Evening star., 1922-11-19

IN the national oetenSe OF the re
public"
This matter Of national defense re
ferred to by Minister Eynac is tn.
milk in the cocoanut of the vas
amounts of money which France
En9isnd. and other countries ar
spending on commercial aviation
Airships and airplanes are bound t
be one Of the necessities OF the war
Of the future. Just before leavini
Washington I had a talk with Ma.
Hickam, who. under Gen. Mitchell
has charge of our Army air service
He says that the wars Of the futur
will be fought in the air, and tha
every nation should have a large avi
alton industrial plant which il cal
turn over to military uses in time
war. The life OF an airplane is short
and the war planes deteriorat
rapidly II they lie idle. In war
plane lasts only from six to twelv'
weeks Even in commercial work
motor will run for two hundred hour
at the most. The flight from Pari,
to Warsaw takes about half day
On that line a motor is worn out ~
ten round trips and a new one mus
be installed. AS a motor is wor.i
$4,000, this makes it cost about SEQ
per trip. Other parts of the airplan
are less perishable, but all soon wea
out. although II may be better wheI
the machines are made entirely
steel.
1t takes time 10 build UP an al.
plane industry. and in case Of suddei
war the country that has no III !us
trial aviation establishment will b.
at a great disadvantage For thi,
reason Franco IS doing all she can I,
develop airplane factories. and Is nov
manufacturing airplanes for othe
countries at little more than cost
especially for the South American re
publIcs. Maj. Hickman says i: woul:
pay us to make planes at 4 :oss o
for nothing for export to Japan. ant
that IL we could supply the Japanes,
with all their planes, military ant
otherwise, our profit in case of wa:
would be enormous. AS a result Japai
would have a splendid aviation arma
ment when the war broke out, bu
ia ShS SOAiS u A~o VI lhIcC sHoHtu'
its airplanes would be worn out ant
the country would be at our mercy
for our commercial plants could b,
easily turned to making militar,
planes in tine Of war. This is tn,
reason why England Is subsidizint
her airplanes and airships. and it 1,
the cause Of the great anxiety thai
prevails in every country of Europe
as to the aviation industry.
TN the meantime commercial fly.
i ing has been put on a sound ant
permanent basis in this part o. the
world. Our people seem to consider
1t an experiment. a playth.ng. ant
more or less OF a joke. Here is is ar
industry which is rapidly
The European thinks little
more of flying to London. Brussels OF
Warsaw than he does Of taking the
train.
LIE Bourget. where spent a day. 4.
the greatest flying field in Europe
and perhaps in the world. 1t coveri
several hundred acres, surrounded by
with planes coming in and
going out almost continually. There
are airplane offices and depots. In the
latter are bulletin boards giving the
hours Of arrival end departure and
at all times just where amy
plane is. There is a regular customs
and passport service for the passen.
gers. and inside a glass case Is what
looks like a weather map upon which
are great round pins with arrows at
tached. These show where the planes
are on the aerial routes and also the
winds and fogs OF each locality
Another map registers the heights OF
the clouds by means of slides which
pull up and down, giving an accurate
hourly survey Of the upper air be-
tween Paris and London.
Paris has airplane aviation time
tables. just like the railway guides
Of the United States, containing the
arrivals and departures of the planes
on each line. the places OF landing
and also the fares. One of these comes I
put every month. 1t is called "L'Indi-
cateur Aerien." 1t cost half a franc
which just now is about five cents
For the main lines. such as those
from Paris to London and from Paris
TO Amsterdam. beautifully illustrated
guide books Of about the size OF oui
larger monthly magazines are for
sale. These describe the routes and
tell one all about the cities and coun.
try over which he is passing. The
which are photographs
made from the planes. show London
amsterdam. Brussels and Paris a
hey look from the sky. Every COM
,any has its own folders giving the
lines and fares and the advantages
II its particular route over the others
20 that all together the business IL
as highly organized as that
II the railways
Catpentsr's World Travels. Copyright -
by Frank q. Cnrpenter.l