Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-03-25

DEAR ADMIRAL ROBERT E. PEARY perhaps the
N most widely known officer of the United States
Navy, dlscoverer of the North Pole, engineer and
scientist declares that the chief cities America
completely at the mercy of hostile foreign power with
an efficient aviation service
The accompanying statement by Admiral Peary is an
starting and significant warning of America IS aerial
pers as was Conan Doyles forecast of the submarine
terror IN his story Danger written Immediately before
the present
Against this deadly devastating peril have prac-
tcaly defense. comprehensive system of arcraft
guns no aviation force adequate protect our coasts
BY Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary, U. S. NAVY,
In an Interview.
10 not wish to make any observations which cannot
nr verified by fact or past performances. ! con-
. hdent and very positive that any one of the great
cities of the East could be destroyed three weeks after
any one OF several of the powerful European nations gave
the order And the destruction of New York Baltimore
single night. "
Here is how it might be done despite the acrtncss of
all the military and naval strength OF the Government:
Two or hree or four tramp steamers disguised and un
recognizable as hostile craft might come within five fen
or twenty miles of the Atlantic line at night or in
tnk weather. let loose few squadrons of aeroplanes
and await results f"
These steel swallows of the could cover distance at
speed of so to 100 miles per hour hurl enough high
explosives big city level its giant buildings and
snuff out the life of numbers of defenseess women and
children and nd men, 1t must be remembered that 800
pounds of the explosive used by the begerent ma
tons Will sink the biggest battleship ahoa So it can
readily be imagined what the havoc would be were
dozen aerial destroyers to sweep CITY with hun
dreds of pounds of this deadly dynamite
After destroying the greatest buildings and if there
happen 10 any munitions ship building plants nearby
also wplng them out of existence. the machines easily
could return to their ships Possibly the ships might be
captured or sunk. What small damage to Government
which had expended say half million on the craft when
1t had been the instrumentalty in nhictng hundred
million or billion dollars damage great city!
one might ask what our bateShps would be doing
while the tramp ships or seeking to hue the
coast or establish safe anchorage. will answer that
by asking where the allied cruisers the British and
French fleets when the Appam and other giant raiders
sailed INTO American harbors unannounced unheraded
and without any this country realizing these YES
sells were within thousand miles of Atlantic coasq
what to prevent the three raiders said to be in
South Atlantic waters sailing north and performing the
same fcatsf ~
Let us imagine they have aboard squadron or two Of
aeroplanes Wouldn't be entirely possible for one of
them to get close into and send their crs on to
Washington? Again suppose-iust snppose-that an
other Deutschland perhaps differently constructed
crossed the Atlantic loaded with aeroplanes and eSplo-
sives OF course it would be necessary this instance
to remove the wings from the machines. But could not
landing be made under of darkness some desc
late point along and the ers reassemble their
machines and send them their errands of death and do
struction?
Flights of endurance being made daily on the west
ern battle front of France IT would require no longer
flights than those being made by these experts to
reach every big city in the East This is theory but
actual rational fact There would be combating the
invading birds of prey for there nti-aircraft
guns in sufficient number to wing these lightning speed
machines We have at present sufficient and effec-
tive means to meet crisis such might be forced on lis
at any time
Personally do not believe that the drgibles or the
Zeppellns would could play very important part in
air raid on this country But do say and cannot