Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1943-03-11
Air Imperialism

From The Call, Socialist news
paper, comes the following time
ly and provocative article on one
of the most controversial prob
lens to be faced in the postwar
world. Written by Socialist in
the air forces it gives the view
point of one who has had rare
opportunity to make first-hand
extensive study of the condi-
tions making for this new ''im-
perialism of the air." For OBJ
vious reasons his name must be
withheld.
Globaloney!
When Claire Boothe Luce, Con-
necticut's contribution to Washing
tons pulchritude, told the House that
Vice President Wallace's concept of
post war freedom of the air was
''globaloney, no matter how you slice
it," she sliced open one of the most
ticlSlish and basic policy undermining
questions of the future.
For as Mrs. Luce and Vice Presi-
dent Wallace know, and everyone
else is rapidly learning, domination
of the air in peace-just as now in
the war-means domination COM
pletely. And complete domination
entails economic domination So,
alert, farsighted businessmen are
contemplating the future with plans
and not without a bit of suave
handwriting as they envision a rev.
olution to their liking.
1t seems that Vice President Wal
lace was first to coin the term Free
dom of the Air" With all his ideal
ism, he has long been cognizant of
the inevitable position of postwar
air transportation. Some time ago he
advocated an airways system which
would be semi-commercfal and semi
military and which would have as
its primary justification the safe
guarding of world peace" After this,
the vice president lost himself aloft
and practically cried aloud for the
"globaloney" stab.
Mrs. Luce maintains that she is
not seeking United States domina-
ton of the air. In her congressional
speech she said:
The Sky's the Limit.
Il do not mean by civil air SUI
premacy that this country should
monopolize the civil air traffic of the
world. We are strong, and not only
an IN ho Co.
the peace of the world we must be
.. To paraphrase the words of our
gallant ally, Winston Churchill, we
were not elected by our constituents
to preside over the liquidation of
Americas best interests, either here
or abroad. The sky is the limit of
those interests. The time is now"
The battlecry for immediate action
is not without significance. Amer
ica's strongest competitors for post
war air domination are neatly bound
hand and foot not only by the war
itself but by actual agreements which
have been reached in the course of
the war with the United States. BY
such agreements with Britain, and to
lesser extent with Russia and
China, America is today predom-
inantly producing cargo and trans
port ships, while our allies have
largely discontinued this to concen-
trate on bombers and fighters. Even
one of Americas most effective
heavy bombers, the Consolidated
B-24, has successfully been trans
formed into a long-range transport,
C-87, and is now widely used.
In addition to this obvious advan-
tage, the Army Air Corps "Air
Transport Command" was established
in 1912. The Air Transport Com
mand developed the first and still
the only worldwide airline. Its
routes extend not only to every bat
tlefront but to every pro-Allied
country in the world. New routes
are continually opening, and the
overall expansion of the command
has far surpassed that of any other
division of the Army or any other
branch of any service.
Laying Permanent Groundwork.
Figures, of course, are not avail
able as to the actual size of the A.T.C
However, if one were to take all the
aircraft in American commercial
airlines prior to the war and poo
them, they would be only a very
small fraction of the total A.T.C
equipment And the A!T.C. is jus
starting.
The A.T.C. is closely aligned with
Americas commercial airlines. Ir
the early days, not so many month:
ago, the personnel was 30 per CEN
airlines. This was to gather an ex-
perienced nucleus from which t