The Washington herald., 1918-04-18
J.P. mitchell
now AVIATOR
Ex-Mayor Of New York En-
thusiastic Flyer, Says
Holland.

For several months one OF that
snail group who are listed among the
large copper operators OF the United
States has been seeking rest and re-
stored health at Corona, near San
Diego, Ca. He returned this morn
ing having secured all that he visited
that woudeyful place of sunshine to
md. bnt IL was not OF copper and
only tnsidentaIl5 OF the !, nnbroken !,
sunshine aud Warmth which he ex-:
perienced At Corona beach. but OF the
remarkable exploits Of John Purroy
Mitchell at the aviation camp nearby
that he spoke with enthusiasm. xp-
parently not one recollection OF his
four years service as Mayor Of New
York or of his earlier service in i'm
portant public office remains with the
former mayor. He thinks only in
terms OF aviation. He Is anxious 50
to perfect himself that he may as
speedily as possible be qualified for
service In France. II he ever had
political ambition, as some once
thought he did. for service higher
than that of mayor OF New York,
that has been completely overshadow-
ed by his ambition to become q sue
csssful driver of an airplane over the
enemy in Flanders OF in France or
wherever service Of that kind may
cali him.
Devoted to Work.
Mitchell il so devoted to this
work that II Is his habit to go to
the aviation camp before he takes
his breakfast and he rises early.
He spends all the daylight hours In
. that service. In figure. in iron
nerve, in perfect health and in ac-
b. curate vision as well as in enthu-
siasm for his work, he has been al
, ready Identified as one Of the most
, promising OF the men who have
entered the aviation service AL
ready he has learned to fly and he
commands his machine as 1t rises
In the air with skill. But he some
what ruefully admits, or did until
9recently that he has not yet per-
4 fectly learned to control the ma
chine when it is in descent. He ex-
poets to master that most difficult
phase OF aviation service within a
/ few weeks.
= One thing that concerns the young
men who are taking the aviation
Straining at Corona refers to the
possibility Of a speedy shipment to
L France OF q fairly good number of
=. American airpIahes. They have
i3heard that at the wonderful plant
at Buffalo. which Is not surpassed
by any other in the United States
FOR the world possibly, and which
t~represe1ts an investment of fifteen
Eimillicn dollars little IL any ad-
svance in the production Of airplanes
has been obtained. Whatever the
reason may be this is the fact. An
apprehension is felt in other avia-
I tion camps that skillful as the
American airmen may become, it
will be sometime before they are
able to be of much service in
France because of the lack of
american airplanes.
I A Moral Influence. 3.
Naturally enough some irritation or
discomfort has been ocaasIoned by the
f,fact that II is knoIIfc That the gov
ernment will exact a tax upon what
are callsd short sales Of the kind that
Involve the borrowing Of stocks for
delivery. Those who are familiar with
stock markets will better understand
1 what this means than will the lay-
1 man who never ventures into the Sc
fCEEity market in a speculative way.
4 one source Of irritation arises from
the fact, as II IS said. that double
! taxation. as well as considerable con-
illusion and not even clear understand
tang on the part Of those who might
She liable to pay the tax. are involved
fin tins tax schedule.
7 This tax could be completely avoid
I'D we're the governors of the stock
exchange to report in favor of a re-
turn TO the method which prevailed
years ago. Then sales were made
upon the basis Of thirty days or sixty
days. In that time Is was possible
to complete the TRANSACTION so that
there would be nothing to tax. But
at this time the New York Stock Tx
,Change and all others in the country
iare strongly of the belief that the
Iduty OF the hour compels loyal md
tcheerfuI support Of the government.
If there Is TO be a double tax then
iit should be paid. The stock ex-
fChanEe has furthermore gone so lar
las to publicly and officially to urge
lalI The customers and the memsers
of the exchange and the public to
Invest every available dollar ia lib
lerty bonds. Many OF the members
iof the exchange have adopted the
partial payment plan which - eX-
lpected to be OF aid to those who
would be glad to invest and the PX-
ichange itself will gladly furnish full
information respecting this plan 10
'alI who desire TO know about 1t.
To End short Selling.
The dispc .tion is strong among the
members of the exchange and
Especially among the governors and
Also among many brokers to put an
and 80 far as possible to short SELL
ing. that Is to say the selling of
securities in such manner as to in
soIye borrowing of stock. That is
sure speculation. The exchange it.
EeIf causes investigation to be made
20 mat 1t can be learned whether
hles Of stock are continuing to legiti-
mate. transactions made IN good faith
kr whether they include also short
ksIIing. Some OF the brokers are an
bouncing that they do not care for
tccounts of short sellers at this time
Ehey believe that every patriotic and
pyaI consideration should cause
cessation In speculative movements
III this character. This attitude as
we'll a. that OF the stock exchange
reflects the disposition Of those who
ire In important or financial position
. refrain from doing anything which
night tend in the least to embarrass
he government or cause disturbance
m the money market. 1t Is learned
hat disposition Of that kind prevails
n all the large financial centers Of
he United States
As IL Il In France.
This morning an uncensored letter
vas received by q business man in
his citv whose son is an officer in
he regular army under Gen. Pershing