Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-12-26
SEES SUN'SRAYS
AS WAR WEAPON
OF THE FUTURE
WASHINGTON.

WASHINGTON. Airplanes
"roosting" $4,000 feet in the air will
destroy ammunition dumps and entire
cities seventy-five and 100 miles
away without firing a shot or drop
ping a bomb.
That was the contention made be-
fore the house committee on &C.
counts by Captain Eddie Rickenback-
err Of Columbus, Americas "ace of
aces"
Through perfected lenses" Rick
erbacker said, 1T will be possible for
airplanes to focus rays on targets
more than seventy-five miles away,
which will set fire to the object.
There is no doubt in my mind that
electric lens devices will be provided
to do that very thing, and with an
alrplane in the air $4,000 or 10000
feet there will be a great range"
Committee Members In Doubt
When some members of the COM
nlittee, which has been Investigating
expenditures in the war department,
expressed some doubt over the prac-
ticability of the idea, Rickenbacker
continued:
You know that you can set fire
to a piece of paper or a. shaving by
focusing glass on the object. This
is simply an enlargement of that
principle. -.-.-.-
Future wars will be won or lost
in the air. That is true because just
such devices as the one 1 have men
toned will be brought into play"
Among other uses to which air.
planes will be put in the future,
I.tckenbacker predicted, is that of
fighting forest fires, transporting
merchandise overseas and carrying
fast trans-continental business.
Sees Routes for Planes
1.-The airplane as a passenger car
r1er,"- he asserted, never will be
a successful contender of the motor
car, but there will be airplane routes
operated on regular schedules cover
ing the United States. The planes
will fly in all kinds of weather and
all hours of the day.
"a compass will take them over
a c7urse determined upon in ad-
vance. The wireless telephone should
be perfected, so communication may
be had between the machine and the
aIrdrome as it passes over.
'It should be possible for the ma
chine to checl5 in, reporting its mum
Der, speed, altitude and destination.
The station should be prepared to
tell the plane that plane number So
and-so flew over at an altitude OF
10000 feet fifteen minutes ago;
bound for Cleveland.
Devices TO Clear Fog
Every city of $4,000 persons
saould have a municipal airdrome, so
equipped. There will be artificial
means of clearing fog from any air
drcme, so it will be possible to land
in all kinds of weather"
What have you in mind to do
that?" asked Representative James
4. Frear, of Wisconsin, chairman of
the committee.
electrical Devices" replied RICK
enbacker laconically.
One-tenth the forest rangers now
employed by the United States gov
eminent could prevent the destruc-
ton of millions of dollars in timber
annually if they were taken off horse
back and put in planes, Rickenoacker
told the committee.
80 much more territory can be
covered by man in plane
tnan can be covered by a man
on horseback that the fire can
be detected much more readily
he said. "Gas bombs to pre-
vent all possibility of the fire
Gle around the blaze and localiZe Its
effect. The barrage could not fall
to be successful, and could be applied
before The fire had a chance to