Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1921-10-14

cles, to the point where success Is
assured. In consequence, Omaha Is proudly claim
Ing to be Americas most progressive aviation
center.
| The purposes of the congress are pralsew0rthy
| The congress itself is likely to be Of great Inn
| portance.
One purpose is to bring the flyers together for
a big reunion, the first since the World War. An
other Is to show everything In connection with
aviation, In order to interest the people OF the
| nation in flying third is to form national
air body for the advancement Of aviation In Amer
lea. The big purpose is: Aviation supreme for
America"
The formation Of a national air body appears
to be well under way, through preliminary organi
cations In the states. At this writing twenty-five
states are forming state organizations Of the con-
gress and will be represented by delegates
That there Is necessity for the formation Of such
a body seems hardly open to argument. Rudyard
Klpling, years ago, wrote Of aircraft 1--WE are
at the opening verse of the opening page OF the
chapter of endless possibilities" We have read
far beyond that now and the march Of events
forces us to keep on turning the leaves, II we
would keep our place In the forefront of the pro-
cession of the nations.
In the opinion Of those who seem hest qualified
to know, the United States has not kept abreast
with other countries In the development Of avia-
tion, especially In the matter Of development OF
Always For example, the best we can show In
the way Of transconinental route Is that follow
ing the general line of Cleveland Chicago, Omaha,
Reno and San Francisco. The experts declare II
to he not more than 40 per cent complete In organt
zation.
An essential Of the success Of big business Is
Imagination Imagine If you can, what the part
Of to 70 ~ tho xyff %
years from now. It is no wonder that men Of
large affairs want the organization Of o national
air body and want It now.
Omaha's slogan was inspired by the Aero Club
Of Omaha, an organization Of 100 former pilots
and observers Of the World War. Nevertheless
all the city is talking aviation these days. Three
months ago. of course. 1t was not so. Omaha was
no more enthusiastic over aviation than any other
city. When Its citizens heard an airplane droning
overhead they gazed skyward for moment. 9th
erwise they were uninterested.
Then Earl w. Porter president Of the Aero
Club Of Omaha, conceived the Idea of the con-
gress and went to work on 1t. Now aviation Is In
the blood of the citizens. They talk Of the many
phases Of air travel with the nonchalance of aces
In other cities the people may call anything that
traverses the air On airship. But not so In Omaha;
they rightly use the word aircraft. Do you hear
blimp In 0mahaf Well. hardly. Omaha knows
that blimp is not only slang, but obsolete slang,
whereas people In other cities are still applying
the word Unfortunately to all balloons rigid
ard nonrgid airshlps and lighter-than-air craft
You never catch an Omahan these days saying
hydroplane when he means seaplane he knows
that the former never leaves the water. And you
find him correctly using airplane, seaplane and
arship instead Of aeroplane. hydro-aeroplane and
driglble. You may even overhear a conversation
about the captive helicopter In Short everyone
in Omaha appears to be enthusiastic about avla.
tion In general and the coming congress In par
ticular.
President Porter went to his fellow clubmen
They indorsed his idea and his plans and pledged
their support They also fixed on him as the logi-
cal head Of the movement and he was duly made