Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-09-17
EXPERT OBSERVERS IMPRESSED WITH
GRAF ZEPPELINS ABILITY TO KEEP
so CLOSE TO FIXED SCHEDULE TIME
BIZ CHARLES p. STEWART

WA6n1NGlON, sept. 1f.-ASiue
from the fact that surface ships are
slower from shore to shore. their
great disadvantage, in comparison
with aerial craft, lies in their inabil-
lty to travel from an inland starting
point to an inland destination-per-
laitting a passenger to make one IN
interrupted trip Of a journey from
ST. Louis 70 Berlin, for instance, in
stead Of being forced to transfer, bag
and baggage. two or three times on
the way.
Rehandiing freight. as efficiency
experts at the commerce department
point OK. is even worse than trans
ferring passengers.
After all, though the passenger
may be Inconvenience when he has
to change from train to boat and
from boat TO train, 1t does not cost
much. Unloading a carload OF goods,
trucking 1t across town. slowing 1t II
the hold Of a ship. digging 1t out
again. hauling It through the streets
Of another town and loading 1t onto
g second freight train-all this runs
into money.
In fact. 1t frequently Is more TX
pensive than the actual cost Of
transportation.
Transpolar trips. too = trans
n0rth-polar, anyway - commerce
department folk look to see them
become speedily popular. now that
the Graf Zeppelin has demonstrate
ed the dependabilty Of dirigible
travel.
1t was not SO much the Crafts
ability 20 keep the air that i'm
pressed expert observers; that they
had expected.
1t was her ability to keep SO close
TO schedule.
AS for the %transpolar v~oyage-it
will make terminals like the Twin
Cities and Moscow quite near neigh
bors when IL becomes q regular two
or-three-times-a-weeH event Of
which anyone who will take the
trouble to listen can begin TO over
AACGA HACQAlt4OA4S III ally Va t44G u
fices on the sixth flcor-"aviation's
floor"-at the commerce department
building.
The departments airmen lost no
time in proclaiming the definite ar
rival Of the dirigible's day" before
news was fairly at hand of the
Crafts safe presence in her hangar
near Toxic.
This cinches H." was the verdict
when she berthed at Lakehurst.
Col. Charles "A. Lindbergh was
quoted recently TO the effect that the
dirigible and plane are compile
mentary-each has its particular
field Of usefulness-they will not
be rivals-but the colonel did not
clearly define their respective
spheres.
Commerce department aviation"
W quite agreed on this point
The plane will reign supreme on
land and for one-hop trips w
water.
The diriqible will be the favorite
for nter-continental Journeys-not
mere seaport-to-seaport journeys.
but Journeys from the interior OF
one continent to the interior OF
some other continent.
That ~dirigibles ever will carry
cargoes Of very great bulk-like
coal, grain or even automobiles and
agricultural machinery is not
prophesied.
These will move by water.
Surface vessels are also recog-
nized as possessing advantages for
what viii henceforth class as short
runs from New York 70 Liverpool or
San Francisco TO Honolulu-more
comfortable and quick enough for
most practical purposes.
But from American corn belt
centers 10 middle Europe. or the
long jump from the United States
over the vast South American
jungle-as bad a place as the
ocean for a landing-to Buenos
Aires?-the dirigible.
Col. Lindbergh - naturally a
heavier-than-air enthusiast may
say what he likes. but the fact re-
mains that the dirigible appears to
have clipped the planes wings
somewhat.
Talk of overseas ~airplaning has
stopped abruptly.
Where it is safe. the planes SUI
periority in speed is conceded; the
consensus Of the most experienced
opinion is EVIDENT that the safety
factor Is in the dirigible's favor
where there is nothing more stable
underneath than tossing water or
ice pinnacleS or tossing-tree-topped