The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-08-24
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INF ORM A TION
Blu RE AU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Director.
Washington. D. c.
THE AIR SERVICE TO-DAY.
Washington. D. c.


Washington, D. c., Aug. 21.-The
needs 10000 additional recruits is
striking evidence of the growth which
this branch of the service has under
gone.
1t will be remembered that on
March 10 (or.thereabouts) of this year
the air service was definitely closed to
all enlistments. The aviation section
had then gone far over its allotments,
and SO strong was the appeal of avia-
ton to the mind of the potential SOL
der that other branches of the army
were unable to compete with it a. the
recruiting stations. 1t was stated then
that whatever increase became neces-
sary in the air forces would be made
from registrants in the selective draft.
So swift has been the development
of aviation here, that the draft is I'M
able to fill the requirements without
injury to other arms of our fighting
forces. With this proposed increase
of 10000 it's enlisted strength will be
one and a third that of the entire
American army Of a year and a half
hago. When America entered the war
what was then the aviation section of
the signal corps provided for about
1,100 enlisted men. AT the present
time the air service has a total of
147.4 34, not counting officers, civilian
| instructors and cadets in training
| Still this is not enough.
Forty-seven men on the ground for
| each pilot in the air is the ratio esti-
mated by officers as the maximum
needed. In q mechanism so delicate
| as that of the airplaHe, where a loose
| screw may result in the loss of pilot
or, even worse, of a battle-the most
! minute scrutiny must be given to the
work of manufa cture, assembly and
! repair. The soldiers of those aviation
! companies whose duty it is to care for
the machines must be veritable
prodigies of mechanical skill. Draft
| men already in the army, and the
rosters of technical schools have been
| combed for them. Yet not nearly
enough have been found.
| So it is probable that a new appeal
| for aviation recruits will be sent
| broadcast thru the country; and that
| a special effort will be made to reach
| men under and above draft age, and
men classified for limited military
| service.
1t must be remembered that only
the highest grade of skilled workmen
are wanted. The unskilled man, or
the man with a superficial knowledge
| OF his trade is apt to injure both the
service and himself by making appli-
cation. for should he be shrewd
enough to slide by the careful ques-
| tioning of the recruiting officers, his
| ineXperience will betray itself later at
| the concentration camp, and result in
| his transfer to a regiment of the line.
Airplane mechanics of bona fide ex-
perience are most badly needed. Cabi-
net makers are wanted for the deli
| cate woodwork which forms three
| fifths of the modern plane. Chauf-
| feurS, auto and motorcycle mechanics
are needed to assemble and repair the
engines and motors. Radio operators
are offered exceptional opportunities
| in the air service. A few clerks and
| stenographers are wanted for handling
the necessary details of military ad-
ministration.
Immediately after enlistment all re-
cruits will be sent to a concentration
| depot, probably at Kelly field, Texas,
or at Mineola, N. Y. Each viii be
put thru a rigid examination in what
| ever trade he processes to follow.
| These tests will be conducted by Of
| ficers who are themselves experts of
various trades Recruits who fail to
| come thru the tests in a satisfactory
manner will be dispatched summarily
| to combat branches of service; those
who pass will be given an intensive
| schooling in the new science of air.
| plane mechanics, and afterward Or
| ganized into airplane crews and
| squadrons.
Some of these crews will remain in
| the United States to care for planes
|
| of them will be shipped to the large
| testing fields overseas.
| Whether or not the aircraft pro-
gram has been bungled as charged.
| whether or not our allies have lived
up to all of their pledges, it is certain
| that the time when all American fly
ers on the western front are fighting
| in planes of American manufacture is
rapidly approaching.
| In the big American flying fields in
! T. Vic hni inc h ad
as rapidly as possible with a restrict
ed number of mechanics. These are
mostly Hendley-Page machines of
| English manufacture. The shipment
| of Hendley-Pages from America. for
| which the American public has been
so long looking, will begin in a short
time. How quickly they will get into
| battle depends upon how quickly they
are assembled and flown across the
channel. This, in turn, depends upon
semble them. Most Americans do not
appreciate the difficulties entailed in
this work.
Perhaps more than any other
branch of the service, the aviation
corps offers to the recruit real oppor-
tunities. 1t is possible that infantry
drill and field artillery schooling will
not be of great value in the placid
j days to follow the var; but there are
many who believe that the growth of
aVlauon VIII De even more pnenOme-
nal than it has been to date. The
field for the skilled airplane mechanic
will be as wide as the world.
| - Names in the News:
The Social Democratic party is more
highly developed in Germany than in
any other country. It is formed from
the laboring classes and would be a
power in the reichstag were it not
for the inadequate apportionment of
seats. 1t favors a policy of peace
abroad and social reform at home. the
latter including the abolition of class
government and universal equality in
rights and duties irrespective of sex
or rank.
N TRAVELETTE