Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-03-24

Whatever the larger merits of the
aircraft controversy, the fact remains
! that the aviators, almost to man,
have grown nightly discontented
with the present state of affairs. They
aren't talking much in public. The
congressional committee found them
most reluctant witne sses. What they
| call the Army and Navy machine"
| holds over them the power of trans
| fer.
IF I break loose and talk" re-
marked one of them, Il may find my
| self stationed next month in Guam"
| Their suspicious may not be well
grounded; but the fact that they do
| fear this power of transfer or re-
! moval comes to the same thing. Gen.
| Mitchell, presumably, was denoted
! for the offense OF appealing to the
public over the heads of his superiors.
| This incident will not help to loosen
| the tongues of the other aviators.
From the time the Wrights first
| flew, airmen have considered them
selves a kind OF new aristocracy.
They divide the world into two class
es-aviators and other people. This
| feeling accounts for the "chivalry of
the air." which was curiosity of the
late war.
Procedure Toward Enemy.
That Boche flying over there was an
enemy-certainly. You had TO fight
him, and, if you could, TO kill him.
But when he came down a captive
he was an aviator, and mere infantry,
artillery, tanks or staff must treat
him right, or the air service would
know the reason why.
In dealing with the relations be-
| tween the aviators and the senior
branches of the service, one has TO
consider this factor. Also there is
the matter OF temperament. An avia-
| tor is an artist, like base ball player,
a pugilist, singer, an author, or an
actor. Being such, he has his ups and
| downs, his whimseys, his states of
! nerves, his hot imaginations.
The typical soldier is a hard boiled
efficiency man. The two tempera-
ments do not miX-as many a bust
ness man has learned upon trying a
| theatrical venture. This is one of those
| little human values on which the con-
gressional committee could not take
testimony. 1t has, nevertheless, its
Importance.
These temperamental artists. as
things stand at present, find them
| selves under command of men of the
other sort. Fortunately for eff
cheney, the aviators exempt Gen. Pat
| rick and Admiral Moffett from their
comment on ground-trained COM
manders. Gen. Patrick assembled into
the air from the Engineers; Admiral
Moffett was transferred from com
| mand of a battleship. Both were too
| old to become pilots.
Credit Their Achievements.
But they have flown constantly as
passengers, learned as much as they
rnnld ha1raInnnd Eos fn~ yha al
| They've done mighty well - for
ground men," say the aviators. But
that's just luck. Think of what we
might have drawn"
Concerning some of the others, the
| aviators tell a different story It's
not their fault, either" remarked an
Army flyer. What mess I'd make
If / was asked to command battery
of artillery or a destroyer. It's a
different game, that's all!' There's
| the story Of the wing commander,
recently transferred from a battle
ship, who saw his men fixing a bomb
| in its rack. What are you doing?' he
asked. Casing herr"
Another on arrival was shown over
the field and the hangers. A subordi-
nate explained as well as he could
the machines and their workings.
Two weeks later he himself displayed
his hangers to a party of visitors.
He stopped before a training plane.
This is one of our newest bombers, "
he said.
Misjudgment Is Alleged.
Naval aviators complain that bat
| tleship commanders, who hold abso-
Lutte command over their attached
aviators while at sea, often pay no
attention whatever to airplane tao