation ensued quite rapidly, such as those issued by second assistant postmaster general Col. Paul Henderson, which required pilots and their aircraft to receive a certificate of airworthiness from the Post Office, and that each company needed to post at least ten thousand dollars in good faith bonds.
Associated United States Federal Statutes
United States legislation authorizing aerial navigation and contract services for the transportation of United States air mail.
| Date of Enactment | Public Law Number | U.S. Statute Citation | U.S. Legislative Bill | U.S. Presidential Administration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 3, 1926 | P.L. 69-331 | 44 Stat. 692 | H.R. 11841 | Calvin Coolidge |
| March 8, 1928 | P.L. 70-107 | 45 Stat. 248 | H.R. 7213 | Calvin Coolidge |
| May 17, 1928 | P.L. 70-410 | 45 Stat. 594 | H.R. 8337 | Calvin Coolidge |
| March 2, 1929 | P.L. 70-904 | 45 Stat. 1449 | H.R. 16131 | Calvin Coolidge |
| April 29, 1930 | P.L. 71-178 | 46 Stat. 259 | H.R. 11704 | Herbert C. Hoover |
| March 27, 1934 | P.L. 73-140 | 48 Stat. 508 | H.R. 7966 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| June 12, 1934 | P.L. 73-308 | 48 Stat. 933 | S. 3170 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| August 14, 1935 | P.L. 74-270 | 49 Stat. 614 | H.R. 6511 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
See also
References
- ^ "Airmail Creates an Industry: Postal Act Facts". Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- Tim Brady (2000). The American Aviation Experience: A History. SIU Press. p. 303. ISBN 978-0-8093-2371-5.
- Wells, Alexander T. (1 January 2007). Air Transportation: A Management Perspective. Ashgate Publishing. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7546-7171-8.
- Pearson, Michael W.; Riley, Daniel S. (15 April 2016). Foundations of Aviation Law. Routledge. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-317-13372-8.
- Allaz, Camille (March 2005). History of Air Cargo and Airmail from the 18th Century. Google Consultant. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-9548896-0-9.
- F. Robert van der Linden (13 January 2015). Airlines and Air Mail: The Post Office and the Birth of the Commercial Aviation Industry. University Press of Kentucky. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-8131-4938-7.
External links
- Miller (Donavin) Productions (1938). "The Mail: A Story of the United States Postal Service". Internet Archive. T-A-I-E Enterprises.
- * "1st Air Mail". Internet Archive. U.S. Department of Defense. 1976.
- Leary, William M. (1985). "Aerial Pioneers: The U.S. Air Mail Service, 1918-1927". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.