The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-12-29

manners ant tHs stieke speech of the
 American btaaa.s exe i've than many
 men you wi ea a Q. ices over here.
 He makes sharp eesturrs when he talks,
 and talks in apiarsins, 10 at this point.
 to make the iNat.ag s1lf impressive. he
 banged his fist dorm 9o the table, not with a crash. lft sfso atically.
 Why?" ht asked s'It is very simple. We have built a machine, that is all. whose engines will stand the strain, and with the right carrying capacity You see, when our biggest bombing plane type flies for America. it will not have to carry several tons of bombs. Instead of bombs 1t can carry petrol. And it can carry petrol enough for a Journey of 5000 miles,"
 'But, I asked, "wil1 successful stunt flight mean that a regular passenger service will be instituted immediately" No" And here, althoungh I may have given the inference that he predicted reg ular passenger service within five years, as matter of fact, like the clever busi- ness man that he Is, MT. Handley-Pag avoided absolute predictions
 NOT ENOUGH WEATHER LORE
 We could not begin regular passenger service at once for two reasons" he de- clared. Tn the first place, we do not yet know about controlling direction of wireless. In the second, we don't know enough about meteorology to predict ac- tely weather conditions on the ocean.
 However, these questions, stumbling blocks though they are, can only, In my opinion, hold us up for a very short while. The most encouraging factor In aviation is the vast number of keen brains which have been devoted to solving it's problems during the past four years. These brains have been devoting themselves almost ex- clusively to such questions as gunnery, reconnaissance, speed, stabilization. And you know what they have accomplished.
 Now, as will undoubtedly happen, we assume that all those heads will very shortly go to work on the few problems remaining before us to make the airplane a successful worldwide commercial instrument. And they will take up, first of all, the study of these problems of wireless direction and me- teorology. In fact, they are taking them up, happen to know, already.
 Well, then, do you think it is. go- ing to take these men long, who have synchronized gunnery and perfected still more wonderful devices of which it is not yet permitted even to speak, to work out these comparatively simple matters? I do not believe 1t will or that they will prove by any means so difficult of solution as questions that already have been solved during the war. Consequently, I expect to see reg ular passenger service across the At lantic-well, when we shall see 1t! But expect that to be very soon. Ger tafnly there Is no doubt about our in tentions to begin 1t as soon as possible as a commercial proposition.
 NEWFOUNDLAND LANDING
 Now, this is the way" he went on, that we plan to make the trip We shall not of course, attempt the direct trip from New York to London without stop with any airplanes that have yet been produced. Consequently, we shall brake the flight into two stages. us- ing St. Johns, Newfoundland as the landing stage. Incidentally, the plan, by the way. of scattering landing stages over the open ocean for airplanes to visit when in distress or for other reasons, is impracticable and ridiculous and we are not considering it. Our planes can reach St. Johns from here without the slightest difficulty, and, of course, the flight from there to New York is the shorter leg. and as fly