Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-09-05
GREYHOUNDS OF AIR
SOON TO BE REALITY
Giant Airships Will Carry Passengers,
Baggage and Advertising
Material.
Material.
Ry WILL p. KENNEDY.

BY WILL p. KENNEDY.
~ UT Of the ashes of the air
service, into which the
United States poured $780,
100000 during the war. is
being developed. through cooperation
Of American business with the air
craft bureau, commercial aviation
along lines destined to make the full
est possible use of the unmeasured
tation of passengers. express. mes
sages. for photography and adver-
Using.
An international corporation has
been organized. backed by the biggest
financial interests in this country.
which is now making arrangements to
. have at least two passenger and ex-
press lines in operation within a
| year. between Chicago and st. Louis,
and Jacksonville and Havana, and
| negotiations, now progressing. indi-
cate that the New York to Atlanta air
mail route. under proposals of the
Post Office Department, will be oper-
ated Also
1t is intended that as soon as the
big airships and other equipment can
be constructed, a network of air
foutes covering all the principal
cities in the country will be opened
some of the tentative runs with the
| expected saving in time by the air
| route being: New York to San Fran
ciscor by air thirty-six hours, now five
days: New York to Rio de Janeiro, by
air four days, now thirty days; San
Francisco to London. by air five days
now eleven days; New York to Ha-
| vana. by air twenty hours. now two
! days: New York to London, by all
forty hours. now five days.
German Builders Busy.
The other day the newspapers car.
ried an item that two super-zeppelin.
are now being built in Germany fol
American interests for use in tn,
freight and passenger service between
Berlin and San Francisco via New
York. War Department experts OF
aviation and American business in
terests have been watching closet,
| the organization of a great interna
ltional air corporation in Germany
American capital has been invited t,
join this corporation. but the contro
would remain in Berlin. It has beef
decided that Germany is endeavorin,
to re-establish, under the guise o
commercial aviation, the greatest wa
machine the world ever knew, tn,
one which was broken up in tn,
world war.
American interests are proposing tt
establish a great fleet of airships-a.
vehicles Of international commerce
but with the controlling interest in
America, which would be of inestim-
able value in case war should ever
again come to the United States.
The record Of recent years has fully
proven the practicability of airships
as voyageurs of the air. In this coun-
try more than 5000 flights were made
by airship in 1918. covering thousands
of miles and transporting more thar
/
| hours were spent in the air by air.
| ships in 1918, covering 2,50O,OO(
miles and carrying thousands of pas
sengers with no injury. In Germany
since the armistice daily airshiI
schedule has been maintained cover.
ing 500 miles each day. and carrying
forty passengers each day with nc
| injury or interruption. Germany haz
enjoyed commercial airship sekvice
/ since 1912 with records of more thar
| 100000 passengers carried, and theI
used these ships successfully in the
war.
! Great Rigid Airships.
| Among. those who have organized
the North American Aerial Trans
portattion Company are J. T. Gala
way of the aeronautic department OF
! the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Com
pany; II. w. Dunning, president Of the
Bennett Travel Bureau, Inc; w. c.
| Young, of Akron. Ohio, and E. p
| Morey of Washington, d. c.
| The plans of this corporation con-
| template the use of great rigid air.
! ships (dirigible balloons), which
eventually will be built large enough
| to carry 1000 passengers. The engi-
| neers are now figuring on airships to
carry 200 passengers and 100 pounds
OF baggage to a passenger. The nrst
ships to be operated. however. will
! carry about fifty passengers and It
| will take about nine months before
| they can be built. In the meantime
charts have been carefully worked
out showing the relative cost OF
operation. Ships Of 100000 cubic
feet. $50 feet long. carrying fifty tons
of useful load have already been bpi1f
in Germany.
1t il planned to have the main office
of this aerial corporation in Chicago.
While all the principal cities of the
country will be on the route of these