Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1907-09-21

With the new aerial war ships of
France and Germany making success
full demonstrations over Paris and
Berlin, even those sceptics who re-
fused to take aerial navigation seri-
ously have become convinced that the
war of the future will be fought in
the air. Major Baden-Powell, the
aerial navigation expert and author
of works on military tactics, Is of
the opinion that the question OF air
war ships is a grave and important
one.
1T is a question so great" said he
in the course of an interview, that
the further you go into it the more
complicated it seems to be. l believe
there will be a time, perhaps in the
course of ten years, when we will
possess an aerial navy. England
ought to have an airship equal to
the French and German ones, for
should war break out the country
possessing practical airships would
have the advantage.
The possibility is that If airships
become common wars would be no
more on land. Armies would be use
less, for what would be the good of
men marching over the country with
their enemies in airships lowering
over them and seeing every move on
the part of their side?
Air Fleet to Awe Germany.
"And supposing Germany sent a
| fleet of air warships over England,
England could simply retaliate by
sending an air fleet to Germany The
whole principle of warfare would
have to be revised.
1T is a great question, one which
France has fully realized and Ger
many is realizing. l am looking to
the time when the first ship of the
English air fleet sails over land. We
must rule the atmospheric waves as
much as we rule the waves of the
sea-"
On the question of aerial frontiers,
which is creating no little discussion,
the Major said:
Surprising that all nations have
/ tiAi oAAlpp al Z IhSJ w NC GlllONCu W 81
over one another's countries photo
| graphing strategical positions in
times of peace? If you say no,
don't see how you are to prevent
them. 1t is impossible to fire at them,
for as field guns are made at present
they have not got the elevation. You
may say that new guns will be in
vented for firing upward, and dare
say they will be, but then if vessel
in the air of another country is fired
on what of an airship that has drifted
there by accident or what of private
machines?
A Complicated Question.
"You see, the discussion leads one
into all sorts of complications. The
whole thing is so dreamlike, and yet
one day the dream will be realized
think probably 1t will be the unwrit-
ten law that no air warship will be
allowed in the territorial air of an
other"
Sir Thomas Barclay, one of the
worlds greatest authorities on in
|
thus settles knotty point:
You can assume at once" he said,
that the atmosphere belongs to a
country just as rivers and lakes do.
If Germany forbade French airships
to cross her territory she is quite en-
titled to do so. There might be a
question of proximity Of territory.
Menace of an Airship.
Suppose an airship were lowering
about the German frontier, but not in
what might be called German terri
tory. 1t would certainly be able to
photograph positions and the Ger
man Notifications, which might lead
to a German protest. The probable
result would be that the nations
would conclude an agreement where
by military airship shouldn't be al
lowed within so many miles of the
air frontier, and yet l don't see very
well how it could be prevented.
II expect when the diplomatists sit
down to settle the question the diff
culties will be found insurmountable.
Since 1900 the Institute of Interna-
tional Law has been considering the
question very seriously, but it hasn't
yet found a good basis in dealing with
the question.
"Of course" added Sir Thomas,