Air Mail scandal

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 of the awarding of contracts to certain airlines to carry airmail and the subsequent disastrous use of the U.S. Army Air Corps to fly the mail after the contracts were revoked.

During the administration of President Herbert Hoover, Congress passed the Air Mail Act of 1930. 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 Senate 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 President Franklin D. Roosevelt cancelled all existing air mail contracts with the airlines and ordered the Air Corps to deliver the mail until new contracts could be awarded. The Air Corps 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 Conferences. 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 Air Corps.