New-York tribune., 1919-05-18
New Epoch i'm
Trade Opened,
Says Baldwin
Continued from page I

Germs are just about ready to Degln
business"
The reason for this overwhelming
governmental investment In aeronau-
tics, Major Baldwin said. lies in the Of
fetal belief that the day of the mer-
chant marines ascendency is done.
Aerial traffic, he declared, is cheaper,
swifter and to-day just as sure. What
the steamship did to the clipper, the
automobile to the horse, we are about
to see repeated in the case of the air.
craft and the steel merchant ship.
The Germans, he went on, have
reached the same conclusion and are
planning to make good the disruption
of their much vaunted merchant ma
rine by entering the new field on a big
scale.
Fright now," declared Major Bald
win, "there are seven huge dirigibles,
all ready to take the air, waiting in
the yards of the Hamburg
Line in Germany for the word to 60
They hope to make the trip from Ham
burg to America in two days, and count
on attracting all the trade their steam
ship line formerly enjoyed. I think
their hopes are going to be disap-
pointed, but anyhow that is what they
figure on"
The German activity, Major Baldwin
explained, has furnished one powerful
reason for Great Britain's intensive
work in the aeronautical realm lately.
Meanwhile, however, he FASTENED to
say, the United States has been by no
means idle.
"Millions of dollars" said he, "have
been spent by our government in ex-
perimental work in Texas. Perhaps
this is not just the time to divulge all
plans, but think it Is safe to say that
when the assigning Of the mail trade
and the freight trade comes to a show
down we shall not fail to get our full
share. This time, at any rate, we are
prepared"
Among the particularly notable gov
ernment achievements in the course Of
the experimental work in Texas, Major
Baldwin cited the development Of
helium gas.
"It used to cost $4,000 to get a
cubic foot of helium gas before the
war;" he said. "To-day we're getting
it at the rate Of S12 a thousand cubic
feet and, besides being within per
cent as buoyant as hydrogen, it's ab-
solutely non-infammable. And where
as hydrogen will bore through sub
stance as tough as porcelain, you can
hold this new helium gas in sieve"
Helium gas is the substance used
to charge dirigible bag. And
dirigibles, Major Baldwin ssid, are, ac-
cording to the plans perfected by the
British and United States governments
during the war, the type Of craft that
will attend to the heavier air traffic In
the new transportation era.
"Dirigibles half mile long" he con-
tinued, "are a form Of freight ship by
no means belonging to remote future.
To-day craft to accommodate 100 pas
sengers, with radius of 5000 miles
and capable of staying up for two
weeks, are in readiness to sail. They
are not going to take the air, though,
until the peace has been definitely
signed and the world bit stabilized.
Then keep your eye peeled for them"
Economic Outlook Sketched
Major Baldwin sketched the economic
possibilities this new era suggests
waste lands. utilized first as landing
stations because they are cheap, be-
SOAAAiS puONSHly pOpuldtSQ ana Tlc0
as a result Of the trade dropped into
them from the air; transportation
costs cut to a minimum through the
minimized personnel, the dispensabil-
ity of mics Of tracks, switches, watch
men, elaborated signal systems, time
saved to the extent Of millions upon
millions Of dollars worth.
"That is what this flight MEANS"
cried he. "We've dreamed Of 1t, pre-
dicted 1t. Now It's beginning"
Bertrand De Acosta, director Of pilots
and testing, veteran airman, who
trained many Of the most famous
Canadian and American aviators for
their task overseas and passed judg-
ment upon all the heavier than-air ma
chimes, took like view Of the big
flights significance.
"The scientific preparation, that's
the great thing" he agreed. "They
really can't fail, no matter what NAV
come up"
For this reason Mr.. DeAcosta believes
the flight Of the Americans Is vastly
more significant thing than the ad-
venture OF the two British airmen now
waiting at Newfoundland.
Theirs Is splendid undertaking"
said he, "and all the world should doff
ITS hat to them, as it will, but what
they're doing depends a good deal on
the individual. What we're doing Is
demonstrating the big aeronautic prin-
ciple, annunciating its dawn"
ihis expert concurs with Major Bald
viii also in the view that dirsibles
permanently will handle the bulk Of the
heavy trade.
But he added, "what lighter than
ar machines can do, heavier than air
machines also can do. That's been
snown to large extent. The present
night Is showing it conclusively. The
heavier than air machine has arrived
1or the more mobile, swifter portions
OF the new air traffic work"