The Holly chieftain., 1922-08-17

ing, nothing ut ALL His machine
forced down four days in succession Thereupon
he abandoned the trip
In Chicago, not Tong ago. n local flyer took up a
bridegroom and bride for a short flight They
were honeym0oning and wanted the best there
was going In the way of seeing the sights The
machine crashed. Both passengers were killed
President Harding was making an open-aIr
address recently in Washington. A commercial
flyer took his plane full of slghtseers so close that
the Presidents voice was drowned out and so
close to the vast crowd that had the plane fallen
scores would have been killed and injured
These are but three incdents--any issue of n
newspaper will furnish more-which clearly indI-
cate, according to the experts, that aviation in
the United States is at loose ends and that the
situation is so bad that something really must be
done about 1t.
BY way OF emphasis to our own do-nothng pol.
Icy, the experts declare, Europe is dotted with
landing places and lined with ar routes Euro
pean nations stimulating commercial aviation
with subsidies.
On the other hand, according to the experts the
results OF systematic development are shown by
the fact that the air mail service Of the Post OAcs
Department has just completed year without
single fatal accident with 1.75O,OOO miles GOV.
cred.
In congress the Wadsworth Hicks hin is rs,d.
ing This provides for United States bnrean n,
commercial aviation.
Out Of congress the National Aeronaut,c osso
ciaton and the Society of Automotive Engineers
are cooperating the drafting of an aeronautic
safety code, with the assistance of experts of the
bureau of standards. Pending the passage of the
Wadsworth- Hicks bill the draft of its safety code
is tentative, but Its principal provisions will In
clude:
Inspection of aviators and aircraft in connec.
tion with the granting of licenses to pilots and air
transportation companies; prohibiting of danger
GUS proximity of aircraft in flight; rules govern
ing personnel and equipment of airdromes inc1ud
ing medical and signal equipment; aircraft radio
regulation rules for landing fields; lighthouses for
night flying and landing.
In the senate the other day Senator Thomas j.
Walsh of Montana read into the Congressional
Record an article. "Our Aviation Problem" con-
trbuted to the New York Times by Senator David
I. Walsh of Massachusetts saying that 1t was an
interesting discussion of the problem of aviation
pertinent to the discussion of the bill now before
the senate.
Senator Walsh Of Massachusetts in this article
says that what we now need is the consolidation
of the Army and Navy departments into the De
partment of National Defense with secretary at
Its head and three undersecretarIes for the army.
navy and air.
Here are some of the points made by Senator
Walsh of Massachusetts in the article:
ut Is regrettable that in or out of congress tbere
is SO little interest in what government is do
ing. rather failing TO do, to stimulate interest
in aeronautical matters and to foster and encour.
age In every manner possible this most important
means Of defense and transportation which has
come to be generally acknowledged among pro-
gressive nations Of vital necessity to their com
mercial and Industrial expansion and to their pro-
lection and prosperity.
"The inestimable value Of this comparatively
new science was demonstrated during the World
war, and no one will deny that 1t must play an
even larger part in any future controversy be-
tween nations-whether on land on the sea.
"Since the termination Of the World war much