The Florida star. (Titusville, Fla.) 1880-1917, 1909-01-08

~A2-''-~
Property.
~In q short time the United States
supreme court win have TO take up
this new question OF right Of way
through the sky. No; that Is not an
aerial joke. II IL already being seri-
ously considered by the governments
Of Europe and win b one Of the Inn
portant questions taken mp by the
International Aeronautic federation.
which meets I'm London. Jan. TO-"
This M q statement recently made by
Cortlandt n. Bishop. president OF the
Aero Club Of America, who is an I'm
portant factor in European aeronantics
40 well as In the United States.
Mr.. Bishop was asked II be expected
70 see Thomas y. Ryan or some other
American capitalist going out after all
the valuable aerial franchises, but he
was not inclined to treat the matter
Gippantiy.
II know it sounds fantaStic," he said
20 reporter Of the New York Herald,
hut really there Is NO Joke about It.
The house OF lords and the United
States supreme court VIII be found
struggling with this new legal problem
before we know II, because It II q
thing that must be settled Just AZ
much as the right OF way for railroads
had 10 be settled years ago.
~AB q matter Of fundamental law
every man In n dirigible balloon or an
aeroplane IA guilty Of trespass when
no passes over another mans land.
he has no more right to san q mile
above your farm than he has to build
tunnel under II. OF course the thing
locks absurd now, bat withIa the next
decade. probably much sceher than
that, these cases win be In the courts
and win have to be decided one way
oG another.
''Tha English common law, which
was supposed to be built upon common
sense and to apply to all matters Of
human difference for all time, holds
that mans title to land extends to
the core Of the earth and 20 the infln-
tiles Of the heavens. Every boy in law
school learns that very early in the
course The old civil law, which was
modelled after the Roman law and
which lathe basis Of all European con-
tinental laws, has the same provision
concerning trespass.
There is no question whatever that
man may control the space above his
land, and therefore, unless these basic
laws are modified, 1t Is not dificuIt to
zee that there Is a very interesting
time ahead for aeronauts and aviators
when aerial craft shall come into COM
mon use. And there is no question at
all that they will come into general
use much sooner than we expect"
at win be q somewhat difficult task
to apprehend sky trespassers, will It
notr" Mr.. Bishop was asked.
"0h, WELL" he said, 81 suppose that
matter wiz take care Of itself. No
doubt we shall have aerial police, but
I am simply talking about the legal as
peet Of the thing Who owns the soil
owns to the sky. That was the law of
the early Normans In England, and
that Is our law today. So you can see,
to use bit OF slang, what aviatOrs are
mp against"
Mr.. Bishop told what steps had been
taken in France toward meeting these
aerial legal difficulties.
Already" he said, "the Aero Club
Of France has established a standard
price for an acre to be paid by aero
nauts and eviators for damage done to
field crops. This provision is chiefly
for ordinary balloons, but in the cities
Of France laws are being enacted to
provide for aeroplanes, which, It is
realized over there. will soon be a COM
mon mode OF travel.
rIn Paris the police have been In
structed to go Immediately to any aero
plane or dirigible landing within the
city limits and search Ii for taxable
food, liquors or gasoline. There are
now something like fifteen or eighteen
places In Paris set apart for the land
Ing Of aeroplanes. and the police un-
derstand that a little later It will be a
part Of their duty to watch these
spots just al much as the gates OF the
city are watched now to levy tax on
all gasoline In automobiles purchased
outside Of the city.
The French people recognize that
aeroplanes and dirigibles are soon to
change conditions there radically, and
they are preparing for the new order
OF things. The hardest thing to con-
troll will be local smuggling. One-half
or two-thlrds of the revenue Of French
cities comes from the 'octroi,' the tax
levied upon all food and liquors
brought into the cities from the out
side. This law is especially annoying
70 motorists. These automobiles in the
air WIN be able to slip into the city at
any ecnyepient point at any hour OF