The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-13
SUGGESTION MADE ID CANON|zE COLUMBUS Plan Meets With Strong Op-
 position, However
FATAL AIRsHIP FLIGHTS
Mime. Rostand DispeIIs Great Writers Visions of Taking Flight In Air ship of His Own-Incidents
 From French Capital
BY PAUL VILLIERs

Paris, November R.-(Special. .)-Devout French Catholics who revere the memory of Christopher Columbus are urging the Pope to canonize the great discoverer of the American continent. The proposition was preached many years ago. But those who supported this movement met with almost insurmountable difficulties, for the required conditions could not be found in the life of Columbus. The con- ditions are that one must always have led a saintly life and performed at least, two miracles. Besides the cause of the proposal for canonization must be pre- sented by q bishop living where the pro- posed saint lived. or in the place where he was buried. Now. there was no Amer ican bishop when Columbus discovered the country.
 It is not probable that the advocates of canonization will succeed; both churchmen and influential laymen are op- posed One of the most influential. op- ponents of the proposed idea is pro- lessor in the Seminary of Rome Abbe Sanguineti. In the two pamphlets he wrote, he says there was an event in the life of Columbus which was a violation of the laws of the church, and a viola ton of civil laws. g The railway strike was an ugly event, and its significance is not destroyed by its sudden and ignominious collapse The movement was spasmodic, ill-con- sidered, and ill-organized Apparently the strikers did not quite mean business this time. They went out in hurry with | the idea of fight to finish They had not made sure of the support of the pop ulaoe
 Some men who have gone into the causes of the trouble think the govern ment erred in calling some Sf the strik- CTS to serve in the army during the strike.
 They say that policy Of the government l in that respect supplied violent social ists with an almost unanswerable argu- ment that the army Is an instrument for | their enslavement Henceforth socialists | will devote themselves with redoubled energy to teaching the soldier that the state has no right to employ him against his own comrades, that his military ser l vice is given for the protection of his country against foreign enemies. not for | the protection of native employers against demands of native workmen. The
 
 the republic already without such incen-
 tives as have now been administered to it.
 Fatal airship accidents occur almost daily, and yet for every one who is killed there are ten ready to run the same | risks. The women are as enthusiastic as the men. Mime. de Laroche, who took part in an aviation contest last ~..-y bad crushed She remained at Rheims to be taken care of. and after three months of great suffering has come back here but will be unable to walk for several weeks and yet she Is determined to continue her flights.
 Unlike Mme. de Laroche. Mime. Aa- mond Rostand, the wife of the noted author, does not intend to see her hus- bands thigh and arm in a sling When Tabuteau flew he passed over Rostand's house at Cambo In the Pyrenees The exhibition so impressed the creator of ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' that he composed a sonnet in honor of the flight and also decided to buy an aeroplane. Nine Ros- tand stepped in. She did not mind ner good hubby writing -,'.ship sonnets but she drew the right line at any skylarking on his part. Rostand begged and en- treated and even enlisted his sons ser vices to change her mind Mme Ros- tand, however. remained like adamant. The author will not fly
 The new army law has increased the artillery of each French army corps by six batteries of A guns, and raised the total number of guns In each corps to 120 The new organization was tried for the first time in Picardy and proved very satisfactory.
 The army retains the system of corps artillery. Each corps has three artillery brigades, each of three batteries, placed under the direct orders of each of the two divisional generals, and four bri- gades, each of three batteries, placed un- der the direct orders of the army corps commander. These guns are 75-mm. quick-irers. There are no howitzer batteries in the corps. and the heavy batteries of 120 and 155-mm are army organs, not directly at the disposal of corps commanders. It is generally conceded by the best military opinion in Europe that in point of material and training Frances artillery is unriyalled longer experience of the quick firing gun, and the fact that it is peculiarly suited to French temperament and char acter, has been turned to good account
 Recently battery at practice camp has pesn seen to open fire at $500 metres against targets representing infantry CoHcedieu pelOW the slope Of hill to complete the practice in two and one half minutes, and to obtain GO per cent of hits.
 TWO military experts have written in- teresting articles concgning the em- ployment of aeroplanes in war. The first of these deals with experiments made by officers of Chalais- -Meudon Is destroy ing dirigibles. The method employed was to drop arrows, each carrying a small explosive charge. which burst on coming in contact with the envelope of the balloon, setting fire to the gas. A number of small captive balloons were secured round Eiffel tower, and the ar rows were dropped on them by hand from the first stage. In every case the arrows exploded, destroying the balloons. The idea is that an aeroplane or a dirig- ible with superior speed shall get above the enemy's dirigible and drop the ar rows upon it.
 The other article deals with the em- ployment of aeroplanes as fighting ma chimes.
 The winter begins by pointing out that aeroplanes have made flights of GO miles, carrying two passengers. It is poss3ie to do this and it will be equally 'P6ssible for the aviator to carry a quantity of