Evening star., 1926-11-28
By ". Jefferson Davis
Lieut.. Col. 0. r. C..
Legal Adviser for the United States at tho
Congress on International Aviation

,e,v dav and now. with accustomed British fore
sight, intends soon to become the 'mlstress UI %,
the air" For the moment, France eAcers e ne. IN ~;
the air as France excels all other countries III
this respect Information in possession VI oul
Government is that Great Britain ldst 3ssi ,
expended $105. 100000 on her air serve .ras
ther Great Britain has unified the an forces
of the Navy and Army under one cohilile'llu t @ a
is fully aware that it, and when, the IieAt ,, Mi
comes there must be coordination or the ldiu
sea and air forces under the supreme cohIioi VI
an officer of the air service 49,,
Across the Channel, France already mas
taken the lead among all nations III the OH
rush of aircraft production. 1t is conserVa-
lively estimated that today France mas OH IN t.I
active first line of defense 2,0oo planes, VIZ
1000 in reserve. Her appropriation Ior cl.e
current year for aviation activities was $of'
600, 900.
France has subsidized commercial develop
ment of flying craft; she today has completely
lnobilized for emergency all industrial organ
izations having to do with airplane construc-
ton and has a network of civil aviation nne5
connecting that nation and all OF her colonies
In Japan the civil aviation bureau Oh the
department of communication alone is perfect
ing a seven.year program calllhg lor eNpehu t5r..
iture of SIS .000,0 900. This project lrpIudeS,
the establishment of five air routes linking
Japan and Korea. Alaska, the Siberian httoral
and the North American continent straight
across the Pacific.
With Oriental caution, Japan Is safeguard
ing her military program as it relates to ar
craft. 1t is known that her military appro-
priations for such purposes are unlimited
They not subject to the pencillng and
pruning Of budget directors. nor to points OF
order" and indiscriminate debate in her Par
Lament.
X
In her military preparedness Japan began
with aviation in 1918, early appreciating the
possibilities of the airplane. She borrowed
methods of instruction from Great Rrltalh
as she proceeded with air force over the
water, and she obtained a French mission to
build Up her military air service .hus drawing
two different methods of operation Her
CCf0n6n n
cordance with the French system-that is, at
the start she created air division, with
about 600 planes, with the colors, and dlVl-
sion of the size in reserve.
Japan has already organized alrways all
through her empire and her planes can go
over long distances and be supplied These
airWays extend to our possession of Guam
up north to kamchatka, through Korea into
Manchura and down through Formosa to
within few miles of the Philippine Islands
a possession of this country. Working swiftly.
secretly and with accustomed foreslghtednesS,
Japan has the second largest air force in the
world. At the peace conference Japan was
not one of the Big Three" or Big Four"
At the Washington arms conference she had
become one of the big Five" Today she is
Of the big Two" as relates to aviation. with
Great Britain runner-up and the United
States at side table in preparedness
Thus while the United States debates ap
preparations for a minimum defensive Air
Service, Japan is understood to have II air
plane factories. operating day and night shifts
with an estimated monthly output of 500
planes most of them of the combat type.
Perhaps it is such activity that causes think
ing people to ask for what purpose are they
to be used.
K !: X X
At the outset of America s entry into the
World War an alarmed and suddenly liberal
Congress appropriated $G25, GOO 600 for hurried
creation of an Air Service. These vast sums
were virtually wasted in experimentation, the
standardization of motors, the construction Of
planes that would not fly at q time when they
II
France. There nationwide concern and
recrminatlon the lack of preparedness"
This unpreparedness included the lack &C
trained persOnnel-a personnel Woefully re
qured along the battle lines
There is another lesson in the teSt-
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