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proximately $621,000 in mail rate charges to the three helicopter lines. During this same 3-year period, the Federal subsidy for these three helicopter lines was approximately $15,555,000. Even if it is assumed that the delivery of the mail by the helicopter lines in these areas was faster than by available ground transportation, it is certainly evident that - when considering the post service needs alone - the mail rate charges plus the Federal subsidy all add up to an extremely high and unjustifiable cost to the Federal Government for the mail service provided by these three helicopter carriers.
Mr. Chairman, I cite those figures simply to indicate the relatively small amount of mail that has actually been carried by the carriers, and the relatively small amount that we would anticipate in the foreseeable future.
(2) With regard to the needs of national defense as a factor supporting the continuance of the Federal subsidy for these three helicopter carriers, it seems quite clear that the military services cannot expect to benefit in improved helicopter operations by the continued operation of these three carriers. The fact of the matter is that the military services now have in operation several thousand helicopters and any future benefit from improved helicopter operations will undoubtedly flow from the military services to the civilian sector, rather than the reverse. In addition, the Federal subsidy program cannot be justified as being essential for military transportation requirements. It is the view of the Department of Defense that subsidies for these helicopter carriers should not be continued on grounds of the national defense.
(3) The other statutory factor which must be considered to justify Federal subsidy of helicopter carriers is the "commerce of the United States." With regard to the commerce factor, the only justification for a Federal subsidy program for these three communities in the Nation is that same justification which was the basis for starting this subsidy program in 1947; that is, as an experiment to show whether commercial helicopter service, without Federal subsidy, would be feasible for areas and communities throughout the Nation.
These helicopter operations started with the inauguration of service by Los Angeles Airways, Inc., in October 1947. This operation and the subsequent inauguration by Chicago Helicopter Airways, Inc., in August 1949, and New York Airways, Inc., in October 1952, were all part of an experimental program to determine the economic feasibility of commercial helicopter operation. To date, this "experiment" has cost the U.S. Government $48 million. Seventeen years after the experiment began, the carriers are still receiving Federal subsidy, and in fact the amount of subsidy received increased regularly, each year, until a few years ago when Congress took action to curtail the amount of subsidy that would be furnished this group of carriers.
What began as a very reasonable and temporary experiment has carried on far beyond the experimental stage. It is our view that Federal subsidy for this "17-year-old Federal experiment" should be terminated. We are not saying that commercial helicopter service should be discontinued in these three metropolitan areas. In fact, it would seem entirely appropriate for the airlines and the three communities which benefit from the operation of these helicopter carriers to subsidize their operations, if necessary, rather than expect the Federal Government to continue to do this for them.