, 1922-08-17

" 'N bhitu suites. he was 10 VISIT all
- the states and to report to the federal
fv.*..,i government on the condition and avail
tN&y' ability of landing fields and on other
is4N. Ill aviation matters. Probably he had a
t.SxE&Nl good machine It is to be presumed that
Ilk4EJ1 he had the hest available. And what
S-j did Eddie Itickenbacker report? Moth
ing' nothing at all. His machine was
ioFced down four days in succession. Thereupon
he abandoned the trip.
In Chicago, not Tong ago, a local flyer took up a
bridegroom and bride for n short flight. They
were honeymOoning 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 thar
che 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 lncldents-any issue OF n
newspaper VIII furnish more-which clearly indl-
cate, according to the experts, that aviation in
the United States is mt loose ends and that the
situation Is so bad that something really must no
done about IL.
BY way OF emphasis to our own do-notbInr mol.
ley. the experts declare. Europe is dotted with
landing places and lined with air routes. Euro.
pean nations are stimulating commercial aviation
with subsidies.
ON the other hand, according to the experts the
results OF systematic development are shown bv
the fact that the air mail service of the Post Oaioa
Department hns Just completed a wear without
a single fatal accident, with 10000 miles COW
cred.
In congress the wadsworth-Hlcks hin ia ,ord
ing. This provides for a United States bnraan =,
commercial aviation.
Out OF congress the National AeronautIc osso.
citation and the Society OF Automotlve Engineers
are cooperating the drafting of nm oeronap,to
safety code, with the assistance Of exnerts of ,ha
bureau OF standards. Pending the passage ~ tba
Wndsworth-Hicks hin the draft Of lis safety coIe
Is tentative, but lis principal provisions will in.
clude:
Inspection OF a~viators and aircraft in connec.
u"u with the granting of licenses TO pilots and mir
transportation companies; prohibiting Of dnnpar.
Gus proximity OF aircraft in flight rules govern.
ing personnel and equipment OF alrdromes lncIud.
tug medical and signal equipment; aircraft rndlo
regulation rules for landing fields; lighthouses for
night flying and landing.
In the senate the other day Senator Thomns /
Wai~h Of Montana read Into the Congressional
Record an article, "our Aviation Problem con.
tributed u the New York Times by senator David
l. Walsh a. Massachusetts. saying that II was an
Interesting discussion of the problem Of avIatIon
pertinent to the discussion OF the bin now before
tie senate.
Senator Walsh OF Massachusetts, In this article
says that what we now need Is the consolidation
Of the Army and Navy departments into tho Dc
partment of National Defense. with a secretary a,
Its head. and three undersecrethrles for the army
navy and mir.
Here nre some OF the points made by Senator
Walsh Of massachusetts In the article:
1T Is regrettnble thnt In or out of congress there
Is SO little Interest In what our government Is ,o.
ting. or rather FILLING 10 do. to stimulate Interest
in ueronnutlcal matters and to foster and eneour.
age IN every manner possible this most Important
means 81 defense and transportation which has
come to be generally acknowledged among pro-
Eresslvo nations as Of Vital necessity to their COM
merciol ANA Industrial expansion and to their pro-
lection and prosperity.
"Ihe nestimabie value OF this comparatively
new science was demonstrated during the World
war, and no one will deny that IL must play nm
even larger part In any future controversy be-
tween nations-whether on land or ON the sea.
since the termination OF the World war much