The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-11-21
SECRETARY Of war DANIELS SAYS
AIR CRAFTS WILDE BIG FACTOR
Declares Safety ofASea Will Become Greater When Av;.
seors Gan Locate Mines-United States Has Jagged
Because Of its L-ocation-France in Lead.

st: Louis. NO. Nov. 21.-"In my
opinion. the newly developed art of
AVIATION will not only tend to limit
the duration and scope Of hostile on.
erations, but also aid in tho control
OF the seas. n Of the elements con-
triouting materially to the power and
prosperity of a nation"
Secretary Daniels made this state.
rnent here last night in the course of
a public address upon aeronautics in
which he discussed the conquest of
the air by the United States, army and
navy and the part aerial navigation
Will take in future wars.
THE potentialities of the aero
plane, when applied to the art OF war,
use will undoubtedly BE a dominating
factor in the success of future cam
paigns." said he. THE principal roles
OF the %aeroplane IN naval warfare
will DO forN scouting and %reconnois.
sance work and for offensive destruc-
and Notifications. Rash indeed will
b the commander of an opposing feet
who would head his vessels against
the heet or coats Of al enemy pos
sesstng 9. number of these vicious
wasps Of war. and unfortunate in
deed would be a commander who did
not have ready at his, call this means
Of obtaining supremacy in the air.
Can Locate Mines.
quently is lost in practice, through
detection in direction that makes it
impossible to follow It from the
crows nest Of a ship. But an aerial
scout can follow q torpedo's course
unerringly by watching it from above.
The price Of one torpedo will pay
for several flying machines Experts
mine may wreck a 100000 900 bat
tleship. A flying machine, costing but
a small sum, would mean the ships
safety. The dirigible balloon like
wise will play al important a part in
naval warfare as the a%eroplane, and
possibly will have . greater effect on
THE United States army has seven
teen machines. with q total personnel
Of twenty-four officers. Seven more
machines are in sight. There is at
present no definite Organization, and
no plan OF cooperation between the
only four hydroplanes and three fly
ing boats. though it is proposed to
buy three more.
Arc Proven Engines OF War.
THE war aeroplane and war air.
ships are today recognized and prov
an engines of war by the leading ma
tons Of the earth. III practice. u
teal. Scouting and information in
to the aeroplane and the lighter
dirigible. and scout, information and
mining in sea operations is being CIV
en- ver to the. ~hydroplane and larger
d%irigibleS; while the large and armed
rigid dirigible. capable of CARRYING
-.~,,~~AI -. ArS1~e,.> A~A vSAa 1S~~
long sustained flights Is designed both
for scouting and for making offensive
attacks on ship, arscnals, docks. etc.
An army or fleet of the present day
operating in war without an efficient
air service against one with such
service, 1t has been aptly said. would
be like . blind man fighting another
6f equal power with all his faculties.
Location Cause of Lag.
1T is true that the United States
occupies a.position differing material
" from European nations bordering
on each other or separated by mar
row waters easily patrolled by air
craft. And therefore we have not
been forced by the pressure Of an inn
mediate danger to meet the progress
Of possible enemies. This is no doubt
other nations in developing and util-
izing our, own gift to the world. Our
scrupulous efforts to avoid all en-
tangling alliances makes it less prob
able that we will be involved in the
wars Of tho future. if there be any:
nevertheless. we may not forget that
with the Panama canal as we'll as
our coast f~ortiRcations to be protected
not only from attack by land and
water, but also from the air, steps
must be taken to train a SUFFICIENT and
efficient naval air service able to cope
with the best air fleets Of the world.
f . time Of crisis or sudden national
peril were to come upon us now the
service of the aviation reserve would
be beyond estimate ] am one of those
who believe in this future, and with
suitable assistance from. congress will
strive to bring aeronautics in my
service abreast of the important posi-
ton it holds in the various navies of
the world.
THE United States produced the
first aeroplane and the first hydro.