The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-06-27
Gov. Baldwin Says Airship
 Law Is Good
Takes Little Stock in Accusation of New York Lawyer That
 it is Unconstitutional

New Haven, June 27.-Gov. Baldwin was to-day shown a letter from San- ford D. Stockton. Jr., an attorney from Poughkeepsie. N. Y., in New York paper, in which he suggested that the recent Connecticut airship statute might be declared unconstitu- tional because it interfered with com- merce between the states.
 Gov. Baldwin said that Congress at present had taken no steps towards legislating on aerial navigation, but he hoped that Congress would legis- late on the subject and in 1910 he had drawn up draft act of Congress en- titled 5"an act to regulate commerce by airships.'' This he had submit- ted to the American Bar association at its last annual meeting in Septem- Der, 1910, at Chattanooga, and it was under consideration by it's standing committee on Jurisprudence and law reform. A report from that commit tee is expected in July for submission to the next meeting of the. associa- tion at Boston in. August next.
 An article by Gov. Baldwin on "lia- bility for accidents in aerial naviga- tion'' was published in the Michigan Law Review for November, 1910. In that his draft act of Congress was printed at length, covering about three pages. Several of the provisions were incorporated in the Connecticut stat ute. In this article he stated that an act of Congress in respect to inter- state and foreign voyages by airships would seem desirable and that such voyages might we'll be regarded as commerce. He referred to the fact that voyages by airship from one coun- try to another had been made and had become the subject of universal public interest several years before the constitution of the United States was framed so that those who fram-
 L 1-.,- of commerce. Gov. Baldwin also said that the regulation of such commerce would be opened to the states in the exercise of the police powers insofar as Congress did not preoccupy the field and that Congress could not leg islate in such a way as to prevent the states from securing reasonable pro- tection to life and property as against airships sailing over state property.
 Among other things Gov. Baldwins draft act of Congress provides that every airship shall be in charge of an aeronaut whose competency, as such, shalf be certified to under authority of the United States; that it must either carry a United States flag of a certain size to be displayed in for eign countries. or have a copy of it painted on it's side, discernible from below; that it have a number paint ed on it that can be plainly seen from below: that it must be regis tered by this number in the office of the collector of internal revenues in the district in which the owner of charterer lives; that the owner or charterer file a bond with the collec- | tor to cover all damages to life or property incident to a voyage; such | bond not to be less than S1 900 and made payable to the United States government; that any person claim l ing damages hereunder may bring suit upon it in any court of competent Jurisdiction whether United States court state court or territorial court, | or foreign court within the jurisdic- | tion of which the damage was done | and that the airship must carry a copy of the bond, certificate of regis | tration and certificate of competency | of the aeronaut It also provides that | any violation shall be punishable by | a fine of s1 900 or 30 days in prison.