Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-19
BY EDWARD MARSHALL.

lean EFFORT now being changed
from war to a peace basis Is
energetic enterprise. the determi-
nation to lose no gain which has b. IN
made, more apparent than in aviation.
The United States is trying to let
nothing of her slow but finally im-
mense air effort go to waste
Any one aware Of facts az they ex-
listed knows how pitiable and how
terrible was our early failure in guam
ttty production Of aircraft at a time
when we had made solemn promises,
not to say loud boasts, to the allies.
which they had taken very seriously,
and when the production which we
promised would have ended the war
quickly.
But IL out of that tremendous and
disastrous national episode shall
come real efficiency in the construc-
ton and the use of airplanes for our
national development we shall have
retrieved ourselves somewhat, al
though all thinking men agree that
we never can atone for the millions
and the lives spent in that prolonga-
ton OF the war which might have
been prevented. all experts agree. Ii.
with competence and graftlessly, we
iidu SaTEltu OUT the WnlCH
we ourselves devised.
So
The man who Is in charge Of most
of the details of this peace time aero
effort of the government, speaking In
a very general and not at all in
technical way. is Otto Praeger, second
assistant postmaster general. He has
many dreams, but of them he will not
speak in print. He believes 1t better
to discuss actual performances only
and to consider possibilities with ex-
IRENE conservatism.
When / went to see him yesterday
l had just received q cable from a
friend In Europe asking If 1t were the
fact, as evidently had been rumored
there. that an effort was impending
on TINS side for an immediate flight
across the ocean.
Il won't say that such a fight is an
fmpossibility." said Mr.. Praeger eau
tiously, but know it is not reason
ABLY. practically sure that such an
air journey can be made at present.
A man might fly across tomorrow. but
IL he completed the trip 1t would be
sheer luck--the realization, say, OF
one chance in fifty.
his success or failure would be de-
pShuShS upOu iue most uncertain
quantity in the world--the winds that
blow. II he had the winds with him
for period of from twenty four to
thirty hours the crossing would be
easy, safe and quick. But has there
ever been time when the winds have
blown exactly right at every stage
OF the course across the sea for so
many successive hours as that?
DOUBTLESS: but we cannot be scientif-
cally certain of 1t.
The only. way, with present-day
airplanes. in which the crossing
might be made with reasonable safety
ana reasonable certainty would be to
nave the Navy string a fleet like
beads, from one coast to the other,
to act as relay ships in case of need,
but this would entail unreasonable
expense and would be a stunt, not a
practical demonstration of the use
fulness Of aircraft in transatlantic
traffic.
There are theories which are held
by experts that man might rise to
a certain height, say an altitude be-
tween $4,000 and $4,000 feet, and find
steadily favorable Winds but 1t re-
mains theory. only practical inves-
LEGATION by actual flight can prove or
disprove 1t. Personally. l do not think
1t Is borne out by land conditions. but
even with regard to this we cannot
be quite certain, for we never have
put a mail-carrying machine higher
than $500 feet. and motor efficiency
decreases so rapidly as altitude in
creases that successful flight at the
lofty levels where winds are reputed
to be steady might be impossible.
High compression motors will over
come the loss of efficiency at high
attitudes to some extent"
AT this point in our talk Mr.. Praeger
called In, as a consulting expert for
the purpose of the interview, Lieut..
Egerton of the aviation service,
youngster who has don2 as much as
any of Americas daring afr expert
mentors, and the conversation in a
sense, became hree-cornered. / shall
not quote Lieut.. Egerton directly, but
many technical points were referred
to him and settled by him.
"At the lower attitudes" Mr.. Praeger
continued, you take chances In ad-
verse winds, your speed Is reduced
and your gas supply threatened. in
headwind or in quartering wind on
the bow. At higher attitudes, should
you find steady favoring winds, you
have other problems. Egerton, here,
has risen to $4,000 feet In regular
mail-carrying journeys, and on one
special trip rose to 16. 500 feet and ex-
perienced such a decrease of motor
efficiency as to curiously interfere
with carrying a heavy mail load.
1.-THE mechanical and physical OBJ