Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-29
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
!. G. NJ.

son Davis. Simmons Boafuinau
Publishing. Co.
The wearing of wings, up to few
short years ago. appeared TO ne an
exclusive function of angels ana
birds. Of certain insects and an oddly
capricious mammal
Within the limited period between
then and now, however, man, the
prize pupil of all creation, has him
self taken to wings and flight Al
ready is he usurpinG the old freedom
of the air in an aerial trackage along
which. in a challenge of sheer au-
dacity, he is sweeping off and away
under the irresistible urge of the hui
man to a complete conquest of nature.
And so great is the momentum OF
modern progress that even within the
short term of its existence aerial
navigation has become an integral
part Of the sum of human activity.
Already is it an accepted factor Oh
trade and commerce, Of passenger and
mail service, of military science and
calculation, of international communi
cation. More and more. wherever
speed is prime desideratum, there
this mode of locomotion is brought
into use. More and more does air
navigation play a part in avoiding
the delay and Texation OF such IRON
tier barriers as exist throughout con
tinental Europe.
Naturally, so great and so astound
ing phenomenon as man flight takes
first place in the collective mind. II
provides topic of current talk, OF
daily press attention, of innumerable
books and magazine articles and
pamphlets in exposition of one or an
other phase of the amazing triumph
of man over the air. These writ
ings, in bulk. separate broadly into
scientific studies of aeronautics on
the one hand and on the other into
discussions of the various practical
possibilities of aerial navigation.
x x X
1t is from this second standpoint.
from practical consideration OF
aeronauticS that the book in hand Ii
projected. National self-defense, faced
upon the brilliantly accomplished fact
of man flight, is the originating idea
of this study, its motivating impulse
The purpose of the book is definitely
TO set out the status of the United
States and other leading countries in
their acceptance of this new instru
ment of warfare coupled with the
measure in which they have converted
such acceptance into material means
of national self-defense or possible ma
tional aggression. To meet such pur
pose the study consists. therefore, OF
a survey of the great countries of the
world in respect to their comparative
progress in military aeronautics. II
is, besides, q summary of this situa
ton. From this point of summary
and a comparative standing the study
then becomes acknowledged, per
suasive, convincing - bent directly
upon the law-making body OF this
country, upon the Congress of the
United States.
BY way of an earlier book, Putting
Laws over Wings" the author has
already, sharply and urgently, indi
Gated aerial navigation as an out
standing and vital concern of the
National Legislature. But even since
the issue of that book, only a short
year ago, the subject of military
aeronautics has moved forward
throughout the world with incredible
speed and assurance. Drawn from
first-hand sources of information, the
book in hand is an expert, compre-
hensive registration of such world.
wide advance in this direction.
The foothold required for an ade.
quate appreciation of the facts dis.
closed here is the solid ground of
conviction that war is not a dead is
sue; that the great "war to end war;
proved to be nothing more than a
noble gesture, nothing more than a
dream embodied as a bit of Elusive
rhetoric. Today war is very much
alive. Among many other terrible
things that 1t so clearly was, the
World War turns out to, have been,
besides, schooling for coming wars
infinitely more horrible than it In its
day knew how to be. No longer will
wide seas provide the isolation that
used to be called national security. ma
tional defense. No longer will slaughter
be confined to hostile armies drawn up
face to face for the heinous sin of
murder without the slight extenuation
of sudden anger or even of deep-seated
personal hatred. But. sailing the
skies, war will sow death and destruc.
ton broadcast, wiping out cities and
peoples far away from the attacking
lines themselves. All this, and more
II the worlds wings" are not clipped
by laws calculated to curb the natural
ferocity of man that is increased a
thousandfold under the artificial
stimulation of blood lust by the activi-
ties of war.
So, here we go along with Mr..
Davis from country to country to see
how far all of them are outstripping
the United States in respect to this
newest means of national self-protec-
ton. Under his powers of investi-
CATION supplemented by good oppor-
tunities for such pursuit we visit
England, France, Germany, Italy.
Japan and Russia, very properly in
terested, even excited, at the budget
of evidence spread out before us.
Everywhere there is a hectic activity
toward military aeronautics. Science,
busy in the interest of more and more
effective means of f.protection-or
attack as the case may be- Money,
running like water for the fIlfillment
Of these competitive plans Every
sort of national and individual in
genuity, initiative. efficiency, working
at white heat over the new military
possibilities. France turns out to be
the master of the air. japan is
the lace of the Pacific" Germany.
that erstwhile Lame duck" is quietly.
concealingly, but very actually taking
on the wings of the eagle for long
and, maybe, devastating flights. Eng.
land by way of the air and it's speedy
contacts, is linking up in a unity of
understanding and purpose it's far
flung dominlons in a singleness of
front against whatever may dart
down from the skies upon any part
of it's wide domain. Italy is astir.
growing wings for the safety of It's
own inland sea, that cross roads of
the world. After such survey, and ali
along it's course as matter of fact. Mr..
Davis constantly turns to the United
States, whose own sons invented this
marvel of the age, checking up at
every point our own place in the pro-
gression toward military aerial de-