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all three governments have provided military aviators and mechanicians for missions sent to other countries to demonstrate and advertise the product of the private manufacturers; such missions are now in South America, and the far East; in these projects the manufacturer is further assisted by arrangements with the Government for purchase at low prices of aviation material from the excess war stocks.  One company in France is already delivering orders for aeroplanes in South America at a price considerably below their war time production cost.  Each Government at the close of the war had a stock of aviation material on hand considerably beyond the needs for peace time military and naval exercises.  Retention of this stock in government storage would simply mean a large expenditure for its upkeep with no prospect of its being used before it would become obsolete or so old that further effort toward preservation would be futile.  The diversion of this excess stock to commercial use benefits the government not only by effecting a partial return of the original investment and a saving of further upkeep expense but also because it affords another means of encouraging activity in commercial aviation.

Much is being done abroad on aerial mail routes.  Although the distances in Great Britain, France and Italy inside the boundaries are not great enough to make aerial postal routes much superior in time saving to the railroads, a number of routes have already been established. In France, on route, Paris-Strassbourg is being operated, entirely with

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