Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1924-10-11
FOR PRESIDENT COOLIDGE.
AND THOSE THAT PAY.
1000 FIGHTING PLANES.
FOR ONE DREADNAUGHT.

President Coolidge recalled
Secretary Wilbur. of the Navy, to
Washington to discuss with him
the relative value of battleships
and flying machines in war;"
This means, of course, that the
President will LISTEN to others,
and TAKE COUNSEL with HIM
self. 1t means that, with all his
work, he has found time for the
serious problems Of air defense,
and does not intend to keep this
country among the backward ma
tions, as regards real preparation.
Facts alone VIII inAusaes the
President, and they are nst lack
ing. For instance:
One battleship Of dreadnaught
class cost forty-fve million dol
lars. For that sum the nation
could build and mobolixe TWO
THOUSAND FIGHTING AIR
PLANES. Does the President or
any other sane man ask what
chance a battleship would have
against 1000 fighting air machines
cropping TINT from the clouds?
The French have come through
& real war, with invasion to the
very gates of Paris, millions killed,
cher millions wounded. THEY
now something about fighting.
That has France done to prepare
rainst danger across her border?
France has a first line of air
& tense, consisting Of two thou
stnd fighting air machines, with
!: reserve of two. thousand more.
And that fighting French air
ct is what makes England, with
81 her numbering bsttieships,
users, etc, "the worlds great
battle feet" so pitifully polite
France. She will continue TO
nolite until she can dominate
" he al rs she used to dominate
re sea-
The two thousand first line
lighting planes that spell secur-
ity for France, cost, N Europe,
less than half the cost Of one first
class dreadnaught here. No won
der France insists thst QSknan1
shall build no fighting y>anAs.
We continue spending pai1ioas
on big guns and amm8nitisu for,
practice. They also win soon b
classed among nus>um c11losf
ties, used to make . loud noiss IN
the Presidential salyes, q taskls
the vanity Of some admiral rstuEu-
mig to his ship.
A sixteen-ineh gun eo06 -
much a. two fighting airshipA i
lasts. only long enough 10 - g,s
hundred and twsaty shots. 1&sn
Il Is burnt-out scrap ksn. The
life of q fighting plane, costing
half as much as . single big gun,
is equal to that 81 an ordinary
forty-fve million dreAdnaught.
Mr.. W. j. Davis, Of San Diego,
earnest advocate Of air defense,
says truly, 1.-THE nation foremost
in the air will win the next war
at the drop of the bomb, and be-
fore the world wakes up the next
morning amid the fumes Of phos-
phorus or of bombs of some other
kind, if it does wake up at all, the
war will have been won,"
Battleships, besides being obso-
lete, are frightfully expensive,
soon out of date, worthless in
peace. Flying machines, enough
of them to make this nation safe
against attack by sea or land,
could be built without burdsnsome
taxation, kept up with slight ex-
ponse, and they would pay their
way in peace, twice over, in the
nail service, and in spying out
forest fires.
Before this country faces q
new war-it won't come, while
they are all borrowing from us
TIE range OF fliers and submarines
viii be as great as that of any
floating vessel. The submarines
viii go as fast as any cruiser and
the fliers, of course, twenty times
as fast as any fighting ship afloat.
These suggestions are submitted
TO the President, who will decide
Wat shall be done, and to the
people of this country. They will
pay the bills in money, which is
not important, and in blood, which
is important, if fatal mistake be
made in our IS of defense.
What you ! here is printed
in several hundred daily news
rapers, including the Herald of
Washington, D. c., where those in
Office onay see it, and in several
thousand weekly newspapers, read
il millions of country homes.