Evening star., 1926-10-24
THE WORLDS WINGS
By W. Jefferson Davis
Lieut.. Col. Q. r. G.

|
ural catastrophe, are turning to air
arma ament.
In the military sense France sees
in aviation an indispensable instru.
ment for her national security. And
she regards 1t as necessary medium
for her economic expansion. domestic
and colonial. In the colonies the air.
plane has revealed itself as an effective
instrument of peaceful penetration"
| Too. employment of the airpIa ne for
police operation in Morocco and in the
Levant enables the French to main.
tain order with reduced land forces.
French colonial aviation is essential.
ly composed of military units at the
disposal of the colonial office The
| French colonies. because of their re-
| moteness. vastness and richness. com
prise large dominion in which air
planes and airships may be of much
use in peaceful pursuits. The swift.
ness Of aircraft assures rapid COM
munication between France and her
! possessions.
France has also esta blished a system
! of colonial airways to bring her
African colonies closer to her in point
! of time required for transportation.
| The importance Of these lines is con-
siderable. 1t brings the French ca pita
/ to within "A hours Of North Africa
! The military advantage is patent; the
| commercial advantage, in the rapid
transport of passengers. mail and ex-
| pressage. is great.
The French colonial airways Sys-
| tenn comprises the following lines:
Toulouse Casa Blanca Marseille.Al.
| geria, through the Balearic Islands,
and Antilles Bizarte through Ajaccio.
Ca asablanco-Daker and Algieres. Bis
kra -Touggourt Timbuctoo.
Morocco to Algeria and Tunis
| through Casabla nca .FeZ- eZ-Oran-Algeria
and Tunis.
Kaker to Timbuctoo through Hayes
and Bammako.
In addition, France is planning lines
to the Far East and is studying South
America. Fra nee at present is doing
more than any other country in Eu-
| rope to establish air mail lines. and
has more mail planes in operation
than any other country. A world
girding air mail service will eventu-
ally be established through interna-
tional cooperation. In this France
aims to be one of the leading CO.
operatives.
At first the natives of the French
colonies were disposed to accept air
planes with sort Of fearful defiance.
But in the larger colonial communi-
ties and in many savage localities air
craft are now accepted as a matter of
course. The natives have seen planes
carry doctors to the sick and rush
medical aid to check epidemics. Ma
tives in need of surgical ministration
have been flown to hospitals and have
returned to their villages to report
their benefits.
Passengers. mail and merchandise
are being flown. not only from France
to the colonies, but from one colonial
community to another. Airplanes
have been utilized for mineral pros
pecting and for the transportation OF
precious metals and stones. Aerial
photogra ply is making possible the
accurate mapping of much colonla
territory which has hitherto remained
uncharted. Large uneXplored Sec
tions Of the colonies have never been
visited by white men. Using air
nlanes. geologist and forestry experts
NAV quickly determine the character
of these uneXplored regions.
France Is not permitting her aero
nautical program for the colonies to
expand without a carefully considered
program taking every important fac-
tor into consideration. An extensive
and definite progra m is heing deVel-
oped steadily and as rapidly as
finances permit. When its major Sec
tions have been worked out Fra nee
will he in easy. swift and regular com
munication with all parts OF nef
African empire.
The French air line from Toulouse
to Casahlanca has been in operation
more than six years. BY air, in Sum-
mer. it is 13-hour flight between
these two points. In the uncertain
weather of other seasons it is a "a
hour run. 10 hours flying each day.
This will he cut by nearly two-thirds
when night flying is instituted. The
service is daily.
In 1920 this route carried three and
one half tons: in 1921. seven tons; the
total amout in 1922 averaged more
than four tons a month. and now
over half Of the total volume of mail
between the two points is sent py
airpane.
The line between the Antilles and
Bizare is open to commercial trafHc
tri-weekly. This year the aeronaval
company is 10 fly planes to Bizet.
line from Marseilles to Algiers IL
planned for opera alton in the near fu-
t,lre. Always uniting North Africa
to French West Africa and Sudan
with the Kongo are under construc-
ton.
That there lis wisdom in the French
effort to build up strong air connec
tions between France and her colonies
is proved by the effectiveness Of her
bombing and reconnaissance regi-
ments of aircraft used against the
hostile natives ins Africa.
France is able to do this because
she has $500 airplanes in active serv-
ice with a reserve Of 5000 more. This
is in comparison with ltalv's 1000
planes distributed through 50 squad
rnns and Great Britain's 20 squadrons
Of SIS planes.
The principal lesson from the ex-
perience of Europe in five years Of
subsidized commercial aeronautics
may he stated a follows:
fa) Air transportation under suit
able conditions can be conducted with
a degree of regularity, safety and dis
patch sufficient to establish it as an
important additional channel Of COM
merce in the transportation resources
of a nation.
th) When so established and oper-
ated mail goods and passengers will
not hesitate to seek out and utilize
it. even at a considerably increased
traffic charge.
tc) The development Of self-support-
ing air transportation services in Eu
rope is seriously limited In a number
of ways by the conflicting national
interests Of the many countries in
volved: the United States, on the other
hand. is better suited to the immediate
establishment of sound aeronautical
industry than any other country in
the world.
Id A Government policy of indirect
encoura cement by the development of
vnI N,nfh hrS6C