The Washington herald., 1922-07-02
By SIR PHILIP GIBBS.

agitation Is being organized by a
section of the. British press, sup
ported by questions and debates in.
Parliament. on the subject of Brit
aims future in the air and the
threat to national safety by the loss
Of military and civil enterprise In
aviation.
The facts in the case certainly
have caused great uneasiness in
the public mind. British air squad
rons for home defense have been re-
duced to twelve. In the Near East
and India there are another twenty
squadrons. Civil aeroplanes certi-
ned as At for fight number nlne-'
ty-seven, and many of those are old
fashioned crooks suitable only for
short joy rides.
Air Works Mt standstlII.
Meanwhile. for. lack of govern
ment and civil orders, air works are
at a standstill. manufacturers Of
aeroplanes and engines like Rolls
Royce and Napier have given notice
they cannot keep their plants going
on the present basis of Inactivity.
As a contrast to this weakness.
France has an enormous and highly
Efficient air force of more than two
hundred squadrons. while Germany
Is doing a great deal in the way of
civil aviation which could instantly
be adapted to war purposes.
The effect of newspaper and par
liamentary propaganda on simple
minds was evident to me during the
recent procession of the Prince of
oil -
don when stood in the crowds and
listened to the comments of the
men and women as two aeroplanes
circled overhead.
Next War Feared.
when. the next war comes" said
one woman, these things will be
as thick as midges in the sky and
we shall have no defense against
them unless we wake up soon"
"Ah," said another woman, 'it
won't do any good going into cell
lars like the last time. That new
poison gas will creep into the
underground places and choke US
all before We know what's what"
It's a wicked shame. / call it,
said another woman; people who
invent such stun ought to be hang
ed. though they call themselves
scientists
Then a man spoke up. ITS COM
ing. all the same, sooner or later.
We have got to be ready for 1t. 1t
is not nice to be caught mapping.
One night OF gas bombing and Lon
don would be a graveyard. Be pre-
pared. 1 say"
Make War Unpopular, Advice.
A little fellow in a cloth cap chal-
lenged his opinion.
IF we get ready for an air war
We shall have IL all right. It is
asking for 1t. What I say is let's
make up our minds not to have an
other war 1t Is far safer in the
lonE run and cheaper, too. Peace
is our best policy"
That's fine talk" said one
woman. How can you be sure of
peace with them Germans building
up secret armies and even France
not over friendly to U.S."
So the talk vent on until the
coming Of the prince. That was rne
mind OF the people. made uneasy
by scare articles. by ugly memories
of air raids and English cities in
darkness.
Held a Real Menace.
There is something more than
cheap newspaper scare In this ques-
tfon. And II is a problem which
holds a menace to more countries
than Great Britain. We have got
to make up our minds before very
long in every part of the world
whether this new invention of flight
Is to be used as the most destruct-
I've agent of humanity or Is to be
controlled by international agree
ment in the service of peace. Those
comments 1 heard in the London
streets went pretty close to the
heart of the subject and raised the
question which must somehow be
answered.
No country like England, very
vulnerable to attack from the air,
can AFFORD to lose her place in avia-
tton IL other countries are increas-
ing their squadrons, training great
numbers of young pilots and sub
sidizing civil enterprise. No coun-
try can with any prudence ignore
the abominable menace of poison
gases to drop on the head from
aerial bombs II such things are to
be allowed in civilized warfare.
Gases More Potent.
1 discount all flesh creeping sto-
ries of gases which in an hour or
two could reduce a great city like
London or New York to charnel
houses of suffocated bodies. But,
exaggeration apart. II Is certain
there are new forms of poison
known to the laboratories of Eng
land, France, Germany and the
United States that have more death
dealing power and a wider area OF
gaseous penetration than anything
used in the last war.
/ saw enough of that to know its
paralyzing effect on troops In ac-
tion. German mustard gas was the
cause Of very serious anxiety to
British army commanders. The
casualties in 1917 numbered several
thousand daily in certain areas.
shall never forget the sight of those
lines OF young men laid out in cas-
ualty clearing stations behind the
lines. coughing their lungs up, tenn
porarily blinded, unconscious, suf-
located, burned about faces and
bodies. by the invisible vapor.
Air Fighting Effective.
Without gas. the effect of aerial
oombardment became increasingly
severe before the end of the war
In one night of aerial activity in
which had a very personal expert
ence. the Germans destroyed over
two thousand houses at Amiens;
another nieht they laid the center