Omaha daily bee., 1917-07-15
A Nary Of the Air
After the War
By Frederic J. Hask.n

| ton, but it limited progress to its own
tortuous channel.
Then came the railroad, striking d.
rectly across the plain, scaling noun
tain passes, and opening vast terri
tory that the navigable rivers never
tapped. Yet the railroad did not sup
plant the river as means of transpor-
tation. For certain classes of heavy
freight moving the river is still su-
preme.
Now comes the aeroplane, bearing
the same relation to the railroad that
the railroad bore to the river. The
rail line is less hampered by topog-
raphy than the river, but it is still con-
fined to certain practicable grades and
routes. The road for the aeroplane
lies equally open in all directions. 1t
can tap territory barred to the rail-
road. 1t will not supplant the rail-
road, but it will supplement it.
In the matter of weight-carrying
the aeroplane is still sharply limited
There is no present indication that il
will ever be able to compete with the
railroad on this score. But already
today, it can do certain things better
than any railroad can do them. II
can carry limited weight at a greater
speed than any other form of trans
port. 1t is absolutely free as to route
and direction. 1t need no roadbed,
no expensive track. Its route can be
changed without any Of the expense
attendant on pulling up tracks or
building newIroadways.
The factor of speed gives the aero
| plane at once the assurance of a mo-
nopoly of certain class of business,
where expense is secondary con-
sideration. The class of travel which
causes the railroad to put an eighteen.
hour extra fare train on the New
York Chicago run. that makes it prof.
table for the Transatlantic companies
to maintain six-day boats in peace
time, will indubitably turn to the aero
planes as means of travel as soon
as reliable service is established. Ger
| tain classes of mail matter can best
, be carried through the air. An extra
fare express service would almost un-
doubtedly pay between any two COM
mercial centers.
Many other contingencies suggest
| themselves where the aeroplane could
triumph over competition. There is
the case Of temporary gathering of
people of any sort 1t is out of the
question to lay line of rails to any
but permanent settlement, but an
aerial mail and passenger service can
be established to any point, and when
the need for it is past it can be trans,
ferred without the loss of a cent OF
investment. Mail and passenger ser
vice can be maintained to ice-bound
northern ports and Alaskan cities DUR
ing the months when the ground
routes are blocked.
Questions of cost and of safety
arise. An English authority has drawn
up a detailed plan for mail and pas
senger service operating between
| London and Paris, with four aero
planes each way daily. He calculates
all expenses down to pounds, shillings
and pence, and the result shows that
such a service could be established
tomorrow and carry passengers for a
fare that would exceed the boat and
rail fare by only few shillings. The
practicability of such service is guar
anteed by the performance of huge
aeroplanes. Machines have been built
of l,200-horse power, in which eleven
men have flown from Paris to Rome
in night. Machines carrying a ton
of explosives are flying daily in
France. A monster Handley-Page biz
plane will rise to 10000 feet altitude
carrying two small monoplanes with
aviators on its wings, and launch them
in the air.
The factor of safety has been great
ly increased. The battle-plane is not
built for safety, but a machine con-
stucted for commercial purposes
could be built, say the experts, so that
passengers would be exposed to no
greater risks than were those who
travelled in the early automobiles.
The next few years will undoubted-
ly see an immense extension of the
commercial use of the aeroplane. The
United States should not fall behind
again in making the fullest use Of this
American invention.
No Hope Whatever.
The expectant heir TO his uncle's mill
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