Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1920-04-26
United States Making No Move
to Promote Development Of
Commercial FIying-LittIe
Done to Perfect Military.
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
MAKING GREAT STRIDES
Country Unable to Cope With
Giant Planes of Other Ma.
tions Should War Break Out
Parties Blame Each Other.
BY ARTHUR SEARS HENNING.
Chicago Tribune Omaha Bee Leased Wire,

By ARTHUR SEARS HENNING.
Chicago Tribune Omaha Bee Leased Wire.
Washington, April 25-When in
the not-distant future large num-
Der of British, French, German and
lUtalian transatlantic aircraft are
described sailing over these United
States, discharging and taking OIL
passengers and cargo. the American
public is going to become highly
wrought up, demanding why Uncle
Sam is not navigating the air.
| With the republicans blaming the
democrats and the democrats blam-
ing the republicans, the country will
learn that while the principal Euro
pean governments were engaging in
contest for supremacy of the air
for defensive and other purposes, the
United States government stood idly
by, doing nothing itself and retard-
ing private initiative.
Lucky the United States may con-
slider itself if the foreign aircraft
visiting US in the next few years are
of the commercial variety only. For
unless we awake and prepare shall
be unable to cope with the giant
flying engines of war that could be
sent against us today, without TAX
ing into consideration the still more
formidable aircraft that will. be con-
structed in the next five years.
Government Doing Nothing.
The United States government is
doing absolutely nothing to promote
commercial flying and the develop
ment of commercial aircraft. 1t is
doing something to carry forward
the development of military aircraft
but so little that we have been left
in the rear in this field alone.
Instead of retrieving the tragic
hasco Of our airplane production in
the war, we have gone to the other
extreme and almost stifled the mill
tary air service. The army and navy
appropriation for aviation was cut
down to $25,000,000 each for last
year. while this year the army is to
be allowed $400O0,0OO and the navy
SIS 100000. Great Britain proposes
to expend S367,000,00o on its air
service.
1t was only with the greatest diff
fculty that the War department. dis
suaded congress from abolishing the
experimental laboratory in which
aviation inventions are developed
and tried out With the limited ap-
preparation the army has been able
to order so few plants that all but
two manufacturers of airplanes on a
large scale during the war have gone
out of business.
Germany Revolutionizes Flying.
While the army has been tinker
ing with the improvement of types
of planes used in the war, Germany
has revofutionized airplane con-
struction completely. Germany has
produced an all metal airplane.
The wings are made of metal in
stead of wood and silk. There is
not so much as a thread of COM
bustible material in its construction.
1t will not burn. German airplanes
henceforth will not be flaming cof-
fms"
The advent of the all-metal air
plane means the scrapping of all
other types of construction. The
War department knows all about
the German metal plane and is cx-
periuenting with the idea, but with
out success up to date. The Ger
mans built the plane for war and
are required to surrender all mill
tary planes of this type under the
terms of the treaty. So the allies
expect to learn the secret of it's con-
struction eventually. The British,
French and Italians, as we'll as the
Germans, have adapted their war
planes to assenger-carriers and the
British are operating a daily pas
s=nger service between London and
Paris, planes leaving every two
hours.
In lighter-than- air craft the United
States is absolutely negligible. The
army has two airships, the navy
four-all of them practically obso-
lete. A large dirigible with a speed
of 20 miles an hour is being con-
structed for the navy in England at
a cost of $2,500,0O0. But before Mr..
Daniels placed the order the Ger
mans had built a dirigible of 95
miles speed and a cruising radius of
10000 miles. The United States
could have purchased this ship from
Germany for $4,000.
nrouo;no.o& lAIa,lxn, Ano~~