Evening star., 1921-08-14

"A
~ to me the other day: "Ameri-
~ cans are queer. They wish
nothing which will not yield in
stant profit. They will discover wonders
and then let them die if they do not
Immediately pay. And again. they are
queer because they will not learn tre-
mendous lessons which one would think
had been branded on their minds by the
hot iron of experience. The American
may be all that he's cracked up 10 De.
But Americans are queer"
The gradual less Of interest in the air
service and what he called the general
American loss of interest in flying, at
time when European nations. and espe-
cially. one Asiatic nation, are spending
upon aviation all that they can AFFORD,
and perhaps much that they cannot al
ford. was what stirred him to his pro-
test.
The writer asked Glenn H.. Curtiss
about the matter. Surely no other per-
son could be regarded as more certain
to have information. His exposition of
the situation was less pessimistic. AND
he made a very firm prediction that. ere
this generation of Americans has pass
ed. the wayfarer on American streets
and roads will have to keep his eye
aloft, at intervals. to see what way
farers in American air are doing.
EVERY man who knows the facts and
possibilities" he said. could wish that
the United States had done more In the
air since the armistice.
But we have not lost our enthusiasm
wholly; we are going ahead intelligentiy
and well, If slowly. Some of those who
ought to be behind the movement are
not, but the people are behind it. In the
end that's what counts in the United
States. l hear this from all sorts. many
of them folk who would be the last. one
would imagine, to be interested in avia-
ton.
tU17ISE men know now that there
w are great certainties ahead for
travel in the air. above both land and
water. Some believe that they will be
realized quickly. some that they will
be slow of realization; personally l
strike an average.
..It is safe to say. I think. that be-
fore the average healthy man of mid
die age now living dies air traffic viii!
be we'll established. and that 1t will
he as we'll established in America as
elsewhere. OF course. mine is special
interest. But 1 do not deceive myself.
Air DEVELOPMENT has had some set
backs. 1t will overcome them all.
"Air travel over water will be first
to reach complete development. 1t
will be developed first and most COM
pletely because It is most needed
Water travel by present methods is
much slower than land travel. 1t takes
four DAYS to cover the 5000 miles be-
tween New York and San Francisco
| by land; 5000 miles by water requires
eight days. So there Is greater need
for speeding up travel over water than
over land. It could be done by air in
a single day under ideal conditions.
But development of aviation over
land will be more rapid. for obvious
reasons. 1t would be very rapid, even
now, in the United States. II munich
palities could but be interested. the
great need is of landing places In All
cities If all cities had them the in
crease in air-traffic volume would De
very great and rapid. Without them
flying cannot grow.
"The provision of such conven1en-
ces must be made by the municipal
tiles, I think. But they will never DO
it without state and national cooper
alton. We need federal act. not
necessarily to make Uncle Sam pay
the bills, but to regulate. plan and
coordinate. Ibelieve this federal
act should create, as department
of the government, a department OF
air, which should be headed by q
secretary of the air. as the War De-
partment and the Navy Department
are headed by their secretaries
There may be other ways of stimu.
lating progress-that, think. WOULD
he the quickest 1t must be stimu-
lated, somehow, or we shall lose
great opportunities. social and COM
mercial. as well as taking military
airpiane, certainly should lead in its
development. We should be first of
ali the nations of the world in the
air"
"But haven't we learned by ex-
perience that to be first in the air
will be a very costly achievement"
The writer inquired. thinking 6out
many dear, departed millions.
s'The achievement would be easy"
said the famous aviator and creator
| of aircraft, land WOULD be g. great
Ieconomy. For money spent on avia-
tfon we could get returns larger than
those which would come from money
spent in any other way. Air devel-