HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1927-09-29, Page 7•
'Europe's Rade to Pule the Sky
The Old World's Attitude 'Toward "Aviation Keeps the
Experts Guessing—Russia a ', Italy Are Getting
"Air Minded," But Great Britain and France Show
an: Apathy Toward.Flying Which May Prove
Disastrous—to Britain, at Least—lf
Not Overcome
By LORD THOMSON OF CARDINGTON
Former British Secretary of State for Air
It is a curious and significant fast
that the Russian government, in addi-
tion to -creating a formidable air force;
leas perceived perhaps more -clearly
i
than any other govern went, what are
the essentials of "air power" and ts',
using the machinery of state to instil
"air sense" inte the masses of the
_Russian people,
For example: The study of aviation'
has been made complsory in Russian'.
Schools; even 'ia the smallest itistitu-'
tions model' airplanes are provided,
and the children are being taught the
rudiments of sero -dynamics. The hi-
'forest of adults is maintained by,
among other organizations, the All -
Russian Volunteer aircraft Associa-
tion,. whose purpose is to provide facile
ale; for flying as a pastime. Like all
associations in Soviet Russia, this one
,could not exist" without government
permission and support.
How intensive the propaganda is
may iregathered from the following
figures: In the Ukraine 'alone there
are 4,662 local aeronautical societies
with a total membership of 360,000.
Each member pays a fes of eighteen
rubles, but whether this is an en-
trrece-fee er annual subscription is
not quite clear. Two societies, the
Sociey of the Friends of Aviation and
the Society of Chemical Defence, have
may been amalgamated into one,
known as the Aviokhiin, whose m•em-
ber:hip exceeds 2;000;000. This sug-
gestive'combinationlias already form-
ed nineteen aero clubs and established
1;200 libraries containing books on
aeronautical subjects throughout the
Soviet Union.
rn IIttory:.Aviation.
On the ether hand, military nein'ticn
has rot been neglected. If nnmbere
are a measure cf strength, Ruseia is
now a fiirt &nee air ewer. The Rus-
e:an .Air Force to said to os. -n6 Brom
1, '_•) to 1,503 military aircraft. Orig-
inally Russia imparted airplanes from
Germany, and her equadrons were
equipped from the Junkers, Fokker
and Dornier factories, but recently a
national aiscroft industry has been
founded with a re :.a ii department,
and the ln'c-t meehlries. have been
built in Rusr is from Russian desigr-e.
Ru ria i; specializing in all -metal
aitp antis made of a new alloy-Kolt-
chougaliminium. This notal combines
lightness with a tensile strength of
85,600 pounds to the square inch and
has given satisfactory results in the
various tests applied. An airplane
einstructed throughout of this alloy
and fitted with a 450 horsepower Lib-
erty engine has made a non -stip
flight front Moscow to Nijni Novgorod
and back.
Advanced Methods.
In South Russia fleets of. airplanes
are employed to destroy swarms of
lacune by spraying them with poison.
Nothing could bring homy better to
the population the uses and advan-
tages of aviation than this practice.
Tine most dazzling stunts and feats
of airmanship would not intptess the
Russian peasants half as much as the
extermination from the sky of these
voracinas insects, caught replete and
asleep upon the fields they devastate.
Whether Ituesia will become in the
true sense 0 great air power time
alone can show. Her wideeand dis-
tant s1;acee offer an ideal field for
aviation; the Slays have produced
many brilliant engineers and should
produce good pilots and mechanics.
What this race, lacks is concentration
and the faculty for detailed organize
tion. But if the . propaganda now at
work bears fruit and Russia builds
up a national air transport system
n-ith an adequate aircraft industry
for her internal needs, so vast are
her resources and so great are her
natural advantages that in a few'
years' tirne she may quite possibly be
in a position to control the air routs
over Asia to the last.
i3ritain's Opportunity.
Contrasted in many ways with the
growing c:A;ularity o2 avia ion and the
f increasing "air mindedness" of Rus-
sin is the, etatns of flying in Great
P.rltain, Aviation offers a splendid
opportunity to 'Great Britain. No
-")furolnan elate has more to pain by
its rational development. If the prob-
1hens pt :.eked by this new form of
• Intonation 'tire tackled boldly and na-
tional encrgineeero not paralyzed by
the inferiority complex ''tvlrich stakes
unenterprising' people dread all change
and discourage the activities of others,
tie rewards, though not immediate,
will amply compensate the efforts and
sacrifices made. They will be, on the
material side, new markets, more em-
plot ennit, readier access to undevelop-
ed regions, closer and wider inter -
comae - within the British common-
wealthand throughout the world; On
the moral side their worth will be in-
calculable --a broader outlook, better
`understanding, a quickening of the
pa'ogress•ive spirit, without which the
greatest and most powerful states
stagnate and eventually decay.
On the other hand, no people have
more to -lose by the neglect of aviation
than the British. These Wands have
lost their old security; se power ii#
and Birmingham, Liverpool and Man -
chaster, the majority cf English sea-
ports and
ea-ports'ancl cities are huge targets, as •.:�. ns,;,' �� :
vulnerable as they are essential to
'FQY"nYf.
the allele's life: They can bo de- ,
xF r
fended imohe
waw of 1 —the establish- •,>
meat of British air power on biroacl
y,
and deep foundations. Broad,because
from the •Very nature they' mist be ii, � ::y: �`,a` �;�• , v�;',�` '�` r;
for -lien„, -deep, for unless they rest::. s' �� �`,' ; ,•,.,�, ,;. • �:;,
upon natognal ,industry_ and peace : �s s f •.
time habits, an "air force; however effi-
cient, well equiped and 6W -sacrificing
its personnel may be, will be a svger- • ,;�• g n �
,structure without foundations, since
it t:
'�•2. ,,.t
will lack the requisite' reserves.. �`, ;� „ xn VR ' , ” •k- ..�> rh,, a;,
Nation Apathetic:, ----
In view of these considerations, it Traveling fifty miles an hour, loaded -with holiday passengers, express
is both disappointing and surprising left rails owing to washout during heavy storm=
that the British people as a • whole
Tc, L i rc Ir" i eel in I.,ondknt Train Wreck
•
shoeld bo apathetic in regard to avia-
tion. That they are so is _demon
etrable 'by statistics. .The :member-
shipof the Air League of the British
Empire did not exceed' in 1926 the
paltry total of 6,000 and is increase
ing,very slowly. In Germany an asso-
ciation with similar situs has a mem-
bership of several hundred thousand,
and Czechoslovakia, whose population
is 15,400,000, has an Air League with
80,000 members.
A Few Enthusiasts. ".
A•ducittedly, the ,foregoing figures
present the dark side of the situal: on.
There is a brighter side, where the in-
difference of the many is redeemed by
the enthusiasm of a few. All over
the country there are groups of pa-
triotic men and women ready to sacri-
fice their money, if not their necks,
in the cause of aviation. The support
given by the Air Ministry to Light
Airplane Clubs has been -appreciated
and :has metwith a satisfactory res-
onse. At least sea -ouch clubs are
now in existence with growing mem-
bership and the latest returns of pu-
pils in training and of flying licenses
granted are most promising. Several
successful air race meetings have been
held in 1927 and the prospects for
the remainder of the season are good.
Aviation as a sport seems to be talc-
ing root in England, and this is no
small mates, fr•un every point of view.
On the commercial Nide Imperial
Airways Limited are providing regu-
liar services with the. Co:rtineet. Their
air liners enjoy n deservedly high re-
, putation for safety and British pilots
inspire confidence in the most timid.
Daring the peened 1919 to 1926 the
'rate of fatal accidents was only one
per 1,141,000 miles flown with pas-
sengero and. freight.
Highly Efficient.
Although the Dr tiah air force is,
numerically, not so strong as certain
continental air forces, it inay be claim-
. ed that it makes up in efficiency for
lack of numbers. Visitors to the an -
anal air force display cannot -fail to
be impressed by the skill and daring
of rite British atrnren, and in every
branch of aeronautics the same high
standard is maintained. Unfortunate-
ly, in aerial warfare the casualties
will be appalling, and while there is
1 the faintest passibfility of war re-
curring one fact of aramount intport-
is that the British air force has now
taken the place of the British navy
as the first line of home defence. As
such it must be prepared for a long
war of attrition le survive which it
will need he backing of a national air-
craft industry and an imperial air
transport system just as the navy.
The Briish are proverbially slow
starters, hut they seen' at last to be
!recovering from post-war reaction, an
'signs are not lacking that more seri-
'ous and widespread interest is being
taken in aviation, It will, therefore, I routes as it would be to leave coast
be more profitable to look forward and 11anee unlighted, harbors undredged
consider future developments, y opments, rather ,and bridges broken; yet the charges
than contemplate the somewhat' for all these maintenance "servicers era
meagre showing of be present. The
word"showing" has, been used inten-
tionally, because, behind the scenes,
much 'useful experimental and re-
search work has been done by the Air
Ministry experts and aircraft manu-
facturers..
Seaplanes.
Like Italy, Great Britain will have
to rely to a great extent on seaplanes
for air communication. It may be
that when airship designers have
solved the problems of control of
lighter -than -air, vessels --and there is
:every reason to believe that they will
succeed. --the latter will play an ine-
portant part as passenger and freight
carriers. But that art will be more
in competitic i with, ocean steamers
than with airplanes. For seaplanes
there will always be a place en the
air routes of the British Empire, pro -
1 vided that their "useful lead" and
range of flight can be increased. Con-
siderable progress in this direction has
been made already, and in the near
future comeneecial seaplanes should
be available with a range of 1,600
miles. It will then be possible for a
traveler to fly from England to the
Antiodes in ten non stoprflights, with
a total of at nil "'P1 elving hours.
The stages might be Malta, Egypt,
' Bushire, Karachi, Colombo, Singe -
pore, Port Darwin, two air -stations in
Australia and one in New Zealand In
thcso eanditions, the gain in time
would he a decisive factor, and no
one with business of importance would
hesitate to take the air route. With
machines possessing this range of
1(iglo empire air transport will he-
roine a commercial proposition.
Does. Not Pay. "
In all countries the same complaint
is made—t tat aviation does not pay
, its `way. It�certainly does not. Ten
tines the present traffic is required
rte make British air transport pay.
Bet those who complsia rocs; loudly
,either forget or do not know of• the
subsidies paid to shipping companies
and the plight of the railways in their
earlier days. Subsidies are as nee-
; essary to aviation' as milk is to a
*child. Governments which starve this
,new form of transportation, and its
related industry, will be guilty of a
i penny -wise -pound-foolish policy, and
,rightly incur the obloquy of succeed-
ing generations. The future is with
airfaring nations, and subsidies to
!commercial aviation are a good in-
vestment of public money. Perhaps
!the best form such subsidies can take
his the indirect one of providing and
d equipping air routes. These routes
are as essential to a modern state is
, sea routes or public roads. It is, or
twill be, as unreasonable to neglect air
'met for the most part out of Urates
land taxes.
Italy's Experience.
Italy's aviation problem is similar
in many ways to that of Britain—her
long coast litre and interests overseas
necessitate the use of her emplanes or
amphibians. On the development of
these types of aircraft, far more than
on land machines and boicl ars,' her
air future will depend. Italian engin-
ears, pilots and mechanics can hold
their own with those of any race, and
great things may be expected from
them if they find an outlet for their
energies in the organization and
equipment of air transport systems,
providing safe and regular communi-
cation across the Mediterranean and
Adriatic. In this way Italy will lay
!the foundation of her air power far
more solidly than by the maintenance.
of an air force of such size "that the.
drone of motors will drown all other
!sounds in Italy and the wings of air-
planes above the peninsular will
eclipse the sun," to paraphrase a pass-
' age from tt public speech attributed
by the newspapers to Premier Mus-
solini.
I Unfortunately, tho air force esti-
Imam
sti-fmates in ItalY, like those of other
countries, •are going up, and the Ital-
fan government is credited with the
iintention Of constructing 2,800 mili-
tary aircraft by 1930.
The Marquess tide Pinedo has per-
haps a clearer notion of the require-
ments of aerial supremacy. He has
been urging, among other things, the
construction of emplanes navigable!
on the surface of the water. This i
idea is far from being fantastic; the'
e•,eawortleineee of seaplanes is sur-'
prising, though explainable on aero -1
static principles; they skim over the
roughest rest and neither crash into;
the waves nor wallow in the troughs.
Pinedo's Atlantic flights aroused' the
wildest enthusiasm throughout Italy,
where his name is a household word.
If his popularity and influence are
sufficiently maintained to enable hint
to put his ideas into practice it will
be fortunate for Italy and not,,less
so for Europe,
France Behind Too.
Although- France contributed so
much to tho early development of
aviation,it is probably true to say
that, with the exception of the British,
no rano displays greater apathy in
regard to aviation than the french.
In spite of all attempts by the govern-
ment to excite its interests by means
of aeronautical exhibitions and de-
nionetration flights the French publics
has -not yet acquired "air sense." Air I
travel will have to be both cheaper,
The Motor Toll
Carelessness, --of the car itself,
its brakes, its steering gear; care-
lessness of operation,—too touch
speed, cutting -in, loafing; careless-
ness to traffic rules, and signals;
all these add to our mounting tole
of motor accidents. The motor car
has added greatlyto the harsard
of our Ontario roads, It' Is time
that all gcod' citizens united to re-
port the careless driver. Ono year
of strict enforcement of our laws
would cause the .careless' to pause
and think, Our laws are sufficient
but our officers cella be every
where at once. help make Ontario
gale,
and safer before -the French take to
it, in Mite of the fact that itoasts
little if any more and ismuch los
daneeenbus than travel in a french
train.
A Flying Fish.
Nevertheless, much useful experi-
mental week is being carried on in
France. One interesting innovation
is the so-called "submarine emplane,"
a machine which, according to its de-
signwrs, can fly above or swim below
the surface of the sea. While this,
dove:co may have no practical appli-
cation for years to come, it is all to
the good that work of this kind should
be dbne. In aviation, the incredible'
of to -day is the possible of to -morrow.
Although, in the strict sense of .the
term, France has no air force—that
is, no independent service on the same
footing as the two older services
the air arm of the French army la,
numerically, the most powerful in the
world: For various reasons, the
French air arm is administered by
the War Office, and the chief sufferer,
though by no means the only sufferer,
from this arrangement is the French
naval ,air service. The complaints of
the lattem have been loud and long,
their latest occasion having been some
unsatisfactory experiments with sea-
planes.
Russia, Italy and Prance are un-
doubtedly great air powers of the
future. Two of them, France and
Italy, are developing aviation mainly
on military lines, in striking contrast
to the procedure imposed on Germany
by the Treaty of Versailles. Russia,
on the other hand, is pursuing excep-
tional propagandist methods simul- place in a well greased deep pan to
tancously with the provision of a rise. Cools together about five min -
powerful air force. If the govern- utes one cup 02 tuolasses, one cup of
ment in Moscow can achieve the mfr-(t_water and one tablespoon of butter;
acle of making Russian peasants "air -1 and pour the mixture over the dump
minded,' then Italy, France and Ger-1 ;lugs when they are light and bake in
many together will not be Russia's a moderate oven.
equal in air power. Fruit Potpie
For the British, delay or hesitation
in building up an ai rforce will be. Sift two teaspoons of baking pow -1
disastrous. Great Britain's position d dor into one quart of flour, add half a
in the world has been built up on thalteaspoon of salt; rub two tablespoons{
basis of sea power; new it needs air of butter into it with the finger tips
power to maintain it, Its mariners,, and add water to matte a soft dough.
bashad by governments with vision�Roll and pat out two•tbtrils of the
and the instincts of a trading people, deep buttered pan or a kettle with
!legs.
and cover the bottom of a
made possible the British Compton ! legs. Add a quart of quartered ap-1
h -
Autumn Treats
Rub about a flvo-pound piece of lean
beef with salt and pepper and half a
teaspoon of ground cloves and the
same quantity of allspice, then put into
a vessel in which Is enough vinegar
to cover it, together with a sliced
lemon, a sliced onion and half a bay
leaf. Turn several tines; leave in
the vinegar three or four days, remove,
wipe well and pot roast as usual.
Vegetable Chicken °
Cut a raw, four -pound chicken into
cubes; put it into boiliug water with
half a pound of lean hang diced, and
one large onion, sliced. Cover and let
it simmer for: an hour and a half; add
one quart of peeled and sliced toms. -
toes, one pint of: string beans, one
ehopped,'green pepper, four medium
sized potatoes, diced, and salt to taste;
cover and simmer another hour, Add �
one pint of cooked grated corn, a
fourth of a Pound of butter, cut into
small squares and rolled In flour, a
quarter of a pound of grated cheese I
and .the beaten yolk of an, egg. Stir,
five minutes and serve.
Cabbage Dumplings
Cut ' eight slices of salt pork into
pieces, cook out the fat and remove
the meat. Add three quarts of Chop-
ped' cabbage, sprinkle with one tea-
spoon of salt and add two quarts of
boiling water; cook thirty minutes;
add entire wheat dumplings and cook
fifteen minutes longer. Pare and
core two tartapples, cut them Into
rings half an inch thick and fry until
tender, Put the cabbage into a deep
plate; garnish with the apple rings
the pork and the dumplings,
Shoo -Fly Pie
Mix one cup of pastry flour with
one -fourth -of a teaspoon of salt, one-
third of a teaspoon of soda, one-third
of 0 cup of brown sugar, and one
tablespoon of lard. When well
blended add one-third of a cup of
'molasses and one-third of a cup of
boiling water. Mix well and place on
a small pie pan lined with pastry.
Bake in a hot oven until brown.
Serve with coffee for breakfast.
Molasses bumpiings
Mix one cup of warm milk, one-
fourth of a cup of butter, a little salt
and a half a cup of yeast; mix with
flour to make a stiff dough; form into
balls about the size of walnuts and
across rna "tutmtsante p
f the sea.". Its' airmen can i ales or peaches; add sugar bourtt[fulIy,
ways o as It requires more than when stewed_age is not neceecary. After planting
give it
consolidate that acof prosperitwealthy
and' as
the remaining dough for the top !place d na dark cellar where the tem -
life
n a new lease of enterpriseseeand ands crust and pinch the edges well to-'perature is kept arouud 40 degrees, if
life only by equal eand able
ing, on pathways more iliimitnhlol, gather and Put in a quick oven at 'possible. When the root growth has
and trackless, whose twurses aro in i first, thou Bawer the heat, It should 'developed well—turn out pots in hand
three dimensions and above bout land be brown all over4
and sea.
Preparing for
Spring
Planting of Bulbs Now Fill In
the "Bloom Gap" of
Next Year
WINTER BLOOM
To fill in the gap between the open.
ing of spring and the commencement
of bloom In the perennial and annual
Rower beds one should two a liberal
planting of aprtas flowering bulb,
These tam all the way from the Scillas
and.Crocusssa, which burst into bloom
before the snow has completely die
appeared on the shady side of the
house, to magnificent, tall Darwin
tulips which flower well into June.
See dstores are displaying their re-
cently imported bulbs at the present
time, Most of these are grown in
Holland, where the people have made
a specialty of this Hower culture for
over four hundred years. As the
flower is as the bulb when purchased
'the largest bulbs give the best bloom.
As a 'general rule these should be
planted in clumps of at least eight
bulbs in each clump. Seeure large
and disease free bulbs and get them
Planted before tho middle of October
as it is essential that the bulbs grow
a little before the ground freezes hard.
Any good open garden soil will suit.
The earliest bloom will come on the
south side of the house or fence where
the frost comes out of .the ground in
March. Grape and Dutch Hyacinths
follow the Crocusses in bloom, then
come Narcissus;, the single early
tulips, Cottage tulips, Darwin and
Breeders tulips. The 'small bulbs
should be planted from an inch to
two inches deep, while the tulips,
hyacinths and Narcissus from four to
six inches deep with the late Darwin
which are especially tall, from six to
ten inches deep. ;The heavier the soil
the shallower the planting. Space the
bulbs about the same distance apart
as they are planted deep. As these
bulbs will send up shoots just' as fast
as the frost comes out of the ground,
be careful in removing litter in the
spring that the rake docs not come itt
contact with the tender spikes.
One can also have a display of
flowers all winter - by planting most
of these bulbs in pots indoors and
forcing bloom earlier. - Narcissus;
Hyacinths, and Chinese Lillies can be
grown in soil, water or fibro. The
latter substance, which is now on sale
at all sped stores, is the cleanest to
handle and will probably give the
best results. Tulips should be planted
in pots, placing the bulbs about half
an inch below the soil. The Narcis-
sus will come into bloom in from six
to eight weeks, and should be planted
every week or two up until Christmas
for a succession of bloom. Hyacinths
and Tulips will tale about two to
three months, and I)af will, about the
came. Where soil is used, a light m11 -
ting variety coutaiuing plenty of sand
is advisable and drainago must be
Provided. With 'fibre or water dram -
Explained Her Make -Up
She—"All the world's a stage."
He—"That explains your make-up,
i suppose."
The real-estate firm that refuses to
hire flappers and employs none but
elderly women deserves to be con-
gratulated upon its ability to die-
ttnguish between them.—Now York
Evening Post,
Best of Ontario's Cattle Herds Parade in Coliseum
THE GRAND FINAL MARCH PAST IN THE COLISEUM
ttpp The prize winners of all classes always parade on the last Friday of Exhibition week. The; ;view shows this eye filling scene. The interest in
hetpioee agsi „Jr attackp Laauds® pidgins of all the live stook crane has been keen this year and the line( 1?arado can be seen to bo no exception.
1 THREE KILLED IN BLAST about 50 degrees. Water well at this
1 IN BRITISH NAVY PLANT time. In a week or two remove to
. full sun and a temperature of front 65
London,—A ferriflc explosion in the to 70 degrees. 'Unless those plants
navy's cordite storeroom at Wareham get the cold, dark start referred to,
recently caused the death of throe they will develop too soon, and small,
workmen. Three other men, one of sickly flowers are the result. After
whom was carrying a trayful of high 1 they Como nut, they must be kept
explosives, was blown out of the build- fairly cool, about 65 degrees, if the
Mg amid a torrent of bricks and de- bloom is to last as long as possible.
rls, but they were not injured. Sew •—. _,�
era; women employees were slightly
hart.
As the only three men working at
the .place where the explosion occur-
red were killed, the cause of it re-
mains unexplained. The explosion last year's, and prices not unsatisfao-
was the first In the plant sauce the tory. The result is that the hardy and
and examine—and the sprouts are up
about an inch and one half, bring out
into fair light an da temperature of
A Great Industry
London Daily Express (Ind. Cons.) :
The summer herring season has
closed with a Catch about as largo as
war.
Indefatigable section of our people
Immediately after the blast the who live by supplying the nation with
storeroom became a mass of fiames,''4ts most popular feed fiin good
heart
which mounted 100 feet high. Twenty and pocket We sometimesshare, in
employees, includingforsafety. severaThebul girlsding , our
eowe inla, what
had to dash . ilwboth
ndand to rhourban f sherwaymenforget and rho
was consumed in a few minutes, al herring. Between them they have
built up flourishing cities on out-
coasts,
urcoasts, and it was our fishermen who
long ago laid the foundations of Bri-
tain's maritime greatness. The
weight of the herrings landed every
year Is over twice that of any other
fish, their numbers run into the thous-
ands of millions, the value of the an'
nual catch is round about 20,000,000.
A great industry pursued by tho pick
of our people.
De Valera's ' Dilemma
London Daily Chronicle (Lib.):
There is only one way in which the
Irish people can establish Moro nor-
mal political parties in the Dail; and
that is by depriving Mr. De Valera of
the etrong representation be has se-
cured there, It may well be that those
who voted for Fianna Fait at the last
election had no Intention' of sending
its members to the Dell. Having .:
based his whole positloa on autagon-
lam to the Oath, and provoked elvfl
war I nthat cause, they can scarcely
have thought that Mr. De Valera
would swallow the Oath to gain ac-
cess to the Dail, If his cause is good,
he has perjured himself, he has no
cause, I3e has a curious case to pre-
terit to theIrlsb people,
"It is didicult; to make an income
out of the law nowadays," a solicitor
complains. But practice will do it.
"To ria races," states a sports re.
porter; "the greyhound, ,:,east hsr
' brain 1P .A q oa 'tter et•,dtirila,,
though the firemen prevented the
spread of the flames. All other build-
ings in the plant were shattered.
Tho factory is the research labora-
tory of the Admiralty and contains
many naval secrets of the greatest
lmporta.nee.
So We See
"You know my husband talks so
load and it is terribly embarrassing."
"Yes, I'm very sensitive that way
too. Everybody simply stares at you."
There Is a place in some men's
lives when omission of, the t'Mr." is
disrespectful another when it le a
etinooion. ,, _.:.•a: - •