Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1923-10-31
America Falls Behind.

America Falls Behind.
The whole defense situation has
changed since the great war began in
1914. Then it was known, of course,
that airplanes would play a great part
in offensives and defensives, but it was
not dreamed that the day would come
when flying machines would be SEEM
ingly the all-in-all for war purposes.
France and Great Britain have gone
ahead with air preparations on scale
which is somewhat staggering. One
nation seems to be building in order
to keep pace with the ether. Nobody
knows where the thing will stop.
AS things are today, the United
States, while it is abreast of the times
in airplane knowledge, is far behind
the times in airplane equipment. The
aviators of the United States are as
good as those to be found anywhere
In the world, but the expressed fear
is that if trouble shall come the Unit
ed States actually will be unable to
defend itself against airplanes which
would come from plane-carrying YES
sells Of possible enemy.
Gen. George w. Cocktails, who was
the chief engineer in the construction
of the Panama canal, recently wrote
an article on the commercial and mill
tary features OF that waterway. In
this article he says: without the
canal we would be obliged to maintain
two enormous fleets for naval protec-
ton; without the canal our defensive
coast line would be extended down
around Cape Horn.
Recent combined naval maneuvers
resulted in the theoretical destruction
of the canal locks by the Pacific fleet,
and both Secretary of War Weeks and
Secretary of the Navy DENLY called
attention to the vulnerability of the
canal now that aviation has taken it's
place as an offensive fighting army"
National Defense Is Vulnerable.
The Washington Post, in comment
ing on this article, puts the air situa-
ton in just about the way that the
American military and naval authori-
ties put it. 1t says:
"a plain fact stares the people in
the face 1t Is the vulnerability Of
the national defense, not only at PAN
anna but on all coasts. This vulnera-
bility results from the development Of
an aerial warfare.
Foreign nations are not neglecting
the new situation that confronts them,
as it confronts the United States. They
are readjusting their national defenses
to conform to advancement in the art
of war. No large nations, except the
United States and China, are failing to
provide defenses against an aerial at
tack. Great Britain, France, Italy, ia
pan and the smaller nations have
grasped the fact that they must recast
their plans for national defense"
Now, 1t may bG hat the new adj
ministration will do what the Ameri-
can Legion unquestionably is to ask it
TO do-call a conference similar TO the
limitation Of ornaments conference.
for the purpose of limiting the building
of airplapeS. If this is not done. how
ever. it is virtually certain that the
United States, In order to insure itself
against overwhelming coastal attacks
in the future, will be compelled to
spend an enormous amount of money
in the development of its air service.
Welsh Greet Lloyd George.
When Lloyd George comes to Wash
ington he will be greeted by two
American cabinet officers whose ra-
cial hloOd Is hfS blood aro 30 4b
being Welsh-born and the other Amer
ican-born OF immediate Welsh ances-
try, JaDsss John Davis, secretary or