Evening star., 1909-09-04

hill tall steel tower with a broad plat.
form and tanks filed with water and
with naphtha or alcohol: suitable devices
for graphing strongly, yet nrmly, tno
lowering air craft, and for swiftly inject
ing, through flexible hose. the elements
necessary 10 its fight, ora wilder flight
of imagination, perhaps-in the case or
the rapid express and mail aerodromes.
eiay-Supply aerodromeS OF great power
and large storage tanks. capable or rising
swiftly and soaring along in company
with the liners, of making flying connec-
tions and replenishing their depleted wa
ter and fuel tanks. .
And this fuel. what shall II pc!
Naphtha or gasoline at first, probapy.
But already the supply is diminishing
and the price increasing; SO that III
Europe. for economical reasons. petro-
leum is beginning to be supplanted by
alcohol. Fortunately, wherever vegeta-
ton may be found. the production of al
cohol is possible. SO that an endless store
of that essence which is the basis or
power of the motor OF the future is In
sight.
Policing the Sky.
Laws without penalty provisions and
the means of enforcing them are of little
avail. OF what use. therefore, is 1t TO
prescribe lanes OF flight for aerodromes
and to lay down other regulations for
their use unless their application can be
enforced? And how can this be done?
Existing police methods will not meet
the needs of the future. Immense difh-
cuities beset the imagination, but an
aerial police must be provided. On points
of vantage. well chosen. powerful oh.
servatories must keep under constant sur
veillance every square mile of space
above the earth's surface.
Day and night must the quest be kept
up; for here is a watch not only for the
lawbreaker above. who IS tempted to
shorten flight by varying from the es-
tablished lane, but also for the aerodrome
In distress. for the craft with falling
power of flight through exhausted motor
power, or weakened or storm-battered
framework and in need of instant assist
ance. Even In the daylight hours the task
will be difficult: at night. in storm ana
darkness, 1t would seem almost hopeless
unless electrical science comes to the aid
by the development of electrical range
finders Of a delicacy not known at pres
ent Still, again touching the methods OF
the sailor, recourse will at first be had to
powerful searchlights, which. mechanical
ly actuated, will sweep the darkened skies
with rapid beams within established zones
ITO capture the lawless aeronaut or TO
succor the aerial derelict. a new govern.
mental agency must be organized, akin to
the revenue cutter service on the high
seas. Swift, powerfully motored hawks OF
the air will be these aerodromes; manned
by daring and well-armed and expert
taking and overpowering any wrongdoer.
Extra hazardous service, this, and IL must
be well compensated. In ii will be bred
the future Paul Joneses and Farraguts
and Deweys of our aerial navy. Imagine
the awful details of a battle in midair be-
tween a desperate smuggler and an aerial
cutter the attempt to grapple: the repel-
liant blasts of blazing gaseous yapor: the
collision and terrible mile-high drops or
entangled machines to certain destruction
hol he incidents
in time Of peace and only family fore
| shadow the awful events OF aerial war
fare.
The Aerial SmuggIer.
Keeping within peaceful lines, the sug-
gestion of smuggling opens a wide field
of speculation. Will 1t be possible to
suppress this revenue-sappng practice
under these new conditions? Upon the
solution of this problem may depend the
| existence of the whole system of custom
house collections. Land routes may be
guarded: seaports are not so numerous
| that they cannot be readily watched. But
what of the boundless approaches OF the
| air? How would 1t be possible to police
| the whole boundary line between the
| United States and Canada on the north,
or Mexico on the south? And every West
| Indian isle might be a starting point for
smuggling aerodromes. Unless this pred
atory warfare upon the customs revenues
can be restrained within narrow limitss
perhaps the whole system Of protective
tariff is doomed through the inexorabi6
developments Of science
fortunately, the limitations OF The
aerodrome. as at present conceived, may
| for a long time postpone the necessity
| of meeting this great issue. Freight
means weight, and many years must pass
before the airship can undertake to carry
heavy burdens. Passenger traffic will be
the main source of income, and that
will be expensive. Articles of small weight
and compass but of great intrinsic value
may be smuggled In the aerodrome. but
| so they now are in ships, and the Illicit
process will be detected and punished as
| it is at present, through the backward
| tracing of the incoming valuables.
No Good for Freight.
"But the great bulk Of the worlds conn
merce will probably never be moved
| through the air and above the earth Now
and then a bold air captain may find it
worth his while to carry few China
men or other would-be immigrants of the
excluded classes across the international
boundary, but this will be, after all, only
a yexatious incident in the life of the i'm
migration inspector, and the sum total of
such an addition to the population VIII
not be considerable, and it may be conf
IDENTIFY expected that the resources or
the lawgiver will prove equal to the de-
velopment of the aerial traffic of the fu-
ture."