The morning journal-courier., 1908-09-15
A NOVEL PROPHECY.

The wonderful advance In tho art of flying made within short space of time by the Wright brothers and others have set many vivid and origin al imaglnations to work conceiving uses and developments of the flying machine, now that 1t finally seems certain of being perfected. Unless we figure wrongly the holiday book coun- ters of Chrstmas time will be groan- ing under the weight of countless novels and adventure stories, in which aeroplanes will figure as prominently as heroes and heroines, Those Inter ested In transportation have already conceived a thousand new develop ments in their line to come In the near future, Explorers and scientists arc realizing how hitherto inaccessible places-the poles of, the earth, impass- able regions, and high mountain-tops can be easily reached.
 Naturally 1t has been the war art lsts, the gentlemen of our armies and navies, who have been most interest cd, Even orville Wright has been furnishing tho newspaper men with graphic descriptions of the evolutlons of flying machines in war time. Tn his minds-eye he can already sec strategists aboard Wright aeroplanes dropping explosives with all the accu- racy of the mechanic and the mathe- matician, down Into the holds of bat tleships through their smoke-f tunnels A French inventor has foretold that we will soon be controlling our many airships by means of wireless currents If war scientists know how to control the movements of torpedoes. after they have been fired, by means of the wireless, he argues that the control of aeroplanes in the same way should not be lnconceivable.
 But perhaps the most original thinking that has been done along these lines has been that of Colonel Templar, a chief of a balloon corps in the British army, who has been watching the tests of the Wright ma chine at Fort Meyer. Speaking of tho future use of the aeroplane In wal time. Colonel Templar says. The more think of it, the more 1 am con. vinced that the airship will make fo, peace. Those who talk about being able to destroy the enemy by dropping explosives from the sky are dwelling upon one of the minor uses to which it may be put. To my mind Its mos important function In daylight vii bc observation work I predict tha the time will come when each sid, will be able to size up the other'l strength so accurately, with the value of the position occupied. that umpire will decide who wins without an! blood being shed. Stranger thing have happened"
 This Is a good example of how ser l Ious minded men will often lose thei i funny-bones when they get too ab sorbed in their particular problems and how they will fall to see the mos fragrant incongruities. There are tw
 principles to-day upon which humani tarlans are hoping for world-peact
 One Is upon the principle. of arbitra ton. The other class of theorist
 would urge every nation to 90 to tn
 limit in extent of armament. The
 urge on the inventors In the hope tha
 war will become SO evidently an m
 Godly and terrible thing as to b
 impossible Colonel Templar offers
 combination of the two. We bellev
 1t would be possible, after two ma
 tions have SO lost their temper as {
 go to war against each other, to kee
 them from getting at each other" h the purely arbitrary decisions of
 number of powerless umpires v world-pcace by means of arbitratio
 would save money and trouble
 a world d-wide peace by over-armamer would be costly but certain sooner C later Colonel Templars idea woul necessitate great expense but would n, be certain. If nations will submit { the rulings of umpires at any tim : they would before coming to arm / and then not upon the relative armt 5 ment or strategic positions but upo the true merits of the problems at |. sue between them. Then 1t is arbitrt , ton pure and simple.