Evening star., 1925-09-22
GRAVE MISTAKE SEEN BY WILBUR
in UNIFIED AIR SERVICE PROJECT
Tells Probers Plan for Aeronautic Department
Would Be Well Nigh Irreparable Error-Also OPP.
poses Marine Corps Idea-Defends Policy

arm. The system Is working smooth
! lv. efficiently and economically.
In the Navy Department the Bu
reau Of Aeronautics is charged with
duties rela ating to the design build
ing. fitting out and repNir Of nava,
and Marine Corps aircrat. II recon-
mends to the Bureau o. Navigation
and commandant Of the Marine Corps
the detail. disposition and aeronautiC
training Of officers and enlisted mer
for aeronautic activities.
The existing administrative. indus
trial and scientific orga niZation of oui
Navy Department and all Of it's re
sources have been taken advantage oi
in the development of naval aviation
with little additional overhead beyond
the general overhead charges of the
department"
The Secretary then explained the
system employed in the pt,rcha Sos
OF supplies. the production of specific
types of planes and other such mat
ters of operation. adding that there
was close interrelationShip with
MANY activities of other bra inches OF
the Navy.
The close relationship" he Sid. 'of
aviation to the Navy and the absolute
interdependence Of aircraft and ships
in warfare at sea has been demon
strated time and again. not only in
our own but in other navies.'
United Service Out-Of.Date.
The Secretary at this point disclosed
the conclusions in n report submitted
by the comma nder-in chief OF the fleet
under date Of June "a. last. following
the Hawaiian naneuvers. which read
as follows:
The comma nder-in- chief. as re
suit of his close personal observa tions
desires to inform the department that
he considers any further agitation or
argument in favor of a united air
service or in favor Of separate
aviation corps for the Navy as being
entirely out of date. The comma nder-
in-chief is unab BILE to predict what will
be the ultimate development of avia-
tion material: but the developments
now present in the eet and in sight
indicate clearly that the air squadrons
exist as an arm of the fleet Just as
the destroyer squadrons and the sub
marine divisions exist: that they are
part and parcel OF the fleet and of
the naval establishments: and that
the air squadrons cannot exist on any
other basis for co-operatio co-ordi-
nation, and indoctrination. In order
to cooperate with the feet the per
sonnel must go through the same
training, the same mill, and he made
up of officers and men who are one
and the same. mentally and spiritual
ly. as the others in the fleet. They
must not and cannot properly exist on
basis of different broad training or
different status in any respect. and
any attempt to promote such exist
ence is against the best interest of
the fleet and the Navy. and hence of
the country as a whole
Sea Training Needed.
After the experience cited above
the commander -in.chief desires to in
form the Department that were he re
quired to conduct a campaign he would
want aeronautical units whose ma
terial had been developed and pro
duced by naval authority. in accord
ance with specifications supplied by
naval experience and dictated by
naval requirements, to work with the
bases: and he would want personnel
which had been trained homogene-
ously in all the varied duties with the
fleet at sea and around fleet bases.
Both the personnel and the material
must be under the sole control of the
Navy Department and of the com
ma nder-i -in-chief when with the fleet or
In the fleet areas. Any other arrange
ment would be entirely unsatisfactory
to any comma nder int chief.
The comma ander-in-chief informs
the Department in these matters in
order that the Department may have
at hand definite pronouncement in
accordance with the latest experience
by the officer who would be response
BILE for the conduct of operations
against an enemy in time of war
Turning to civil aviation questions,
the Secretary declared the depa TT
ment was keeping in close touch with
its development and was endeavoring
to cooperate in every practicable way.
The development of commercial