The Dolores star., 1923-10-19

and bombs and doubtless in secret with gas The
presses are kept busy printing books on the next
world war
Abroad nations seem TO be running a race in
developing the alrpIane the coming weapon OF
The United States seems to be tagging be
hind In this Development to such an extent that
the American Legion has proposed to ask Presi-
dent Coolidge to calI an international conference
TO halt this race By limitation OF air armaments-
II our aviation accomplishments are colnQara-
lively of little Importance what must be the devel
opments abroadG Unltsl States naval seaplanes
bombed and sank in short order two battleshlps
slated for the scrap heap.
Twenty--hree United States army aIrpIanes, In
Guiding sixteen huge bombers. made a flight Of
800 miles from Virginia to NaiHa-and gave the
Atlantic coast an object lesson transcontluental
aerial mail schedule Of thirty hours from coast TO
coast shows HAT night flying essential of mill
tary aviation. is practical A navy Curtis racer.
piloted by naval officer. Travelled at the rate Of
more than four miles minute and again al the
rate OF 80 miles an hour.
The Barring bomber the worlds largest air
plane, successfully completed irs maiden trip at
wilbur Wright field The bomber has wing
spread OF I21 feet. Loaded. it weighs twenty tons.
II has six Liberty motors OF 800 horsepower each
and r-O pushing and four pulling prOpellers- /;
will stay In the air twelve hours and fly about
% miles hour.
The Uuited States naval dlrI-IbIe ZR-l success
fully made Il twelve-hour flight Of coo miles
New York Philadelphia and cities Of the Atlantic
seGboard.
Now all OF these feats IN air travel were immedi-
atey translated into terms Of war For Instance,
Commander Ralph y Weyerfacher Z. S y. de-
sIgner and builder Of the ZR-1. declares in
printed statement that had the aerial superdread-
naught flown over New York a warliEe errand
It would have been easy matter 10 have de
stroyed public buildings, smashed great holes in
'he crowded streets and reduced the metropolis to
a state Of panic.
Had she carried the five tons Of high explosives
the ZR-i float. could have wrecked the
guns Of Forts Hamilton and Wadsworth and lifted
the sea going Aquitania from the water say moth
ing of the lesser craft in the harbor." he wrote.
II could not help thinking circled Manhattan
what grlevous destruction may be wrought by
Uerial bombing over large cities If such floating
battleships the ZR-1 be developed
point where they successfully resist counter
attack"
Commander Weyerbacher translated the posi-
bIlIties Of the ZR-1 into terms of explosives.
Others talk about gas Whole armies put to sleep
and taken prisoner in gas warfare Is by
an impossbility twenty-five years hence. Col Ray
mond F. Beacon chief Of the technical division Of
description of the possibilities of the future art
of war made public by the American Chemical
society He says:
ITO say the Of gas in warfare must be abol-
ished is almost the saying that prog
ress must be made in the art of warfare toward
making 1t more efficient and humane. With
the use of gas IT is possible to saturate piece of
ground so that troops it. and thus
make artificial barrier for the flank or protect
the lines Of communication.