The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-02-13
Next War TO Be Fought
In Air Says Gen. Allen

That the next great war between
world powers will be largely con-
hict of airships. and fought out in
the dark, is the prediction of Brig
Gen. James Allen, chief of the United
States Signal Corps, who will retire
to-day upon reaching his jsixty-fourth
birthday. Gen. Allen will probably
occupy a place in history as the man
who introduced aerop1anes in the ar
my of Uncle Sam. He was born in
iLaporte, Ind, Feb. 13, 1849, and grad
iuated from West Point in 1872. Dur
ing his active military career he serv-
ed in Cuba, Porto Rfco, the Philip
pines and Alaska. He was promoted
to the rank of brigadier-genera1 and
made chief signal officer seven years
ago this month. His retirement is q
source of profound regret to those in
terested in the progress Of the science
OF aviation. It is in the power of
the chief signal officer to either urge
or arrest the United States govern
ment's support OF the aeroplane indus
try.
IN an interview on the subject of
aviation given out by Gen. Allen last
Summer, he said:
The United States government is
far behind other nations in military
mviation. We have gone very slow in
the preparations for our military Gky
army Germany has a fleet of about
gtruo4fon. She has a chain of TWEEN
" stations, which are placed SO as to
guard her entire frontier and also the
area which TANKS tn sea- France
claims that she has 600 military air
machines of all kinds, while Russia is
next Great Britain falls in line with
"a present force of seventy lone machines
and plans for a military aviation
equipment of 1s1 high c1tss aero
planes.
sBx s1rilful maneuvers properly
equipped military aeroplans may wipe
out or put in retreat whole army
before sunrise, report to their base of
supplies and disorganize hostile fleet
before breakfast. With five machines,
each sof which can carry 400 pounds
in addition to the aviator and his sup
ply of fuel, a. ton of explosives could
be distributed while the aeroplanes
were going forty miles an hour. 1t
to convince the commander of any
invading feet or army that the local
fty was rather unhealtkful. The best
time foE s6eh work as this would be
ut dusk or Just before dawn, when it
is next to impossible to see an aero
plane IL it stays up 4 couple of thous-
and feet To the aviators the outlines
of boats, camps and even of individ-
ua1s would stand out with cleerness.'
Gen. Allen believes that the war
of the future may be a battle in the
clouds between aviators armed with
machine rifles. aerial torpedoes and
bombs Of powerful explosives.
Joseph Crosby Iincoln-but every
body down East calls him Joe-knows
whereof he writes when he pictures
Cape Cod Folk, for he was born at
Brewster, in the heart of the Cape
Cod country. forty-three years ago to-
day. Feb 1870. His father was
an ola cape Cod sea captain all his
life. and went down with his ship. j oe|
was educated in Cape Cod schools
and as q by entered a. brokers' office
in Boston. Stocks and bonds didn't
interest him, and he spent all his
spare time writing verses and yarns,
come Of which he sold to newspapers
and magazines. His success gave him
the pen itch, and at twenty-six he got
d job az associate editor of journal
devo4edto bicycling. His "Cape Cod
Ballads" published in 1902, gave him
wide fame, and his subsequent books
and stories dealing with Cape Cod
characters have made him a literary
celebrity.