Communications and transit > Air transport co-operation committee : minutes of the first session : held at Geneva from July 8th to 12th, 1930

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M. Molfese also wished to stress the fact that, in the C. I. N. A., they had an information
centre which might be developed.
Mr. Roper added that the Bulletin was not intended solely for States members of the C. I. N. A. ,
but that it also received information from non-contracting States. Ihe Bulletin was not restricted
therefore to the C. I. N. A., but was of worldwide interest.
The Secretary of the Committee asked M. Bouche whether the object of the proposed centre
was to collect information of an economic nature.
M. Bouche replied that it would also collect information relating to traffic, to ground organisation
and, in short, to a whole series of subdivisions, some of which would coincide with the work
of the C. I. N. A., while others would be of a commercial and practical nature—which did not mean
that the C. I. N. A. would not be competent to carry out that part of the work.
The Secretary of the Committee asked Mr. Roper if he thought the C. I. N. A. would be in
a position to furnish information of a practical nature and of commercial importance.
M. Molfese pointed out that the information in question could be obtained at the present
time from the statistics communicated to the C. I. N. A. Ihe Italian Government had recently
prepared reliable model statistics, on the basis of which it had requested other Governments to
furnish replies. The statistics dealt chiefly with questions of safety, and had no propagandist
aim. The various data would enable those interested to obtain all necessary information.
M. Chaumie observed that the quarters to which the statistical data were furnished had no
material possibility of applying them.
M. Molfese replied that the C. I. N. A., for instance, might be asked to draw the appropriate
conclusions from those statistics.
The Secretary of the Committee asked whether it would be the duty of the proposed
information centre to furnish practical information to the public, as was done by the United States
of America Department of Commerce. Would the C. I. N. A. be in a position to organise such a
service ? If, instead of the C. I. N. A., it were proposed that the work should be undertaken by
the League, he would not hesitate to reply in the negative. As regards information furnished by
Governments, the C. I. N. A. was certainly the best clearing-house, but, if a different task were
proposed, he doubted whether it would be possible for the C. I. N. A. to carry it out, especially
as a considerable staff would be required.
M. Sondermayer drew attention to the fact that statistics were being asked for from various
quarters but that there was no uniformity in those requests nor, consequent^, in the replies. If
the C. I. N. A., or some other organisation, were put in charge of the work proposed, requests for
information would have to be uniform and made as definite as possible. As regards the questions
raised by the Secretary of the Committee, he thought that the information collected by the proposed
Bureau would be of value mainly for the study and improvement of aviation, and to organisations
dealing with that question ; it would be of no interest to the general public.
M. Bouche thought that it might facilitate discussion if he submitted to the Committee, at
another meeting, a scheme for the organisation of the centre, as he conceived it. The Committee
would then be able to decide whether the information in question should be collected by the
C. I. N. A., the League of Nations, or some other organisation.
M. Molfese said that he had taken the liberty of sending to all his colleagues representing
countries members of the C. I. N. A. proposals for the establishment of uniform statistics which
would take no account of considerations of propaganda and national amour propre and would give
more detailed data than those supplied on the tables adopted by the C. I. N. A. The adoption
of those proposals would made it possible to collect infonnation for countries as a whole.
General Kaba asked whether the Committee would agree to the mention of a specific area
being omitted from paragraph 8.
Mr. Roper said that for some years past the question of statistics had received the attention
of Governments concerned in the exchange of information. The work had been begun in 1925
by M. de Veer. The model adopted by the C. I. N. A. last year had now been brought into use,
and the C. I. N. A. had received statistics from all member-States for 1929. The model mentioned
by M. Molfese would probably contain further improvements. In any case, the work was progressing
normally. It had been said that certain information came within the province of the C. I. N. A.,
while the rest did not. One of the duties of that organisation was to collect and co-ordinate
information and transmit it to Governments ; it had also considered it necessary to go further still
and to keep those statistics up to date as regards lists of Customs aerodromes, prohibited areas,
wireless telegraphy, meteorology, etc. Mr. Roper then read a summary of the contents of a number
of the C. I. N. A. Bulletin.
M. Chaumie said that, according to Mr. Roper’s explanations, the C. I. N. A. was an organ
which collected and published documents, but did not draw any conclusions from the statistics.