The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-03-08
BRITlSH READY TO
 GUN FOR AIRCRAFT
Continental AVIatOrS Who Play Franks Over Forts May Set
 Into Trouble

London. March S.-A popular pas fime nowadays with Continental avia tors would seem to be flying trips by night over England. Daring air pi- lots in Germany or France leave their moorings at dusk. speed over the Channel, and then circle over British cities and forts, flashing their lights to mystify and alarm the people be- lew them With the first indications of dawn the adventure comes to an end The proving birdman heads for home. houses his machine before the sun is we'll up, and leaves the of hcfa1s of England to report his in- cursfon to the War Office in London Reports of these night visits became so general, and were at the same time so .disconcerting, that the government finally took official action and passed a bill prohibiting the passage of air craft over certain specified areas. Air craft violating this regulation will be fired on and otherwise warned away. The bill was introduced into the House of Commons by Colonel See- 1ey4 Secretary of War. and it pass ed through all it's stages at one sit ting, without discussion. It went to the Lords the day before recess, and passed that House just as hurriedly. How the measure is to be enforced has aroused considerable interested speculation. The bill authorizes the proper officers, after giving a pre- scrfbed warning, to fire at any air craft infringing this law, and to use any and every other means to pre- vent attractions The government is providing -sky guns" to repel these aerial trespassers, and it will also have the services of the naval aero planes and hydroplanes and the fly ing fleet of the army, which consists of about a dozen aeroplanes and three small airships.
 Experts have very grave doubts whether these precautions will be sufficient to prevent the midnight visits. Colonel Seeley, in introducing the bf1I said it was not aircraft be- longing to foreign governments that were aimed at. but mischievous pri- vate persons, possibly from overseas who might s'hover over places where there are combustible stores, to the great inconvenience of the people of the country
 What gave rise to the action of the government were reliable reports, in some cases from army officers, that aircraft had been seen over Dover, Sheerness, Portsmouth and Liver pool, and on at least two occasions as far west as Cardiff, always at m1ght- The first visits were paid in October and they have continued up to the present time. At first there was
 
 or to ascribe the moving lights and the noise of the propeller to some air ship privately owned in Englad. But investigation showed that this could not be, and now the government places the blame on privately owned foreign afrships.
 Some people, however, discard thi: assumption, and declare that at 1eas one of the aerial visitors came from Borkunn, the German fortress near. est the English coast. From Bor. kum it would be very simple mat ter for a modern airship to pass ovel the North Sea and even right acros! England, as in the case of the shiK that flew over Cardiff, and be back at her base before morning. Those who claim to have evidence that thi. right was made from Borkum go fur ther and say that the German gov ernment has several airships at Elm den, and that when a flight over Eng land is projected one of these craft Is taken to Borkum and the star made from there.
 According to official returns Ger many had 12 airships of large di mensions at the end of 1912, and fl Is believed that she has added to thii number since There are also 1(