Metropolis weekly gazette. (Metropolis, Ill.) 1???-19??, 1917-02-02

HYHlLE he does not Delttle the
NV navy or the Importance of
Wv th9coast defense work of the
army, Rear Admiral Peary
has devlsedN system of new warfare.
no part of which is dependent upon the
success of q, theory. that would render
the United States independent of both
branches Of the service on the coast.
Admiral Peary would have the At
lantic and the Pacific so well patrolled
by aeroplanes that no hostile ship could
approach within a hundred miles I'M
seen. Should such ship or fleet of
them be discovered he would destroy
them from the air without the navy's
aid.
He would make the aerial wireless
the means for calling triplanes loaded
with tons of explosives to sink the
ships and battleplanes to destroy any
air craft enemy ships might carry.
Admiral Peary thinks the air de-
tense service is as important as either
the army or the navy. and he wonld
have its development and conduct put
into a separate federal department
headed. by a cabinet officer. He be-
lieves the time has gone by when air
fighting should be made an appendage
to the work of the army and navy.
Positions Held by Peary.
Admiral Peary, who is chairman of
the National Aerial Coast Patrol Com
mission and of the Committee on Aero
nautic Maps and Landing Places of the
Aero Club of America, told of the wide
spread interest in the patrol and of the
possible need for it, as shown by the
visit of tile U-53, in his report read be-
fore the Aero club at its annual meet
ing In New York city. In connection
with this, he paid a high tribute to
Frederick Trubee Dawson, son of
Henry p. Dawson Of ]. P. Morgan &
Co., and his associates, who formed
the first unit of the patrol last sum-
mer.
"The plan to establish an aerial coast
patrol, consisting of a chain of aviation
stations-one at every fifty or hundred
miles along our consists developing
fest" he said. "The inexorable logic
Of actual events is working powerfully
Tor it. The public interest in the plan
has been great. and the cooperation
Of the commission has been sought by
communities and groups of individuals
throughout the country, who wish to
establish stations IN their localities.
sPortland, Me-, at one end of our
coast line, has raised the money for a
station of the patrol; Port Arthur.
TEX. ~is raising funds for another, and
fnfermediate communities are ready to
do their part. Congress is interested in
the plan. and bill has been intro
duced In both senate and house proyid-
/ ing an appropriation OF S1,500,0O0 for
establishing units of the aerial coast
patrol under the auspices of the navy
and, IN connection with the naval mill
| tia ana the naval reserve, but owing to
1 the shorfness of time and the pressure
Of Legislative business, congress did not
4 act upon it at the last session.
awe are assured, however. that.
because the measure is intended es-
<entially to train civilians in the use OF
aeroplanes for coast defense and. ow-
a64g to the shortage of naval aviators,
nuch reserve of trained civilians is OF
. vital Importance, the bill Is likely to be
PASSED and the plans go into effect in
khe near future.
Proposed Year and Half Ago.
'sAf the time the plan for the aerial
.const patrol was proposed a year and a
half ae|o international conditions were