Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-11-12
Miseellaneous Grading.
WHO OWNS THE ARR
Flying Machine Raises New Legal
QUESTIONS

WHO OWNS THE ARR
Flying Machine Raises New Lesa
Questions.
How high must an aviator fly to bt
safe from the consequences of illega
trespass? and a great many othel
questions, not burning now but consid.
cred as soon to be hot ones, were treat.
ed. by Lyttleton Fox, a lawyer, in ar
address to members Of the Aero Clut
of America. The answer was that the
aviator would have to be out of sight
He must dodge the police.
The old Roman law which gives tC
the owner Of land absolute ownership
also of the air above 1t Is responsible
for this. The law must be changed
he iadded, or the courts will be ruin.
ously congested. AS matters stand
there having been no changes in the
law for several hundred years, mar
in "a flying machine has no rights thai
a man with a plow Is bound to respect
The question Is how best to bring the
attention Of the judicial system to thi:
unfair discrimination against the fly.
ing portion Of the race. No man car
fly as things now stand without tech.
nically breaking the law, unless he
gets special privileges from the land.
owners.
1t is a problem that bristles with
novelty, says Mr.. Fox. In the event Of
pedestrians being hit by ginger poi
bottles dropped by the passing aviator
or by other objects, including the avia.
tor himself, the man below would have
redress at law. Mr.. Fox believes the
Aero club should urge the Wright
brothers, for instance, to consent tc
be sued by the owner Of land ovel
which they have flown (and thereby
trespassed), so as to bring the whole
subject before the courts for settle.
ment. The suit should be a friendly
ONE, he said, the object being to modi-
fly, If possible, the law Of aerial tres
pass. Another way might be to con-
denim the air by legal procedure, and
thus knock over the historical fossil.
A discussion that followed the ad-
dress Of the evening resulted in the
members arriving at the firm belief
that the air should be considered g
highway, and there was preliminary
talk concerning an attempt at legisla-
tive enactment.
To avert suits for aerial trespass Mr.
Fox suggests that the state condemn
and buy a stratum Of air as highway
for flying machines. The fact thai
Count Lambert in his fight across
Paris violated a police regulation for
bidding aeroplaning over the city
shows that the French have already
applied the law to cover one phase OF
the question. BY leaving the aerodrome
for his Paris flight, Lambert incurred
a penalty Of 81; at the Rheims meet
an aviator was fined for reckless driv-
ing.
The military airship will necessitate
new provisions in international law tc
meet the new problems Of international
relations which it will raise. France
has now seven airships, Germany elev-
en- and Italy five in course Of construc-
ton. Given a fleet Of Zeppelins arriv-
ing unannounced above q British port
will the act constitute a cause Of war
II the aeroplane develops the power to
carry explosives for dropping on ar
enemy's fleet, will the practice be per-
mitted under the rules Of war?
The interesting fact in connection
with the suggested regulation Of all
travel is that it is already made nec-
essary by an invention only yesterday
In its infancy which threatens revis-
ion Of the statute books along with Its
revolution of traffic.
In advocating arrangements for
test suit, Mr. Fox seems to believe tina,
after the existing legal status Of ar
aerial trespasser has once been clearly
outlined the law may be so modified
that the air will be pronounced pub
lie highway. Legislation OF that kind
however, would be unfortunate If II
were not very accurately limited. There
Is a wide difference between navigation
Of the sea and navigation OF the air
If a transatlantic steamship is badly
handled those who are on board hel
may suffer, and she may injure another
craft which Is on the same level
There is practically no chance, how.
ever, that she will harm anybody OF
anything directly under her, at the bot
tom of the ocean. She can discard
ashes, ballast or any other materia
without fear Of doing mischief. If such
things drop from an airship, there viii
always be a possibility Of danger
danger which Is enhanced by the tenn.
peramental characteristics Of those who
engage in aerial navigation for sport.
Editorially the New York Times
says:
will the invasion of the air by
aeroplanes be repelled by suits fol
trespass?
1--WE think not. The first successful
human flight made the air highway
a possibility not contemplated in the
Roman law. Besides. there can be nc
effective possession Of the upper air by
a land owner. Re possession Meth,
er is nor btVneJ there should be nc
ownersb'nAS Seen Kny rate, this is as
sumeSip. AN6any and Switzerland
whicS GerIysed statutes establishing
rules on pa5aerial road"