Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-06-22


An American air navy of thirty thousand ma
Tchines which it is the Governments announced
purpose to build, will go far toward shortening the
war and making victory sure. Reinforced by that
swarmirg feet the French and British air service,
which already is superior to that of the Germans,
will become decisively powerful That is to say
il will become powerful enough to drive Ger
many's air squadrons from the battle line and to
keep them away, thereby putting out the enemy's
ewes as far as reconnaissance goes. When that is
done. the Kaiser's armies be beaten out of
Belgium and France.
The Importance, indeed the necessity, of air
planes for scouting and range-fnding was demon
strated in the earliest stages of the war. The
speed with which the Germans took supposedly in
vincibIe fortresses a matter Of aeronautics as
well as artillery; and the splendid hardihood with
which the French finally stood their ground, par
ticularIy at Verduns due in considerable
measure 10 their improved air service. At the out
set of the war the British woefully deficient
in this respect but, applying themselves vigorously
TO the problem, they built up an air fleet formid-
able both for numbers and for the power of the
machines as well for the skill and courage of
the aviators For speed and effectiveness the Brit
ish battIepIane has equal. The Allied aircraft
now in service on the western front far into
the thousands and being recruited continually.
The Central Powers, realizing what vast
quences hang upon air supremacy. straining
their giant industrial snews Offset and If posi-
BILE exceed the combined output of flying machines
from England and France. 1t is for the United
States to determine the issue by throwing its pro-
ductive power and resOurcefulness fully into the
balance.
In building air navy shall have to be-
gin virtually at the beginning When General
Pershing started his expedition into Mexico
there only eight ten serviceable airplanes
Ia ale and fS fha ~
an adequate squadron for his expedition to France
When We essay to settle the question OF air-mas-
terry in this enter upon titaE's task.
Merely to keep the gars in the French and British
air forces filled would be a monumental labor; the
loss OF airplaDes the western front, Germanys
included, recently has high as eight hun
dred month. But we must do much more than
keep our allies up to their present degree of eff
fectiveness. We must make the air power directed
against Germany overwhelming that her coun-
ter forces will be helpless and her armies hope
lessly blind.
Stupendous though It is, this task is not too
much for American resources The same methods
that have enabled our automobile manufacturers
to perform marveIs OF speed and economy in pro-
duction be adapted the business of pro-
ducing aeroplanes Automobile plants will be
pressed largely into for making the stand
ardized engines while the wings and other parts
can Oe Out IdpAuis at WOODWORKING
factories. Thus IL will not be necessary TO wait
upon a sufficient increase in the number of aero
plane factories, OF which there now only eight
i'm the entire country The problem of securing
competent pilots for the thousands of planes to be
built is not difficult at first II might seem.
For some months past there have been file at
Washington applications from upwards of twenty
thousand young who eager to enter the
air service of the army navy. That Americans
are apt in learning to handle flying machines and
make especially skillfuI and daring air fighters is
well attested by the record OF the hundreds OF