Douglas Island news., 1917-06-29
AIRPLANES TO
 DECIDE WAR
Lieutenant de la Grange, French Flier, Talks Interestingly,
 to Americans

Washington. D. C., June 25.-"Put out the onemy's eyes! Blind him and he is lostl"
 That is the message Lieutenant Amaury dc Ia Grange, French flior extraordinary. wants carried to the American nation.
 He told the United Press today in an eloquent plea to the American peo- pie to get behind the proposed pro- gram of thc aircraft production board of the council of national defense and make possible speedy appropriations by congress Of the sums necessary Co send 5000 machines to the French battleficlds by March and 10000 machines by August, 1918. This would mean total of training and fighting machines at the front and building of approximately 5O,OOO. 1 Carry out the proposed program, Lieutenant dc Ia Grange declared, and opening of the way to Berlin is made possiblo-evcn probable.
 Carry out the program, ho said, and the thing SO far impossible of accomplishment actual breaking of the German lncs-is rendered well nigh certain.
 "This war" said Lieutenant de Ia Grange "as has been SO often told. is one of artillery fighting at long ranges. Blind artillery, obviously. is helpless. Air supremacy means blinded artillery for the other side.
 Again this war has developed in- to war of no maneuvcring. No mancuvcring means no surprises Victory is impossible without an clc- mont of surprise Given two sides where a deadlock exists, where there is even a near equality of mon and metal and aviation, and surprise, yes, even victory, is well nigh impossible
 "Lct America, with her vast re- sources and her unlimited manurac- turing possibilities. turn herself quickly to giving us air supremacy and victory is ncar-lives in count less numbers will be saved and bill lions in money will be unspont.
 "It will take you time, yes, Co start, but start Quickly-at once Inc is time, time, time; every week lost now means months lost next spring And you Americans know what Is lost each month in lives and money This is the most important job aside from that of food
 "I doubt if you could produce heavy artillery within a year. Start now on the aircraft production boards acroplano program and you give us the greatest help. You make a 1918 victory possiblc-evcn prob able.
 "The most powerful weapon with the largest future is the aeroplanc.
 "Tho acroplane has rcvolutionized warfare more than gunpowdor did, Germany cannot equal the air pre- Iponderance you can furnish Co your allies in dcmocracy's fight unless she wcakcns herself elsewhere in a military way.
 Germany has probably about 1000 machines on the western front. The allies are slightly superior. IT America turns her available re- sources into building aeropanes, Germany. Co maintain her equality in the air, would have to diminish her submarine output or something else of military use. And even then she could not equal the enormous American output.
 "The fact that America was build ling aeroplanes would put Germany in a defensive position. We do not know how she would meet this prob lem, but we do know what it would mean to us 1T we had to produce 10000 more aeroplanos than we are now planning. It would lessen our man power.
 By next March or April you should be able to send sufficient ma chimes to the front to make a great difference. It would take you four months more to produce an over whelming number-that is, four ma chimes to one German machine, which is what the allies need.
 Produce your first 5000 machines and you can then produce 5O.OOO with as little trouble and in far short CT time than it took to build the first 5000.
 "Tho matter of aviators is com paratively simple. Here, where fly ling can be done the whole year a. round, you could have the men ready and we'll trained by the time the machines were ready-in any Quan- Itity."
 GOOD FOR FAIRBANKS