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In May, 1918, Woodrow Wilson read a press despatch that his Secretary of the Treasury had flown in a plane over San Diego, Calif. The President was furious. He had warned his Cabinet officers specifically against flying during the War, when they were precious to him. And now the man who was not only his Number Two man in the Cabinet, but his son-in-law to boot, had flown.
When the Secretary returned to Washington the President chided him : "Now. Mac, you know you have a big job on hand. You shouldn't take risks."
William Gibbs McAdoo placatingly ex plained that, after he had exhorted San Diegoans to buy Liberty Bonds and keep courage to win the War, he did not have face to refuse a proffered air ride. He would have seemed to lack courage.
His father-in-law finally said: "Well, Mac, I'll have to admit with reluctance that you were right in taking the air." For a decade after that, however, "Mac" let two of his sons who were in the Army Air Corps during the War, do the flying for the family.
Lately Mr. McAdoo, who now is practicing law in Los Angeles and Washington, D. C., bought himself a Wasp-motored Lockheed-Vega ship with seats for five. It can make 180 m. p. h. That is not fast enough to please the owner. He often makes his pilot shoot up at as sharp an angle as possible and nose-dive to the limit of safety. Few men of 65 dare put their hearts to the strain of such quick altitude changes.
The McAdoo plane cost $18,500. Mr. McAdoo can well afford it. He has long been rich. His law fees continually make him richer. For a merger which he is now bringing about he will get one more million dollars. After the 1920 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco and a decision that he was through with politics, the Bank of Italy retained him as lawyer at $50,000 a year, on condition that he desist from politics. His Presidential ambitions cost him that job when he stalemated the 1924 Democratic Convention at Manhattan. He still has his western law office in the Bank of Italy's Los Angeles building.
Last week he was in Manhattan. He had hop-skipped there from Los Angeles, with a night's stop-over and sleep at Dallas. His purpose was to get eastern money to join his own in forming a new transcontinental airline—Southern Skylines, Inc.
The proposed main line runs: Los Angeles-Phoenix-El Paso-Midland (Tex.) -Fort Worth-Dallas-Atlanta. At Atlanta it contacts with a New Orleans-Mont-gomery-Atlanta line and with an Atlanta-Charlotte-Washington-Philadelphia-New York one.
Another section will run south: Chicago-St. Louis-Memphis-Jackson-New Orleans.*
A branch from the main line will run: Dallas-Little Rock-Memphis (junction)-Louisville-Cincinnati-Columbus (competitive Transcontinental Air Transport take-off)-Pittsburgh. Then Pittsburgh-Washington and Pittsburgh-New York.
A connecting line will run: St. Louis-Indianapolis-Columbus.
At each of the cities mentioned Airman-Lawyer McAdoo has leading citizens lined up, or about to be lined up, to speed his project through. Southern Skylines will compete mainly with Transcontinental Air Transport.â€