The Washington herald., 1906-12-09
Airshins and the thrift

The late Henry George, an ardent free
trader, used 10 sigh for the time when
the universal use of airships for travel
and transportation would make it impos-
sible to longer maintain custom-houses
and to collect tariffs on imports. For,
he argued. it would be manifestiy impos-
sible to prevent absolute freedom Of
trade In goods carried by aerial freight,
as the argosies Of the air sail whitherso-
ever they viii and land wherever they
choose. Evasion Of the customs officers
by aerial smuggIers would become so
easy and so general, he thought, as to
make the collection of duties on goods
coming from abroad farce and a pro-
tective policy laughing
Mr. Georges dream is approximating
reality in at least one quarter of the
globe. We learn that in England a dis
cUssion has started as to the possibility
of the evasion Of customs duties by
smugglers using flying machines. Since
a number of balloons have crossed the
Channel within the past few months, the
possibility Is by no means remote. At
the present rate If progress in the de-
velopment of aerial navigation it may
not be long before communication be-
tween England and the continent through
the air will be so we'll established as TO
become one of the ordinary features of
modern life like the wireless telegraph
How, then, viii the British government
prevent aerial smuggling?
The query opens up a realm Of fasci-
the government police the upper atmos-
phere with an aerial feet TO catch offend
ers on the wing, and to seize and confis-
cate airship contraband, and smuggler.
Spectacular conflicts would doubtless take
place, but would IL not be easy to evade
the government airship? They could not
be constantly on the wing, nor could they
effectively guard the immense regions Of
the air, without coastline, or boundaries,
or surface. We should think the odds
decidedly in favor of the smuggler.
Our insular position will undoubtedly
save US from immediate contact with the
interesting problem now undergoing dis
cussion in England No airship has yet
crossed the Atlantic, and we presume
none is likely to cross for some years to
come. However, should aeronautics
solve the difficulties at present in the
way of oversee traffic via the air, there
will be serious trouble ahead for such
standpatters as may unhappily survive to
see that day. The problems presented
by airship navigation will then become
momentous and pressing. They will
threaten, as Henry George foresaw, the
very foundations of the protective sys-
TEN.
We regret that President Roosevelt
should not have included this very i'm
portant. though not very Immediately i'm
portant topic among the glimpses into
the future with which his recent message
abounds. We can see no way out of our
prospective aerial problems but the gov
ernment regulation and supervision of
aerial navigation. Government ownership.
such as would be proposed by Mr.. Bryan,
would be obviously impracticable. vision
airy, and dangerous; but proper SUPER
vision and control over persons and cor
porations engaged in aerial commerce.
such as that which President Roosevelt
has wisely suggested with respect to
mundane interstate business, would be
just the thing II will not do 20 allow
greedy and INSCRIPTIONS navigators Of