The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-10-31

been cut efficiently. If it has BEEN all is well
1t it has not it is necessary for the artillery to
again strafe it, in order that infantry reg1-
ment may not start attack only to find itself
held up on German barbed wire. The saving OF
life by efficient air force absolutely colossal
The airplane must descend from the realm OF
mystery it has occupied in the public mind and
assume its practical form. 1t should be looked
a machine designed to carry man through
the air for definite purpose, and that purpose
is to help those on the ground to go forward.
We have to rid ourselves of mistaken notions.
The life OF pilot is really far comfortable
than is possible for his comrades in the infantry,
cavalry artillery. The infantry when in the
trenches shelled continually and often heav-
lily. They have to sleep in dugouts. wet
and some dry They at the whole time
except, OF course when they back at rest.
But the pilot, though his period of fighting may
continue for weeks and months at time, has a
definite job to do each day. He knows when that
job IS over he will return to clean house,
clean meal and a clean bed His morale is excel
lent. He is flying the best machine the govern
ment can supply. He does not see the dirty side
of the He does not find in the air the gas
and the filth OF the ground. 1t is not to be
dered at that he is proud to be in the air division
A certain type Of person writes the dangers
of flying and the way he prevented himself from
being killed, yet One-tenth of the untold stories
In the trenches would make the air pilots story
sound very small. Yet the airman is aII-import-
ant It would not help much if America sent ten
millions OF to France If there was not an
efficient air service back of them.
Fortunately, things going we'll. The United
States has pilots of the right kind. and the
terial is going overseas in the right way.
have been fortunate enough to 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 at home have nothing but praise for the
cadets there. And how important thorough
training 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
a gum. preponderance of fire, outmaneuver
his enemy and bring him down. There are sew
eral means and ways of achieving this excellent
without having been fired on; others have been
brought down by machine-gun fire in the air. and
a few by antiaircraft fire from the ground Again
a very small number have been shot down by in
fantry gunfre from trenches. The more Germans
brought down. the less sacrifices of life we have
side OF the lines. Say German airpIane
has come over our side Of the lines say he has
taken photographs of artillery position; say.
he has photographed trenches where we are as
sembling to attack-ft is perfectly easy for him
if not interfered with, TO take these back have
them developed and issued to the artillery He
also call up batteries by wireless and have
them train their guns the infantry so assem-
bed. Hence, it is absolutely necessary that every
hostile machine side of the lines every
enemy machine in the air at all, shall be brought
down whenever and wherever possible ONLY
by this means save our own men on the
ground.
With the afrman came the air-gunner In 1914