The sun., 1919-08-18
ITRPLANE THE KEY
TO SOUTH AMERICA.
Great Flights Already Made
show Possibilities Of Com
mercial Development.
ruNGLEs ARE NO BARRIER
Rubber and Minerals May Be
Transported by Both Dirig-.
IDLE and Plane.
u, S. p. vEnNHH.

written espeUdut Jof the Lottn amer
jcon ssotsow Of TstEs Sum. ~.
Already a Handley Page machine Is
..lIng over the lower reaches Of the
Mssdalena, an italian aviator has
crossed the Andes from Atlantic to Pa
.,sc and Uncle Sam has big base for
s,rplanes and hydroplanes at Cristobal
an the Canal Zone. One of the next
.,eps will soon be the carriage Of the
nails from the canal to adjacent coun-
tries. II has already been done from
crIstobal TO Balboa and from Cristobal
20 Bocas del Toro.
Aerial transportation Is especially
sdapted to certain industries which rank
hIrh in northern South America-gold.
platinum, silver. emeralds. rubber and
cinchona. Take the case of the output
Of the Antioquia mineral region, for ex-
ample, easily capable Of being developed
10 the value of $4,000, 900 per annum.
The present means of transportation
involves at least ten days-often more,
when rivers are 1ow--to get the output
TO the sea. The quantity of metal to be
carried annually, were the mines ade-.
ouately developed, would be about q
hundred tons per annum. A hydroair-
rlane flying up the Magdalena and the
Cavea rivers all the way over water.
could easily carry half a ton IN q few
hours, worth approximately . quarter OF
n million dollars The saving of nine days
IN getting this gold to the sea repre-
sents, at a rate of interest of per
cent, more than $1,000. That this
would pay all the expenses of the trip
and leave a big bargin Of profit is clear.
Rubber BY Dirisibie. Il
II will eventually nay to transport
rubber by dirigible, II not by the heavier
than air machines. A dirigtble arriving
on the Putumayo on a sunny morning
would put the fear of the Lord in the
hearts Of the rubber agents expressing
Che Indians as no other expedient short
of q railway could. 1t would not only
expedite commerce: It would be big
step upward for humanity, A plane
could fly from Buenaventura, on the Pa
cihc to the Putumayo in one day and
have daylight in which to land on the
river. ...T.[,sLqtf. 2,
OF course the lack of safe landing
places is the big handicap at present,
but hydroairplane could follow the
course of the Magdalena or the Cauca
10 near the springs of the .Putamayo
Of divide to traverse. and could alight
on the rivers with good chance Of
safety in pinch. look for this feat
to be performed before many moons.
Some years ago I pointed out in our
Panama paper that the air machine
ought enormously to simplify prospect
Ing. locating and the initial develop
ment Of mineral deposits IN Wild coun-
tries Take a concrete case: I know
n cell at. Il
which have every reason to believe to
be q, second Rand. on geological grounds
and from certain explorations made
under immense difficulties. To reach
this place required gan expedition of
three months, involving cutting through
dense jungles, experiencing fevers,
hunger. perils from wild beats and wild
men. to find delectable short grass
region on the interior plateau. on which
machine might land. That reconofs-
sance could have been made In an air
plane in one week-the trip in less
than day, giving as much time for
exploration as was devoted to It in the
other method
The Airplane I'm Prospecting.
To make railway to that locality
would cost 100000. This sum would
assuredly not be invested without a
prospect which could only be established
oy thorough expert examination and
PRELIMINARY development, and this is al
y most impossible without a road or a
railway 1t is easily feasible by the
use OF the airplane. There are hun
creds Of millions of gold hidden away
~ the mountains of northern South
america which the sharp eye of the
arplane can spy out
american business interests ought to
wake up to this situation. British and
oher interests are keenly alive to 1t.
4ney mean to pay some of their debts
OUT of South American soil with the help
VI tfeir better developed aerial trans
por'ation. and are negotiating concss-
slons right now.
The Canal Zone is an ideal base for
business aerial transportation. Gatun
LAKE affords haven for hydroplanes
the dumps along the Panama Rail-
way where the spoil from Culebra Gu,
was deposited over many acres and
made level. only need the steam roller
70 ne made into splendid aviation fields
one can reach the heart OF the Andes
ana me Amazon In twenty-four hours
rom the canal Everything Is ready to
sArt-only men and money are needed
II Is worth noting that airplanes
would NY completely over the coast
regions with their infections of yellow
iever, malaria, &C.. and so eliminate
Quarantine.
of course the airplane will not super
seoe The railway. They are reciprocally
useiul' The airplane and the dirigible
however. will greatly facilitate surveys
enable the spotting OF equipment along
mes selected. make possible construc-
uon camps at many points almost
smultaneously-in fact they could carry
uNmantled steam /shovels to be re-
assembled at designated points in the
remote Interior. On the other hand. the
ISnways will create settlements from
which new aerial activity will radiate
Inc two Of them are going to transform
ene WITHSTAND the richest-parts OF
oouth America in a generation. Where
ae the biz men Ia do tha Nnrlkf