Evening star., 1919-03-30

change is not sought to relieve the
Army from the care of the sick. for ii
is quite willing to turn over its hos
p1tals and its medical officers. il need
be. to the other service. but it is
anxious to clear the Army rolls from
TINS class of men. They cannot be
assigned to military duty, although
they must be carried as soldiers. and
thereby MI places which might other
wise be taken by men capable of ac-
tive duty
The relatively large number of such
cases is making the Army health re-
turns appear in an undesirable light,
when in reality, the health of the men
In general. after deducting those who
were returned from Europe on the
hospital list. is excellent
Coi. II. Z. Howard. chief of the di-
vision of Army sanitation, is en-
gagged in the preparation of tables
sfowlng the operations of his division.
anu anu ,hey VIII prove the efficiency OF
the Army service after there was op-
portunlty for its organization.
reports from the War Department
show that the promise of the en-
b a a ion
Debarkation Promise service to
Will Be Made Good. reuurn ooo N a ;, 20, SaS.,
Europe by the end of March will be
made good
Up to March 25 more than 10000
MA been debarked. and more than
eo'ooo were afioat, due to arrive be-
lore the end of the month. In Febru-
ary-a short month. anyhow--.the
transportation ships of the service
carried back home nearly 19s.00O
troops. about 1000 short of the an
tieipated number. March will see the
shortage made good and little more.
e-bringing the service will have
practically all the troops of the expe-
ditiopary force back in the United
states by the middle of October. un-
less there is an interruption of the
westward flow. But, in fact, there is
strong probability that this rate
will be increased if the German ships
come into the transport service in re-
turn for food supplies.
What the effect of the rapidly
rope will have upon the return of the
american forces remains to be seen.
AT this time turn one way may
mean more ships, but a sinister
change of affairs may mean that the
troops on the other side will be held
there pending sterilization of social
and national affairs A political con-
migration in Europe might result In
a reversal of the machine and the re-
turn OF men and munitions to the
other side. or, at least, in an attempt
to adopt such course
. Up to the present time the en-
barkation service has more than
passed the haif-million mark in the
return OF men, and there is no doubt
that it will make a record of troop
transportation to the west that will
exceed even that of it's flow to the
east.
At time not yet fixed a squadron
Of not more than three giant air
p Il a n s.
Flight Over Atlantic heavier-than-
Has Many Hazards. win1 All ia'n.ns' M
tempt flight over the Atlantic under
command of Commander John Fl.
Towers, U. S. n.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Roose-
welt has let this much be told. 1t is
we'll known that these planes are tre-
mendous affairs, 126 feet from tip to
tip of the wings, and that they will
be driven by liberty motors.
The attempt will be to make the
trip In a continuous flight. but there
Will be vessels stationed at intervals
along the course to signal directions
to the flyers and. if need be. to pick
up a disable machine or to supply
gasoline If the fuel gives out
Whether the flight will be without
stop depends upon engine efficiency
and weather conditions.
An airplane can carry no more gaso-
line and lubricating oil than it can
have aboard when it breaks from the
water, and the power to break from
fha to, f4l
power. The engine power Is limited
by the number of engines and the
number of engines is fixed by their
weight. for beyond a certain point
the engines become dead weight when
the gasoline runs low. The power.
therefore, really depends upon the
approach of the engines to 100 per
cent efficiency.
The weather affects the voyage by
reason of unfavorable winds and rain
makes 1t impossible for the pilots TO
keep their direction. Unless the di-
rection Of the wind is directly with or
against the course of an airShip It
The pilot must allow for the cross
current which carries it away. 1t Is
nearly impossible for an aviator to
tell the exact direction of the wind at
the elevation he is flying. and conse-
quently he must resort to delicate
instruments to find his way over the
water. Fog and. rain, 1t can be seen
easily. Interfere with the operation
of these instruments and give the
pilot much the same trouble the cap
tain of a ferryboat has in crossing
a river through fog bank.
The cross-ocean planes will take
flight to the coast of Newfoundland
and will wait there until the day or
night of venture comes. 1t is not
certain at what hour they will start.
but as it is settled that the fight will
take something more than twenty
four hours, part of it must be at
night. AS the fliers will need day
light for the landing, the hour Of
starting will doubtless be fixed with
that end in view. The cross-ocean
planes will carry no reserve men. All
the f1iers will be occupied all tn.
time, and there will be no chance for
rest or sleep on the way.
The consumption of fuel and oil and
the CONSEQUENT tightening of the ship.
with no chance to take on ballast.
Will have no bad effect upon the sail
ing of the planes. The relief from the
weight will only let them go so much
more swiftly.
Failure to make the other side At
the first attempt will not be surpris-
ing-in fact, it is almost to be ex-
pected. So many favorable conditions
must contribute to make the flight q
success that human judgment cannot
meet them all with certainty. The
engines may be right, the weather
may seem favorable from shore and
be bad in mid-Atlantic. Almost any,
thing may happen, but eventually
those airplanes will reach the other
side. The pilots will be in the best
Of physical trim or they will stay
home. Every one of them expecting
to fly has been taught to do every
thing that any Of the others must do.
This was done to make each one
familiar with the whole plan, so as to
secure perfect team work.