Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-09

headquarters, arsenals, commissary and
quartermaster depots. public buildings.
docks, ships. etc; the second would catch
troops when they are massed in close
formation, or crossing bridge or when
discovered by the man overhead in any
other narrow space. such as a narrow
mountain defile. the incendiary projec-
tiles are long. hollow, metal cylinders,
with solid sharp-pointed steel heads.
with a percussion cap, and loaded with
nitroglycerin. or something just as bad.
for the purpose of ignIting stores of OH.
gasoline and other infammable sub
stances: aerial projectiles are for use
against other aeroplanes. Very little has
been done in this field. aside from the
invention of an aerial torpedo by Col.
Unge OF the Swedish army.
The best aerial bomb thrower in the
world is an American. He is Riley +.
Scott. a former lieutenant In the army.
In this one instance alone, and only SO
far as this individual aviator is concern
ed. does the United States now have any
standing whatever as an aviation coun-
try. In 1911 Lieut.. Scott participated in
Paris in an international competition of
dropping dummy bombs on a target.
Prizes totaled $4,000, and Scott won the
whole series. From height of 5000
feet he was able to place twelve out of
nfteen shots on a target within a radius
OF thrty.three feet.
Passing by SCOTS achievement of
over three years ago, this country the
pioneer of aviation, the home of the
Wrlghts. the greatest aerial inventors.
Is not worth mentioning today in in
ternationai aerial competition France,
Germany. Great Britain and Russia
have left US so far behind that there is
no comparison. Even Japan is spend
ing Sl,OoO,oO0 year while after many
signs we parted with less than s15Ooo0.
counting both the army and the navy.
italy. Belgium. Austria, Chile, Bulgaria
Greece, Spain and Brazil are ahead of
us.
Since the Wrights taught the world
aviation Germany has spent SOS. 900. 80
on the science,
Nations Are Spending including the
Millions on Aviation. oe the dir.
gible: France. So. ooO. 900: Russia. $1,000
600: Italy. ss.OOoOoo: Austria, $1,000, 600.
etc. Our total expenditure has been
less than 100000. At the present time
France is spending s7,50o.OOO per an
mum. and Great Britain. Germany and
Russia about s5o0oooo each. France
has twenty dirigible balloons, COO aero
men besides waiting list of COO. We
boast of twenty military fiiers, less than
ten of whom have received military avia,
tors licenses. We have seventeen aero
planes, but not a single dirigible.
The value of the dirigible appears not
to have dawned on our government at
all, although army and navy authorities
have been keenly alive to the situation
And yet, the dirigible is the battleship
of the air. while the aeroplane is the
dispatch boat and the scout cruiser OF
the astral service. Germany has pro-
tected the dirigible more than any other
country. while no great nation has neg
lected 1t SO completely as we have.
A dirigible balloon costs about SIS 0nO
while a good military aeroplane can be
built for less than $4,000 with bomt
and gun equipment. On the other hand
the dirigible can hover for hours over
an enemy's position. 1t can operate al
night. and with a searchlight spy out
every movement of troops. 1t can carry
a crew of twenty and a military landing
party of fifty. 1t can carry human
freight equipment. explosives and ma
chine guns up to a total weight of five
tons The value Of such an engine OF
warfare to us in Mexico would be beyond
calculation.
When 1909 dawned the United States
through Wilbur Wright. held all the