The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-05-31


Especial Despatch to The Reformer1
Copyright 1921.
WASHINGTON, May 8l.-America's
worst airplane accident occurring within
few miles of the national capital. has
served as nothing else possibly could to
accentuate the careless way in which
aviation is being handled. Congress
heard bitter complaints about needless
loss of life when the war was on, but no
incident has illustrated even in peace
times the looseness of control which the
government maintains over the most
dangerous, yet. the most important of
modern means of transportation.
Ever since the close of the war. the
army avlators have been clamoring for
unified control OF aviation. They have
pointed out that there are no laws to-
day governing landings, no laws regulat-
Iug the Use OF air-planes over specified
routes, no service which warns air
planes of dangerous air currents Just a.
the ships at sea are warned of APP
preaching storms Today the army has
its own aviation service, the navy has
another, and the post office department
has another. There is nothing To pre-
vent the department of commerce or
any other government department from
purchasing planes and operating them
lust as i the case with motor trans
portation. There is today no pooling
of aviation experience, no combined re-
search, no general board which handles
the whole subject of aviation any more
than there is in the government any
body which has authority over cable
and radio communication. Other coun-
tries. notably Great Britain, have spent
huge sums for the support of aviation,
and have recognized it as an iHdepend-
ent arm OF warfare, and peace time
utility. 1t Is the irony OF fate that Ma
Jor Cunnolley, former member OF con
gress from Iowa, who was one of the
victims OF Saturdays tragedy at In
dian Head. often used to argue that ser
ious accidents were bound to occur, and
America was sure to lag behind the
European countries if unified control
OF aviation We're not established. Brig
adler General William Mitchell, com
mander of the American aviation units
i'm France, and who actually led them in
battle, has publicly commented on
the Saturday : accident, and has given
as one of the actual causes, the lack of
communication between a central hu-
reau watching out for air currents and
storms and air-planes which happen TO
be in flight.
The jaunt of the big eagle plane was
not official 1t was not necessary that
he ride be taken. Indeed, anybody IN
the army and navy can take an air
plane at any time anu go anywhere
There y no ban on superttuous lying
and yet many of America : hest avia.
| tors have been lost on trips that need
never have been taken. An official IN
vestigation of the accident has been or
derad. Unfortunately all seven passen-
| gers were killed. There Is no certain
way of telling exactly what brought the
| plane down. though military aviators
| today seemed to think the electrical!
storm did the trick. They arc convinced
| of this because others like General Nit
chell who were flying the same vicinity
at the same hour found the weather
! conditions an almost iusuperable obsta
Gle. Friends of General Mitchell, ion
| instance, were congratulatng him today
OH his narrow escape. and he made
! no secret of the fact that he felt
! closer to death in Saturday : storm
| than he ever did ON the European bat
tie front-and General Mitchell has
been decorated for bravery in action
| UNREASONABLE Saturdays accident vii
| revive the discussion of unified con
| troll. and perhaps accomplish it.