The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-10-16
AMONG army officers these days


lister codes Of older nations just about
the time that travel by air began to
gain serious recognition. This explains
why the gradual Improvement of the
airship and aeroplanes as fighting ma
chimes has escaped attention at the
aerial meets, where every year records
have been steadily broken. But this
same secrecy in the Improvement OF a
potentially mighty engine of destruc-
tion makes the Improvement more sig
niticant. 1t suggests that at no dis
tant date every resource of the military
aviator may be tried to the utmost in
battle royal the like of which has
never yet been seen.
Rival Bureaus at Work.
| Already rival bureaus in the war and
navy departments are in neck and
neck race. the sole meaning of which is
that the aerial fighting machine is al
ready here. The ordnance bureau of
the navy department has already per-
fected a gun designed to aim at high
angles for the destruction of airships.
In both departments the work Of i'm
| proving the aeroplane, both as a scout
and as possible gun platform for seri-
Gus fighting, is steadily going on.
Just before he started on the tour Of
military posts which now engages
| him Major General Leonard Wood,
chief of staff. discussed military avia-
tion frankly, expressing the opinion
that battles may shortly be fought in
the air and urging the need Of devel-
oping our flying corps. While the gen
eral did not touch on this phase Of the
question, it is generally recognized
that fighting airships will tend greatly
TO eQualiZe the odds against a country
with a small standing army. This
argument was forcibly presented at
the recent peace congress in opposi-
ton to motion forbidding the use of
aerial craft in war, and it is an argu-
ment conceded to have peculiar refer
ence to the United States, which ira
ditionally has kept the army down to
the smallest possible peace footing.
81 wish 1t were possible" said Gen
eral Wood earnestly, "for every officer
in the army to take a flight in an
aeroplane with the army aviatOrs.
believe that by this means we could
Iobtaln enough officers willing to make
life study of the great possibilities
Of the aeroplane as an instrument Of
war-to make this country the fore
most in the field Of aviation. am in
favor Of encouraging aviation In every
Il nrf-
ing the bill pending In congress giving
army aviators a 20 per cent bonus in
salary-fOr l firmly believe 1t is not
idle talk to say that future battles
may be fought in the air."
In more graphic detail the same pos
sibility was outlined by Lieutenant
Colonel George Z. Scriven, who In the
absence OF Brigadier General James
Allen, the chief signal officer of the
army, directs from Washington the OPP
erations Of the signal corps.
The Lewis Gun.
"The aeroplane as an engine OF
war;" echoed Colonel Scriven when
the first question was put to him. "Of
question of firm bases for landing and
the limited flying range of the aero
planes at once come in. But suppose
a hostile fleet off Sandy Hook, for In
stance, were to attempt TO land force
somewhere, say, on the Jersey coast
AS aeroplanes have already developed
it would be impossible for the enemy
to send single boat ashore until they
had literally cleared the air
81 can't discuss the machine gun the
ordnance bureau is working on for use
from airships. But the Lewis gun vii
serve as an Illustration. That was In
! vented and patented by Lieutenan
Colonel Isaac n. Lewis of the coas
artillery, and our aviators have tried
= 1t at College Park. 1t weighs only
= twenty-five pounds and fires the serv
Ice rife bullets at the rate Of 750 shot
| Il minute, not counting the few sec
, Onds lost in changing cylinders. BE
! sides the man at the wheel and tn,
man at the gun and a supply OF gaso
line good for several hours in the al
at rate OF fifty or more miles al
Z hour, the present machine can carr.
- 5000 rounds of ammunition.
5 ''That gives you the situation. TIL
l. attacking fleet will come, OF course
: conveying transports. The decks o
3 the transports will be crowded wit
men. and II they attemDted tn loa'