The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1943-02-05
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Gle Gaeoma Gimes
. Clapper

Cleveland Fished Inside
Three Mile Limit
Veniuresome Taft
Went TO Panama
Roosevelt KNOCKS Down
All The Hurdles
BY RAYMOND CLAPPER
WASHINGTON-when Wood
row Wilson left the country to go
to the Paris peace conference. a
holy howl went UP. Some of the
brethren wanted TO declare the
presidential office vacant and
shove the vice president into it
permanently.
We used 10 think there was
some improperly in an Ameri-
can president leaving American
soil-some idea that one who
did was thinking that America
wasn't good enough for him and
why couldn't whoever he wanted
to see come to America?
We made our presidents
prisoners within our terrific
rial limits. Cleveland was
careful when he went fishing
In the ocean not to get across
the three-mile line. In Nc
Kinley's day II would have
been political suicide even 10
step across the international
bridge at ri Paso. We final
ly weakened so that Taft
could 70 and look at our own
Panama canal without invit-
ing too much criticism.
We have changed our minds
gradually about that sort of thing
and have taken on a more cosmo-
politan attitude. SO that now
President Roosevelt jumps to
Africa and back and receives
only acclaim for his enterprise.
And why not? Why
shouldn't the airplane, which
gets you from here TO there
In hours instead of days,
change the habits of presi-
dents since II h changing
all other habits In the world.
Why shouldn't presidents
take advantage Of this easy
and swift mode of travel TO
20 out for first-hand han
ding Of what needs to be
handled:
You could not hear President
Roosevelt describe his African
trip at his press conference this
week without being astonished
at what the airplane does Mr..
Roosevelt spent his first day out
of Washington reaching Miami
by train. From then on II was
Trinidad the second day. Belem in
Brazil on the third, and Bathurst
on the coast Of Africa. near
Dakar. on the fourth day out Of
Washington. On the afternoon of
the fifth day Mr.. Roosevelt was
In Casablanca.
Coming back he left Africa
the night of Jan. 27 and was in
Natal. on the hump of Brazil,
the next morning. He spent the
next night in Trinidad. and
reached Miami the next day. II
was a trip of 1896 miles-and
the travelling time in each direc-
ton was about five days. It
can be done in much less than
that.
An unbelievable amount OF
transportation In this war is now
being handled by air. The New
Guinea campaign was mainly an
airplane job, and General Mac
Arthur was 30 impressed with
what could be done by planes
that he issued q long statement
saying that q new form of cam
paign had been developed. Gen.
eral Macarthur made II clear
that the Pacific warfare from
now on viii find the airplane in
a variety of roles adapted to the
difficulties of a campaign in
mountainous jungle country.
The volume of sirborne traffic
from America to the fighting
fronts in both directions is likely
to expand rapidly.
This places additional strain
on facilities for producing and
Transporting gasoline. The
use Of cargo planes does not
eliminate the need of shipping
gasoline As bombing raids
increase, the demand for
high-octane goes up rapidly.
You have to put I'm between
1000 and 5000 gallons of gas
20 send up q four-motored
plane. The fuel demand for
big raids--for thousand-plane
eperatio n sis obvious. A
whole tanker load might be
needed 10 fuel a Cologne raid.
So the presidents flying tril
to Africa has dramatized again
the speed and comparative safet.
of air travel and the uSeg Il