The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-09-17
ADVOCATES AIR PORT BE BUILT
 IN BRIDGEPORT
lcontinued from PaEe OneO

ed the need of an air ministry to de- velop commercial aeronautics and aid the United States In maintaining and building up its foreign trade.
 His address follows:
 His address follows:
 "One hundred years ago we con- trolled the foreign trade of the world. Our ships were seen in every port. Our flag was on all seas. Our sailing vessels were so fast that we scarcely noticed the performance of the American steamer Savannah, the first steamboat to cross the Atlantic. Her | voyage took a mouth; our clipper ships usually took less, and some | times did the voyage in two weeks. So we continued to pin faith to ships and let England build steamers until her merchant marine had driven us off the seas. That is what happened in the last century. Are we going to let history repeat itself in this cen tury?
 "Ouo of our scaplanes has made the voyage eastward across the At Iantic. A giant dirigible flying the flag of England has successfully com pleted her maiden voyage to America and return. We read that England is making large appropriations for avia- ton. We learn that she has deter mined to secure control of commercial air routes; that she is already build ing airships that will be able to make rapid voyages to all parts of the world, cutting down the time usually taken by fast ocean liners to about one-third. We know that our cousins are constructing air ports atrial har- bors, and other aids to aerial naviga- ton which are just as necessary in the air as on the water. But what are we doing about it? Almost noth- ing.
 "To support her merchant marine England early secured the best coal ing stations. built light houses and developed safe and fast lines of travel.
 Fast mail routes to England en- ab1ed her manufacturers to secure plans. drawings and specifications for big contracts long before they were known in this coutnry. Her business men could visit their foreign custom CTS and learn their particular needs and idiosyncracies with ease and ire quenCy. As a result England was en- abled to build up an enormous trade in South America and to secure most advantageous markets for manufac- tured products The sight of her flag
 
 tied South American ports, the fact that the safest and most comfortable steamers were English in a word the undOubted supremacy of British Mer- chant Marine, save her a tremendous handicap over us in South American trade.
 'Our neighbors in Latin America have a great deal of native pride and vanity. They like to travel on the fastest and most luxurious steamers. They like to be in the fashion Al though the great majority of the in habitants of the Andean republics are of Indian descent and belong to very ancient civilization, and are very conservative in their tastes and difficult to develope into good GUS toners of our modern manufa ctured articles the wealthy people, the rul- CTS, and the residents of Argentine and Chile are largely of European de- scent Their Spanish vanity tends to make them particularly susceptible 10 cultivation by those traders who use airships-
 ''England has alrea dy the jump on us. Her giant dirigibles will soon be a common sight in the ports of South America capable of carrying 15O passengers besides important pack ges and documents. they will unite England by new ties 10 the important ports of Busnos Aires and Rio Ja- niero- They Will enable the British manufacturer to secure two weeks in advance of his American competitor, the orders and specifications that are so important Also they will be the outward and visible sign to the South American that England is ahead of the United States
 Already agents of British Aviation interests have made a careful study of the best places for air ports and suit able harbors for the great dirigibles. Already British planes are those Commonly seen in Chile and French planes those preferred by Peru Al ready the Eandley Page people are arranging for coastal service thatf will bring the great ports of Bahia Sanots, Rio, Montevideo and Buenos Aires nearer together Meanwhile what are we doing to develOpe com mercia1 aeronau1ics?
 I've started three naval seap1anes across the Atlantic Three weeks af1er they started one of them arrived on the other side, but did not dare at tempt the return journey We shout ed over our 33 Is per cent per fOrmance so loud that we hardly noticed that England's giant dirigible, the RIA started alone arrived three days later, was badly treated here by reason of OUT failure to develop a suitable air harbor, yet made the re- turn trip successfully and reached Scotland in less than two days, 100 per cent efficient
 -"The great fleets of ships that we have recently built. and our great skill in handling seaplanes. will not enable us to compete in the worlds markets, If we neglect the lesson of the RIA We have the Helium which makes the airship safe from fire We have many brave pilots eager 10 learn and overcome all difficulties We have had a demonstration of the prac1icability of the rigid airship.
 I've need an Air Ministry that will not interfere with the development and control of Military Aeronautics. It must study the needs of aerial windbral5es. It must study the needs of aerial navigation and construct and maintain light houses, beacons, aerial breakwaters or windbrakes. It