The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-08-24
ENGLISH AFRAID
OF AlRSHIPS
French Aeronauts Are Causing Great
Anxiety to British Officers Re-
garding Future Wars.

with the new aerial warshipS 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.
Although the nations are only on
the threshold of the new era in war;
fare, the most perplexing and compli-
eating problems are already harass-
ing the great military minds of all
countries.
Major Baden-Powell, the expert on
aerial navigation, and authority of
works on military tactics, says the
question of air warships is grave
and important one.
ut is a question so great" he said,
that the further you go into it the
more complicated it seems to be. I
believe there will be time-not very
far either, let us say ten years hence
when we shall have an aerial navy.
eve ought to have an air warship
equal to the 'Patrie,' and the new
German airship as it is, and should
war break out tomorrow, l am afraid
those countries possessing practical
air warships would have advantage.
what we want is an English Le-
baudy-a generous minded, patriotic
Englishman who will put down few
thousands. Then we should, | am
sure, be able to get something.
81 know one man, an engineer of
high standing, who has plans for a
practical airship, but who, from lack
of money, cannot carry them out. If
the strength of nations power is to
be in the air, then inventors should
be given every opportunity.
On the question of aerial frontiers.
Major Baden-Powell said: "Suppos-
ing that all nations have airships. Are
they to be allowed to go over one an
others countries photographing stra-
tegic positions in times of peace?
If you say No. l don't see how you
can prevent them.
"It 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 upwards, and | dare
say they will be. But then, if YES
sci in the air of another country is
fired upon, what of the airship that
has drifted there by accident, or what
of the private machines?
"You see the discussion leads one
into all sorts of complications. The
whole thing is so dream-like, and yet,
one day the dream will be realized.
I think, probably, it will be an 'un-
written law that no air warship will
be allowed in territorial air.
another possibility is that If air.
ships become common, wars would be
no more. Land armies would be use
less, for what would be the good of
men marching over the country with
the enemy's ships lowering over them
seeing every move on the part of the
other side? And supposing, for ar
gument's sake, Germany sent fleet
of air warships over here, we could
simply retaliate by sending our air
fleet to Germany. The whole prin-
ciples of warfare would have to be
revised.
''It is a great question" he con-
cluded-''one which France has fully
realized and Germany is realizing. l
am looking to the time when the
first ship of the English air fleet sails
over the land. We must rule the at
mosphereic waves as much as the
waves of the sea-
The problems of aerial frontiers
was definitely settled by Sir Thomas
Barclay, one of the worlds greatest
authorities on international law.
"You can assume at once" he said,
chat the atmosphere belongs to the
country just as the rivers and its
lakes do. And if Germany forbids
French air vessels to cross her ter
ritory she is quite entitled to do so.
''There might be question OF
proximity of territory. Suppose an
airship is lowering about the German
frontier, but not in what might be
called German territory, it would GER
tainly be able to photograph positions
and German Notifications which
might lead to a German protest. The
probable result would be that the ma
lions would conclude an agreement
whereby military airships should not
be allowed within SO many miles OF
the air frontier.
"And yet don't see very well how
it could be prevented, and I suspect
that when diplomats sit down to set
tie the question, the difficulties will
be found to be insurmountable.
''Since 1900 the Institute of inter-
| national Law has been considering
the question very seriously, but it has
| not yet found a good basis in dealing
with the question.
"Of course" said Sir Tromas Bar
clay, when the air warship is COM
! mon we shall probably have air war
| ship destroyers, and some inventor
will produce a gun that will fire a
bullet, capable of perforating the yes.
sci. We might even have artificial
clouds by sending up smoke, perhaps
| and thus spoil the game of an enc
| NV cnvinp out the land -