The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-11-13
War i'm the Air.



tons Of cargo weight to arms and am
munition. This could include ten ma
chine rifles, each equipped with am
munition enough for a full hours
work, and two machine guns Of the
type built for the Zeppelin l., with
200 shells for each weapon. Two and
a half tons of dynamite torpedoes
could be substituted for half of the
machine guns and their ammunition
if it We're desired to attack fortifi-
cations or cities. Forty craft of this
kind could be built and armed at the
cost Of one Dreadnought battleship.
And such feet, without opposition
from other airships, could conquer
Western Europe. The moment it is
launched, the standing armies CT Eu-
rope become an a1chronis1n."
In the face Of the present showing
OF the airship, and Of the possibilities
Of the aeroplane as a kind of torpedo
boat in aerial warfare, it will be o.
served that Germany takes no step 10
lessen her land forces or to interrupt
her naval programme. If the Ger
mans believed from the experiments
they have made that armies certainly
could be scattered in panic by ma
chine guns from Zeppel:ns and bat
tleshipS blown out CT water by tor
pedoes dropped from balloons, there
would be effected at Cnce an en0r-
nous saving in the old fashioned mil
itary establishment and the waste
would be diverted TO the manufacture
of a flock OF the new and overpower-
ing engines of war.
But like England, which is now
laying down four super-Dread-
noughts. Germany awaits the test Of
the aerial batleship in actual battle.
Great things were expected from the
submarine torpedo boat, but it is Of
small practical value so far. While
there can be no question that the
Zeppelins will cut a large figure in
the next European war, and may be
of such efficiency as to decide the turn
of battles, no less as fighting ma
chimes than as scouts, those who hope
for the most from them consider them
still in the experimental stage, so far
as war is concerned, and regard the
command of the sea as still Of far
more vital Importance in military
strategy than the command of the
air.
If the aerial battleship does take
the scene of armed contention off the
face Of the earth and the waters
thereof, as possibly it will in the
course of time, there need be no fear
on the one hand that it will make
war more horrible or on the other
that it will put an end 20 war. If the
airy navy becomes such terrible en-
CINE of destruction as it is pictured
in prophecy, armies and battleships
OF course will no longer be main
tanned. Nations will go up in the air
to arbitrate their quarrels when d.
plomacy fails. Yet the notion that
frightful havoc, including the de-
scruction of cities and the slaughter
of non-combatants, will follow the
perfection of the balloon battleship
and the aeroplane is not warranted.
Public opinion, whose force as
world power is gaining every year,
will order this matter. Just as dunn
dunn bullets are forbidden by the
civilized nations, and as many other
rules are rigidly adhered to by pro-
peoples. so will the scope of
operations by the new battleship be
prescribed and limited Cities will be
Immune, and so will be all surfaces
Of the earth and sea that do not con-
tain belligerents. The warships of |
the air will fight it out between them
selves. and the victory, as now, will |
90 to the commanders who show the
most skill and valor in the struggle. |
War will be confined more than ever
% professional fighting men.-Edi-
:orial in the New York Press.