The Washington herald., 1919-01-13
BRIGHT FUTURE
FOR AIRPLANE
Holland Predicts Use Of
Flyers in Commerce
Within Short Time.


has not lost his interest in aircraft
production or in the speedy develop
nent OF the airplane as a means for
Transporting passengers, commodities
and mails, believing that the time
Is not distant when this method of
transportation in times Of peace Will
become one OF the most important
OF all our traffic facilities Mr.. Ryan
intimated as much as this in an ad-
dress which he made at a gathering
in honor OF forty fighting ayiators
who returned a few days ago from
Europe. He said that within five
years aircraft would make 1t impos-
sible for any hostile navy to ap-
proach within 500 miles of the Amer
ican coast without being destroyed.
This assertion was made by Mr..
Ryan while referring to the airplane
as a military weapon. Others who
addressed the forty flyers spoke in
all sincerity of the future OF the air
plane and the common thought that
ran through all these addresses was
this: Within a few years the air
plane will be looked upon as fully
as Indispensable to conditions which
will be established in days OF peace
full industry and Of great prosperity
as are any other means OF trans
portation.
Peter Coopers Locomotive.
Presumably Mr.. Ryan and the other
speakers did not know that in the
statements that they made they were
yindicating a prediction which Peter
Cooper ventured to make many years
ago. Mr.. Cooper had n few years
earlier built the first locomotive engine
that was constructed in the United
States. The triumph Of George
Stephenson in England with his loco
motive, The Rocket" was soon
brought to the attention OF Mr.. Coop
er. and he was persuaded to under
take the building of locomotive en-
gine upon plans worked out by him
self. He did do this, and although the
enine was a very crude machine,
nevertheless It did do all that Mr..
Cooper expected Of it He looked for
improvements, and lived long enough
to see the pioneers OF the great Mogut
engines. which are capable OF hauling
as many as 100 cars heavily laden
with freight. One of the fundamental
principles, however, OF a locomotive
engine was established by Mr.. Cooper
when he built the first locomotive.
Cooper Predicted AirpIane.
Mr.. Cooper's attention was after
ward concentrated upon other things
than locomotive construction. For
many years after he maintained the
distinction of being the first Ameri-
can locomotive builder But he often
thought of this machine and as a re-
suit of this contemplation he at last
ventured the prediction that in time.
perhaps after generations age had
passed, American inventive ability
would show how to drive through the
air a machine heavier than air and
whose own weight would be consider
ably increased by that of passengers
and commodities put upon 1t. The
only real problem to solve, Mr..
Cooper said, was the providing Of the
necessary means to propel an air ma
chine He seems to have had a vague
IDEA Of the internal combustion en-
gine, although that was not perfected
until some years after his death.
Having invented the afr machine and
demonstrated its practicability, il
would then Mr.. Cooper said. after
improvements had been made and the
apparatus brought to its highest ca
pacity. be used for transporting pas
sengers. commodities and mails, and
would, in the course OF time, become
a true commerce bearer.
AirpIane Operations In Infancy.
Mr.. Cooper's son-in-law, the late
Abram S. Hewitt, who narrated this
prediction. lived long enough to see
that Mr.. Cooper was justified in
making it Now the ablest expert
authorities and the present-day mas
ters Of the art and science Of aerial
transportation speak in public of a
future for the airplane which will
demonstrate its great commercial
Importance. In England they are
preparing for long distance traffic by
means Of airplanes and the predic-
tion is made in all sincerity there
that within a few years a great feet
of airplanes will be operating be-
tween England and Europe and even
India and operating commercially.
Mr.. Ryan is understood to believe
that our own government and the
aviatOrs will speedily have worked
out problems whereby mail aircraft
between important centers will
make their trips as regularly as do
the mail cars upon our railroads and
at far greater speed. He also be-
lieves that more and more passenger
traffic, especially that which rep
resents the desire to make rapid
trips between commercial centers,
will be under way and furthermore
that aircraft will be used to
greater extent for the transportation
os commodities, such for instance as
the class of commodities known as
express freight.
The Liberty Motor.
Since the beginning of the war many
Improvements have been made in air
craft construction. and probably all of
them will be permanent unless here
after inventive genius is able to fur
nish something better. But the heller
prevails that there still remains one
important accessory for successful
commercial employment of the air
planes and also for increasing Of the
safety Of it, and that is the Iubrica-
tion OF the machinery. The suspicion
is strong that some of the accidents
that have occurred have been due tn
Inadequate fabrication. Ir fact. that
belief seems to be justified. because
the government In Washington a wear
ago undertook to provide a sufficient
amount OF castor oil with which 70
lubrtcate the airplanes. ASSERTING tbs,
Chis vegetable oil possessed lubricst
ing qualities which the mineral oil Ala
not have.
Therefore the government capsad
ii ~