New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-27
OVER THE NORTH SEA IN A MESSROOM CHAlF
"7Ae Planes Are the Eyes of the Fleet. from
Their VANTAGE Point the Ships of the Enemy
Are Sbread Below ON Vast Chart. Yes,
It Is Nesv Var. Ne0V and Wonderful War

stead of turning and following the white
line of the coast we flew on over the
land. 1t was a narrow, green strip OF
earth. and we dropped down close above
it. | saw the roofs of hangers and
shops; | knew the splendid force OF
white and gray seaplanes ranged under
those painted roofs, and | knew the
miracles which were under way in the
big shops. / had seen, in like station,
the scope of the work which must be
done, all of the building and rebuilding
in those sheds which were but one more
product of war. For those great build
ings, in common with thousand OF
their kind, had mushroomed up in a
most magical fashion in the initial,
chaotic days of preparation. And now
they were no more than little number
less threads in the big fabric of it all.
1t was when we started climbing
again that looked ahead and saw for
the first time the harbor which lay be-
yond the peninsula over which we were
flying. 1t was wide, beautiful, with a
deep shelving beach rising on one side.
And there, at anchor, was the gray flo
tilla of destroyers.
How small they looked down there
these fine ships in which is concentrated
so much of the meaning of war Then
we dropped toward them. They seemed
to be rising to meet us. | saw them
taking outline against the surface of the
sea. First there were the white marks
of the decks, each one of them a slender
oval with solid black centre amidships
and dark blot on the bow.
Then in the black centres of the de-
Stroyers | saw the tunnels. They were
like round holes, three in each vessel.
The decks might have been cut from
cardboard, shaped, with fine drawings
to mark those grave mysteries amid
ships. The destroyers did not seem to
float above the water. They were level
with it. They had form and fine con-
tour, but neither substance nor solidity.
And we were ci-cling down, volplan-
ing toward one Of the ssips, lower and
lower. | saw the deck below IT. widen,
saw at equal intervals the black gups,
delicate points reaching out over the
lustreless water. They seemed to lie on
the face Of the Sc.
And then, on the deck, | saw some
thing moving. At first / was not sure.
1t was only little black dot. But this
dot was human being. 1t moved for
ward on the white oval, very, very
slowly.
1t was then that l realized, for some
wholly inexplicable reason, the value of
the coordination between the ships of
the sea and the ships of the air. saw,
in some measure, how this new war has
created new codes and laws of war. The
planes are the eyes of the fleet From
their great vantage point the ships Of
the enemy are spread below them on
vast chart. Yes, it is new war. New
and wonderful war.
In that hotilla OF destroyers there was
concentrated such limitless power Of de-
struction that no man could estimate it..
In that singularly innocent spectacle
which was spread out below me there
was latent force sufficient to turn the
tide of battle of such proportions that
my imagination could in no wise en-
compass it. And this one flotilla, which
would on the morrow, perhaps, lie hun
dreds of miles from the wide harbor,
was but one unit, one small unit, of Brit
aims navy. | no longer marvelled at
the miracle which lies in the simple fact
that England has kept open, for two
years of war, the waterways of the
world.
And | had seen this one evidence of
the miracle from a messroom chair, a
somewhat unstable and uncertain mess
room chair which had trick of moving
about and sliding around in a most awk-
ward sort of fashion when my pilot was
banking, or wheeling about, which he
did when we had climbed up again to 9
good altitude above the harbor.