The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-01-30

terra firma's surrounding atmos-
phere presently will be the whole
thing.
When our current war started
surface fighters. on land and sea,
agreed that planes were vitality i'm
portant to armies and navies, but
only as weapons for the ground
lings, after all. Later, however, it
began to be talked that the air
force is in a class by itself, entitled
to consideration as independently
OF mundane soldiers and sailors as
these two surface groups are re-
. garded independently Of one an
other.
Now the chats to the effect that
the aviators not only are on a par
with the earthlings, ashore and
afoat, but are superior to EN-
that they're the birds who really
win wars. with landsmen and sea-
men merely running errands for
'em, down here below.
Earthly professionals don't admit
1t yet, but the heavenly experts say
positively that it's a fact, and
they're beginning to convince nu-
merous other folk that they don't
eXaggerate.
All Important
Illustratively, introducing a S12,-
555,s72,474 appropriation bill for
aviation's benefit, in his congress
sional branch the other day. Chair
man Clarence Cannon Of the repre-
sentatives' allowance granting
committee remarked, THE whole
issue Of this conflict depends upon
taking and holding control Of the
air in every theater Of the war"
He didn't even mention continents,
islands, oceans and Mediterraneans
as of any consequence; the heavens
above EN- were all he took into &C.
count.
In connection with news publica-
ton of stories Of that appropria-
ton bill Of Clarence's there was a
queer little detail that I don't sup
pose anyone but a newspaperman
would have noticed.
Into a journalistic headline the
figure S12 ,555, s72,474 doesn't At a
bit conveniently. 1t takes up too
much room and a headline has to-
be compact. Consequently practi-
cally every headline writer in the
country accepted "s1215 billions"
as approximately correct. A little
inaccuracy Of So millions and some
odd didn't strike 'em as worth dis
cussion.
As for our air corps proportion
In our total wartime setup, Briga-
der General Frank E. Lowe. army
chief Of staff assistant, puts the
rating, to come, as our program
develops, at nearly one-fourth."
Well, considering that flyers nat
urally are very carefully picked
and trained, Is per cent Of 'em are
quite a chunk in contrast to the
other IS per cent, scattered about
among other subdivisions-infan-
try, artillery, tanks. cavalry, en-
gineers and assorted services.
General Lowe deprecates jealous
les among 'em though. In the last
war the infantry's theme song was,
THE artillery, the cavalry and the
lousy engineers, they couldn't lick
the doughboys in a hundred thou
sand years"
The general won't encourage any
Of that sort OF versifcation by the
aviation this time. He wants CO.
hesion.
And Afterward?
But what about postwar avia-
ton?
Why, the plane, predicts Assis
tant Commerce Secretary Rober,
H. Hickey, will be what the auto
was in the last dozen or 20 years
He doesn't forecast that aviation
will totally supplant surface car,
for heavy transportation on earth
but he does surmise that planes vii
practically eliminate fiivvers fol-
family use. that all first-class mail
win be carried by 'em, not under
air mail stamps, but just as mat
ter Of course, and that passenger
carTi" will b second class. ex-
cept avIatoriany. He doesn't De-
lieve that plane crashes win be any
worse than surface auto accidents
either-in fact, not so bad, 70.
pedestrians.