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 and the number of privately owned planes, in proportion to our size.

Abroad, the entire industry is generously subsidized by the various governments. Of course, aviation here knows no such support, a fact which means that, so far as we have gone, our industry is on a sound basis economically.

Although air transport in the U. S. A. has had to pay its own way, and is behind somewhat, slightly over 2000 commercial airplanes were constructed in 1927, and operations in the field of mail and transport flying approximated 6,000,000 miles flown. Nearly nine thousand passengers were carried, and two and a half million pounds of freight transported.

Impressive as are these figures, they are not comparable to the volume inevitable.

When I am asked what individuals can do to aid aviation my reply is, to those who haven't flown: "Fly." For, whether or not aviation will be found useful in their lives, or whether they