The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-10-24

been cut efficiently. If It has been. all Is well.
II 1t has not II Is necessary for the artillery to
again strafe 1t. In order that an infantry regi
ment may not start an attack only to find itself
held up German barbet wire. The saving OF
life by an efficient air force is absolutely colossal
The airplnne must descend from the realm OF
mystery 1t has occupied In the public mind and
assume Its practical form. 1t should be looked
on rs a machine designed to carry man through
the nir for definite purpose. and that purpose
Is to help those on the ground to go forward.
y We have to rid ourselves OF mistaken notions
The life Of pilot is really fur more comfortable
than Is possible for his comrades in the infantry
cavalry or artillery. The infantry when in the
trenches are shelled continually and often heav-
lily. They have to sleep In dugouts. some wet
and some dry. They are Mt war the whole time
except. Of course, when they are back Mt rest
But the pilot. though his period Of fighting may
continue for weeks and months at time, has
definite job to do each day He knows when that
job IS over he will return to clean house.
clean meal and clean bed His morale is excel
lent. He. is flying the best machine the govern
ment supply. He does not the dirty side
of the war He does not find in the air the gas
and the filth of the ground 1t is not to be
dered Mt that he is proud TO be in the air division
A certain type of person writes on the dangers
OF flying and the way he prevented himself from
being killed, yet onetenth Of the untold stories
In the trenches would make the air pilots story
sound very small Yet the airman is all-impOrt-
ant. 1t would not help much II America sent ten
millions OF men to France III there was not an
efficient air service back of them
Fortunately. things going WELL The United
States has pilots OF the right kind. and the ma
terial Is now going overseas In the. right way.
have been fortunate enough to a good deal
OF American flying men, of the training which is
going in this country and of certain number
of American cadets In England Personally, 1
have nothing but praise for American flyers, and
those mt home have nothing but praise for the
cadets there. And how important a thorough
trimming is! However well a pilot may fly. how
good his machine may be. unless he can
kill his opponent in the air he is. to all ntents
and purposes, useless. To do that he must have
n gun. use preponderance OF fire, outmaneuver
his enemy and bring him down. There
eral means and ways of achieving this excellent
result. Some Germans have been forced to land
without having been fired on; others have been
brought down by machne-gun fire In the air, and
n few by antiaircraft fire from the ground Again,
very small number have been shot down by In
fnntry gunfre from trenches. The Germans
brought down. the less sacrifices of life we have
side Of the lines. Say German airplane
taken photographs of artillery position; say
he has photographed trenches where are as
sembling to attack-it Is perfectly easy for him.
IL not interfered with, to take these back, have
them developed and issued to the artillery. He
can also call up batteries by wireless and have
them trnin their guns the infantry assem-
bled Hence, 1t is absolutely necessary that every
hostile machine side of the lines. every
enemy machine In the air Mt all, shall be brought
down whenever and wherever possible Only
by this means men on the
ground.
With the alrman came the air-gunner In 1914