Baxter Springs news., 1918-08-16
ALLIED SUPREMACY
OVER, THE ENEMY
By FLOYDMACGRIFF,
International News Service STAFF Correspondent

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The air ministry established in the
past year, gave impetus to aircraft
production and unified all work con-
nected with the air service. Under
Lord Rothermore, brother of Lord
Northcliffe, the naval and land air ser
vices were united. This was the chief
work of the first Aid Minister, who
recently was succeeded by Sir William
Weir, manufacturer, able to devote
more time to putting out aeroplanes.
The Independent Air Force, which
is said to have only one authority
higher than It's own commander, this
being the War Cabinet, has been busy
bombing German cities since its Gre
alton three months ago. Four-ffths
of the German munition works are in
the Rhine Valley, and all of them
within striking distance Of these In
dependent Air Force bOmbers. Their
plan is to keep q number Of Rhine
towns in q constant state Of terror by
bombing works of military Importance
in those communities. One town may
be raided night after night for q week
or more, or it may be visited day and
night, or twice daily, whichever plan
seems to cause the most CONSERVATION
and demolition. In addition, railway
functions, ammunition dumps and bar
racks are bombed by this organization
of flyers, which works separately and
distinctly from aviators attached to
certain army corps who also may be
dispatched to do similar bombing.
The great advantage of aviators for
bombing and machine-gunning ad-
vancing columns was shown in the
March and succeeding offensives,
when time and again scores Of avia-
tors concentrated upon certain point,
disorganized q German advance, or
held a portion of the line that had CIV
en- way until reinforcements could be
rushed up by the Franco-British. On
one day these aviators fired more
than 100000 rounds into German col
umns. More than 120 tons Of bombs /
have been dropped in one day.
America is playing part in the air
offensive. Every new contingent Of
American aviators which reaches
France or England helps out in the !
general scheme of things which keeps |
the Allies masters Of the air.
The Liberty aeroplane motor will
play its part. 1t may be stated that
if for any reason the Liberty motor
should fail, or the supply of such mo-
tors fail, then the Allied air pro-
gramme designed to give even greater ,
superiority over the enemy likewise
will suffer.
The British also have shown they
are superior to Germany in aerial de-
fenses. There have been twenty-one
raids on London in the past year,
three of these by Zeppelins. But since
the visit of eleven Zeppelins October
10 last, when five of them were
brought down, four in France and one
in the Mediterranean, they have not
attempted to visit London, where the
air defenses are such that the Zeppe-
Inns do not dare to come lower than
10000 feet, which is too high for them
to bomb effectively.
Gotha raids are becoming quite ex-
pensive for Germany, the last raid,
May 20, resulting in seven machines
being destroyed. Twenty-Five avia-
tors trained for night flying are far
more valuable to Germany than two
score of civilians killed in London.
The city's defensive barrage and pro-
tecting aeroplanes are too much for
the invaders.