President Herbert Hoover appointed Walter Folger Brown as his postmaster general in 1929. In 1930, Brown, citing inefficient and expensive air mail delivery, requested legislation from Congress granting him authority to change postal policy.  The legislative body obliged, passing the Air Mail Act of 1930 which gave Brown strong, almost dictatorial power over the nation’s air transportation system.

The main provision of the Air Mail Act changed the manner in which payments were calculated.   The purpose of the provision was to discourage the carrying of bulk junk mail to boost profits and to encourage the carrying of passengers instead.  A second provision allowed any airmail carrier with an existing contract of at least two years standing to exchange its contract for a route certificate giving it the right to haul mail for 10 additional years. 

But it was the third and most controversial provision that raised concern.  The Act gave Brown authority to extend or consolidate routes based on little more than his personal judgment.  Brown took full advantage of his new powers which resulted in one of the most notorious ‘black eyes’ in Post Office history.

Dirty Doings Going On
The Air Mail Scandal, also known as the Air Mail Fiasco, is how American journalists of referred to the political scandal that arose from an investigation into Brown’s meeting with the executives of America’s three top private airlines and their parceling out of America’s airmail routes.

The men who attended the aptly dubbed ‘Spoils Conference’ had divided the nation’s lucrative air routes among themselves.  The three carriers later evolved into United Airlines (which took the northern airmail route), TWA which had the mid-United States route,  and American Airways (later American Airlines) which controlled the southern route.

Smaller airlines were enraged by the obvious political favoritism.  In September 1933, a complaint was registered with the Senate Committee on Ocean Mail and Air Mail.  Chairman Hugo Black of Alabama agreed to establish a special Senate committee to investigate alleged.

It soon became evident that Brown’s administration of the air mail had increased the efficiency of the service and lowered its costs from $1.10 to $0.54 per mile and that there were obvious partisan politics involved in investigating what appeared to be a Republican scandal by a Democratic-controlled committee. 

Still despite all this, the hearings raised serious questions regarding its legality and ethics.