El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-07-04

II 7 $3.50 4 ~ IL - A-l ! as
w United States having given the
world the science Of aviation
in the inventions o. the Wrights. IS
now about to take its place among the
world forces in air power.
As a result Of the Hay bill, which
has passed the house and has been IA
vcrab!y reportCo to the senate by the
committee on military affairs, the
United States is to have an army avia-
ton corps which will be able to uphold
the honor of the stars and stripes in
any conflict instead OF only the germ
Of an air fleet
Al the present time, the army avia-
ton corps. under the direction OF Col
Samupel Reber, though a compact and
essentially efficient body and capable
II giving a maximum amount Of ser
ice with q minimum Of equipment, is
-nflnlteslmal with the like OrEaniza-
tons Of other firstclass powers. In
fact, If Is only through the Hay bill
that the aviation corps has been given
a separate status from the signal corps
with which 1t has previously been al
fiiateo-
Has No DIriEibIeS.
The United States has nothing in the
line Of fighting apparatus for use IN
the air with the exception OF aero
planes-uot a single diriEible balloon
or other lighter than air TesSl which
night be used for offensive work.
rance alone maintains a fleet of 22O
5alloons and dirigibles. while Germany
and Austria are not far behind
The American fleet of aeroplanes,
now divided into four sections. is To-
Gated at Galveston. Tex, San Diego,
Cal. and in Hawaii and the Philippines.
These airships are used only for scout
ing, but they will form the nucleus for
-
As Col Reber recently said;
Scout System First.
We must start BY perfectInE our
scouting system. as child first learns
10 crawl After that he may take up
walking and before long he will be
prepared for running Turning in
this case means that we will have q
full fleet Of offensive airships"
The aeroplaneB work during the
present trouble with Mexico has been
entirely in the hands of the navy
HYDRO aerOplane force and has been
very successful. The army force Of
aerop!anes. with the exception Of those
IN Hawaii and the Philippines. has
been maintained exclusively on the
border.
Sixty Officers 26O Men
Under the Hay bill. the aviation sec
ton Of the army will consist Of not /
over SO commissioned line officers. with
rank below that OF captain, as well as
ECO enlisted men. These will be de-
tailed for periods CT not more than
four years The Officers, who VIII .
first &c through a course as aviation /
students. viii be selected on the recon- I
mendati0n Of tho chief signal officer /
from amo1g the unmarried heuteuants /
OF the army v no are not over 30 years +
OF age There ie = provision in the /
bill however. that no man shall be /
forced to serve in this branch Of the
service against his will
It is further provided, on account OF
the extremely hazardous nature Of the
work. that each aviation student shall
receive increased pay, the same per-
of increase applying to the en-
listed men as to tie offers.
After the passage OF the Hay bill
only officers and men who have passed
an examination before a board COM
posed Of three officers experienced in
AVIATION and two medical officers may
be admitted TO the aviation corps. This
medical examination will be particu-
Larly severe The condition Of the heart
when exposed to high altitude is ex-
lniired and the severest tests of Wis
lon and hearing, as well as sense %
balance are 10 be imposed