The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1939-03-16
Nautical Novelties
Ashore In Panama

Nautical Novelties
Ashore In Panama
When the United States fleet
had completed its record-break-
ing passage through the Pan
anna Canal a short time ago it
dropped anchor off Colon SO
that the men could have a brief
liberty. In relays, an hour apart,
10000 men went ashore. A
glimpse of their shore activities
is provided by a set of pic
lures, with generous explanatory
pictures and explanations, in a
recent issue of Life magazine.
And what sort of story is told by
the pictures and their explana-
tory notes?
A tale of drunkenness and
disorder, of wild carousing that
created a reign of terror? Not
at all. There, is, or certainly
there was, a well-nigh univer-
sal opinion that sailormen
ashore were disorderly, trouble
some, and destructive. Time
was when this largely was fact.
1t may be true in some navies
now. But Lies pictures of our
sailors visit to Colon should be
sufficient to prove-if any proof
we're needed-that the Ameri-
can sailor does not conform to
that pattern now, if he ever
did. In the Panama city he
behaved pretty much as a civ
ilian would have behaved-bet-
ter than most civilians, Life be-
lieveS. He made purchases,
danced a little, perhaps in night
clubs which were opened for his
day time visit, and then went
back aboard ship with no wreck
age, whatsoever, in his wake.
This is not surprising, of
course, to those who know the
sailor of today. The average en-
listed man in the Navy has had
two or more years of high
school, though there are many
high school graduates and one
in every hundred sailors has
been to college. The magazine
pictorial story of the sailor
ashore in Colon where album
dant opportunity was afforded
for brawling if he chose to
braWl, is the finest sort of COM
mentary upon the quality and
character Of Navy personnel.
And the story is topped off
with this note:
when the last of the 10000
men who got shore leave had
returned to their ships, only
one infraction of discipline had
been noted. This was the case
of a sailor who, having missed
the five o'clock launch on which
he should have returned, report
ed for duty an hour late" On
ly real men in the fullest sense
of the term could make a rec
ord like that.
Air Strength OF Powers
I'VE now have an authorita-
tive statement with respect to
the progress that Germany has
made in the past few years in
the matter of military aeronau-
tics" At a meeting of the So
ciety of AutomotiVe Engineers
last week in Chicago, P. T.
Wright, vice-president of the
Curtis Wright Corporation, in
formed his hearers that Ger
many now has 10000 military
airplanes, the vast majority of
which are of the latest design
and first quality. The produc-
ton now is keyed up to the
point where it is easily 5000
planes per year, or nearly TOO
per month, and that inSureS a
flow of requirements that is
without question.
MIR. Wright went further and
stated the accepted estimate of
the comparative air strength OF
the several world powers, which
was filled with interest. Regard
ing Germany on the basis of 10
he placed the other countries as
follows: Russia, 6 to 7; Italy,
S to 6; Great Britain 4; United
States 3; and France 2. This
last estimate is particularly
startling, for it is uncomfortable
that France would permit Hit
Ter to outdistance her in this
essential military feature to the
tune of S to /.
Combining this revealment
with respect to both France and
Great Britain in the air, one
can more readily understand
the outcome of the Munich
Conference last September and
appreciate that Hitler was not
bluffing when he threatened 10
bomb London every hour on the
hour.
Considering our own air Sit
uation in comparison with the
other powers, the concern Of