Aviation.

Central Pacific

Early History of Pan-American Airways.

Letter to the Editor.

I HAVE been a consistent reader ot your excellent magazine for some time, and have been astounded by your acceptance and publication of certain erroneous articles by your Honolulu correspondent. There is a long story attached to these attacks by this in dividual, of which I will not go into details at this time.

I have no knowledge of what action both Donald Douglas and the Directors of Pan-American' Airways wish to take on this matter, but the charges made, particularly in the last issue of the Pacific Islands Monthly, are very serious.

In Mr. Williams’s opening paragraph he states that he is interested in the records of Trans-Pacific aviation being kept straight. However, his inform ation is very incorrect. It is not my in tention at this time to tell the full story of Trans-Pacific aviation, for the simple reason that a company’s business, if conducted along proper lines, is its own affair.

Knowing the complete story of Trans- Pacific aviation, I can both state and prove that none of the actions in the initiation of the Trans-Pacific service can be subject to criticism.

Mr. Williams’s statements and infer ences, that Mr. Donald Douglas and other Pan-American directors, in 1934, hatched a scheme which was to be taken over by their own company, are abso lutely false. Mr. Douglas was not a director of Pan-American Airways at that time, and did not have and still does not have one penny of Pan- American stock. The letter of which Mr. Williams speaks, although mis quoted and twisted to suit his ends, was not written by anyone connected with Pan-American Airways, nor were any Pan-American Airways directors or personnel involved in it. What Mr.

Williams does not tell is how he obtained possession of this letter. This I know, and it certainly does not reflect any credit on your correspondent.

The so called scheme on which Mr.

Williams bases his sensationalistic story was never put into effect, and never sold to anybody. I have complete records of every step taken in the initiation of the Pan-American service, and while not desirous of publishing private busi ness records I am quite willing to furnish the editor personally with any further information that he may desire to satisfy himself that Mr. Williams’s allegations are grossly untrue.

I would appreciate very much if you could see fit to publish this letter in the interests of fairness.

Yours very truly,

Harold Gatty.

P.O. Box 1537, Auckland, 16/3/38.