Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-02-16
FUTURE OF AVIATION
BIG IN POSSIBILITIES
Movement Under Way to Have Separate
Department Develop Art for
Commercial Uses.

-IdI uses.
jumped in and took up aviation In
an impetuous way without trained
supervision. and has made some mis-
takes. These three departments
have held aviation as a public serv-
ice to restricted uses because they
are Of the definite performance
school In the government service.
1t is because they want to see ayia-
ton taken out of this circumscribed
school and given an opportunity for
expression, to meet its wider destiny
and broader opportunities, that lead
ers in the government seryice-the
men who dream dreams and see Wis.,
ions and then try TO work out their
dreams and their visions-want to
have a government aviation establish
ment which yili view the subject by
and large, and without restrictions TO
or from any now existing departments.
It is proposed to have a commission
or department in which these two
types can meet-definite service and
@ofh OUT tl6 Oc&(
plan for co-ordinating the interests
of all government departments and
the still wider field IF utilization In
commerce.
In the government service there Is
wide and varied use for airships.
but their biggest service to mankind
will be through private business use,
developed by private capital with the
cooperation. encouragement and adj
vice of federal agencies
One need but think back q few
years to the birth of the steam loco
motive. the steamboat. the telephone
and telegraph, radio, the gasoline en-
CINE, to see how aviation is destined
| to revolutionize commerce and mod
ern life.
Revolution Is :Foreseen.
| The interests Of government depart
ments and bureaus in aviation are
also indicative of how varied its flu
! ture may be, and at the same time
emphasizes the need for a distinctive
agency that will correiate all these
interests and enkindle imaginative
genius to expedite development of
aviation.
The War and Navy Departments
have used aviation simply and solely
for military advantages, and the
achievements have amazed the world.
The Post Office Department has
time use of the airship by tsstablfsh-
ing mail routes
| The railroad administration u ysoi<-
/ ing forward to using the asr0plane
/ as an adjunct-~s speedy qtiek snFy-
ice for parcel. delivery and for EuD11
transit of passengers on urgent mis-
sions.
! The Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion would inevitably come into this
later.
The bureau of standards has been
| busy during the war on tests Of motor
| fuels, propellers and the whole range
of physics, with the study of instru-
ments as particular accessory line.
Practical Uses Found.
The bureau Of mines and the bureau
Of standards necessarily come into
close cooperation. The former IL
| particularly concerned about the raw
materials and fuels, including oils
and mineral materials The entire
subject OF alloys comes into the twi-
light zone between the bureau of
mines and the bureau of standards.
| The bureau of mines has practical
| use for aviation in prospecting, and
as early as 1912 extensive plans were
made for carrying supplies into
Alaska. at which time, even with the
| primitive methods then employed. it
was found cheaper than the existing
| means of transportation. Aviation
as a means of transportation for the
prospector becomes more and more
necessary as expeditions into the re-
mote places of the world are planned.
The forestry service took a notable
interest during the war in searching
out wood supplies for propellers. and
the forestry service will have an i'm
portant use for the airship in watch
ing for forest fires and patrolling the
national forests.
The bureau of chemistry has per-
formed important work in studying
| waterproofing and fabrics for the
, manufacture of the airship, and In
! determining the relative merits Of
| nitrate dope" and cellulose aoetate
for treating the wings.
The weather bureaus interests thus
far have been principally in the sub
ject of instruments and in charting.
Valuable in Scouting Work.
The Department of Agriculture is
using the airplane for important
work, putting the heavier-than-air
craft TO it's first practical test for
scouting and other survey work in
Texas.
a tryout of this method of survey
was made last year along the Trinity
river and resulted in the discovery of
several outlaw cotton fields in heavy
timber, which had previously escaped
detection. This year the airplane is
to be used more extensively. 1t has
been found valuable aid In pink
bollworm work, as it makes possible
the easy mapping. by means Of photo
graphs, of the quarantined territory,
and facilitates the inspection work in
forested areas, especially in such
long stretches of country as the val
lev of the Rio Grande and its tribu-
taries.
Progressive Interest Shown.
The geological survey has been