New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Aviators Hoping the New Session Will Find Way
Out of the Present Chaos of Conditions
and Lack of Spirit

the Importance of aeronautics in war and in
preparation for war, and a part of his uni
versal military training programme looks to
the training in aviation of a fair proportion
of the boys that would be called to the
colors for six months service on attaining
the age Of eighteen.
Senator Wadsworth, of New York, who
is a member of the Senate Military Affairs
Committee, is deeply interested in aviation,
favored an Independent air department dur
ing the war and attaches great Importance
to the maintaining Of a strong and efficient
air service in peace and the building up Of
the private aircraft industry. In this con-
necton it is interesting to note that where
as the army appropriation bill is so broad
that the army may manufacture its own
planes and other machines and apparatus
if it so desires, the navy appropriation bill
forbds any part of the funds set aside for
naval aviation to be used for the construc-
tion Of q factory for the manufacture of
aeroplanes
The naval appropriation for next year is
S15,0c0,000 for procuring, producing, con-
structng, operating, preserving, storing
and handling aircraft, establishment and
maintenance of aircraft stations and for
experimental work in development of avia-
tion for naval purposes" The personnel
will be about the same in number as in the
army.
The army and navy between them will
have $35,000,000 to spend in the fiscal year
1919-'20 on aviation maintenance and de-
velopment in addition to their respective
payrolls if the pending bills pass in their
present form.
Friends Of a symmetrical aviation organ
ization do not find fault with the size of
the appropriations, but they predict that
owing to the division of authority, the
scattering of the funds and the neglect of
all civil aspects Of aircraft and aviation.
the results, both from the standpoint of
military value and industrial development,
will be out of proportion to the amounts
to be expended. There is absolutely no pro-
vision anywhere for any survey of the rela-
ton or military aeronautics to civil trans
port, and the beneficial interrelations that
may be established between the two at
least during the gap between the feverish
wartime activity in the manufacture and use
of flying machines and the establishment
of the aircraft industry on normal basis.
In England this was done scientifically even
during the war, and arrangements were
made to create enough government patron
age in peace to insure the continuation Of
some OF the great private plants. Nothing
OF the kind has been done in this country
and the vast plants that were erected dur
ing the war are being dismantled, though
here and there manufacturers are holding
together skeleton organizations of engi-
neers and skilled mechanics in the hope that
after the passage of the appropriation bills
there will be enough government business
to keep them going in small way during
the transitional period
Besides the army and navy we now have
the postofice in the aerial field, thus es-
tabllshing one more means of dissipatinr
efforts and funds. The postoffice will have