Evening Star Newspaper, February 22, 1931, Page 47

. 5 AVIA BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON. TTH emotions which have been varied, but mostly un- pleasant, the country's con- tract airmail operators took the center of the aeronauti- eal stage In the week just past flnd‘ still are awaiting the results of their lormance, which, they are beginning suspect strongly, was for charity. Called into the office of the Postmas- ter General, Walter Folger Brown, rep- Tesentatives of all the large contract lines were told in blunt and forceful that the postal deficit is mounting up into entirely too many millions of dollars and that they must | zwlder & massive chunk of the bur- n. | ‘They were told that if they or the | Post Office Department did not cut down the expense to the Federal Gov- | efnment of flying the airmail as one | step toward the goal Congress would do it with pruning hook and snickersnee. In a ceremony suggestive of the offering of the cup of deadly hemlock to Soc- | rates, the operators were told to go out | themselves and come back with a ! plan for reduction of their pay. | ‘With their gloom lightened only by | the million-dollar smile of William P. MacCracken, jr., genial former Assistant | Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics, now one of their number, the repre- sentatives of the contractors went out to mull over the hideous details. They lived through the same situation once before and it is anticipated they will live through the present situation, but | 1t 18 likely there will be more gray hairs | and closer-drawn belts in the airmail ! industry. | Called to Account. ‘The session in the Postmaster Gen- eral's office was not a particularly happy one, even aside from the actual \ results. The operators were called to account by Mr. Brown. They were told that he is not satisfled with them. They were told they must demonstrate prog- Tess in the art of flying. They were in- formed that the speed with which they fly the airmail is not sufficiently daz- gling and should be improved. They were warned that they need not look to the military branches of the Govern- ment for support in their time of dis- tress, as the military people were prone to speak of civil aviation “with some contempt.” Though the operators did not protest these statements, unpleasant, though they must have been, Rear Admiiral Wil- liam A. Moffett, chief of the Navy Bu- reau of Aeronautics, felt it his duty to take issue with the Pcstmaster General He denied emphatically that he or the people in his service regird civil avia- tion in the United States with contempt. J“We believe,” said Admiral MofTett, “that under the regulation and the efficient management of the Bureau of Aeronautics of the Department of Com- merce the planes are safe and efficient for the purpose for which they are in- tended and the pilcts have no su- periors.” He said that the Navy has encouraged commercial aviation throughout and t to do 80 is one of the features of written naval policy. He said he regards eommercial aviation as a valuable ad- junct to military aviation in time of war. Big Cut Approved. 8o _potent proved the adjurations of the Postmaster General that the com- mittee came back with a plan which will cost them $2,000,000 a year n pos- tal revenues, on the basis of the amount of mail now flown. This is & loss of mearly 15 per cent, they estimated. One of the largest systems under this plan stands to lose $800,000 a year and oth- ers face losses of from $250,000 to $500,~ 000 & year. Some of these losses Will be made up by increases in schedules and volume of mail flown. Some possibly may be made up in increased passenger and ex- press revenues. The committee, after agreeing on the reduction, continued work on co-ordination of schedules over the various aerial passenger lines. In the meantime independent action on the airmail situation was under way at Capitol Hill. The House Ap- propriations Committee reported to the Mouse in the second deficiency bill an item of $3.000,000 for extension by the Post Office Department of present routes, including a sum of $33,000 for the inauguration of airmail service be- tween the National Capital and Pitts- burgh over the route now flown by pas- senger planes of Pennsylvania Airlines. ‘The $33,000 is to be made available immediately to pay for operation of the ‘Washington-Pittsburgh service as an extension of the Cleveland-Pittsburgh sirmail line from March 1 to July 1, when the regular annual airmail ap- propriation, which includes funds for airmail service from Pittsburgh to Nor- folk. Va., becomes available. The appropriation was urged by W. Irving Glover, Second Assistant Post- master General in charge of airmail, ‘who expressed the conviction of himself and other postal officials that “the Na- tional Capital should have direct coi mmunication with the transcontinen lines at Pittsburgh and Cleveland.” An Army Phenomenon. When an eclipse of the sun oceurs, scientists prepare months in advance for the observations they must make dur- ing the few seconds of the phenomenon 8nd then for months afterward they study the results of their observations. The coming maneuvers of the Army Air Corps, which will involve the con- centration of 670 combat airplanes in the National Capital and at other points along the Atlantic Coast next May, will be to military observers and participants what an eclipse is to the astronomer Preparations for the maneuvers have been in progress for months already and the results will be subject for men- tal struggles for many, many months after the maneuvers have passed into | history. Por the approaching maneu- vers, which will be the largest ever held, the War Department is creating the atmosphere of a great national emergency. As in case of such an emer- gency, the department is drafting for sctive duty the graduating class of the | sdvanced fying school at Kelly Pield Tex., and calling Natic Guard air units to active v piece of | available equipment, aside from train- | ing planes, which ar> worthless for combat purposes, will be pressed into | service. All this is being planned as an acid test of the adequacy of the Nation's serial defense organization to me*t any situation which may arise, according to F. Trubee Daviton, Assistant Secretary of War for Aeronautics. The War De- partment expects among the resuits the answers to many problems of supply, maintenance and command which have been rassing those responsible for the national safety since aviation be- came a vital military factor. Picturesque Descriptions, Credit goes to the Navy Department | for & most interesting description of a new airplane. Ref-rring to the new Loening “submarine” plane, a tiny af- fair designed to be stowed aboard un- dersea craft, the Navy says that, parked in & hangar with a coupie of big patrol planes and a tri-motored transport “this diminutive plans looks like a part fallen off the others.” * The little Loening, which is collap- sible for stowage purposes, is under- going complete performance trials at the Anacostia Naval Air Station, home of the flight t'st section. It is to be wsed, if approved, for extending the observation range of submarines. Aviators in general have unique and picturesque names for a number of the more commonly hnown planes The peculiar looking Stkorsky amvhibian, used by both Army and Navy, for exam- ple, is known by a number of impolite | wheels, go out to sea now, a distance of TION of their insistent refusal to climb to decent altitudes in accordance with solemn naval orders. When preparations were begun for anti-aircraft practices the T4Ms gently but firmly defied all efforts to push them up to the desired 8,000-foot altitude. Bending throttles and putting pilots on reducing diet proved of no avail. Final- ly, in desperation. it was decided to bandon naval practices entirely. The seaplane floats were removed and wheels substituted. Now the old planes climb to 9,000 feet. The result is that the pilots are collecting new wrinkles. When the old planes, with their some 10 miles from shore, the pilots must_put their faith in engines, radio and floating gear, knowing full well that failure of any of them is going to mean | a wet aviator. Now that the Navy squadron has gotten into tropical waters for Spring maneuvers, aerial navigation has be- | come the all-engaging topic of conver- | sation. When sights were taken and worked out in the PS-3 and T4M type | planes based on the U. S. 5. Wright, first results were startling. As the pilots began polishing off the rusty places, however, they became more adept at “effecting the marriage of the | elusive bubble and the galloping sun,” says a Teport to the Navy Department, and “Guantanamo Bay again resumed its normal location on the earth's sur- face.” Anacostia Busy. The Anacostia Naval Alr Station has been maintaining a well-filled schedule during the so-called Winter months of | January and early February. Business has been picking up for the flight test section, which worked S0 hard last Sum- mer it ran out of work for a time. The new motor test stand, housed in a concrete and metal structure near the “line,” is ready for action. A frame for the torque stand has been manufactured and assembled by the mechanical force at the station. The torque stand is the base upon which | the motors are mounted for testing. | ‘The fixed ring upon which the engines are to be mounted for trial has been rigged 50 as to project the base of the | engine some half foot from the frame | of the stand and so avold interference | with the flow of cooling air past the | cylinders, a source of much irritation | to engines and test crews which have | to cope with less well furnished torque | stands. | Shutter controls are being experi- mented with on one plane. Prelim- inary performance tests and rough | water trials have been made with an | experimental patrol boat from the Naval Aircraft Factory. The little Loening submarine plane, previously mentioned, in the language of the street, “is getting the works.” “Drag” Study Completed. An aerodynamic investigation of re- duction of drag or wind resistance, a most commendable piece of research from the viewpoint of those who must fly airplanes, has been completed with highly technical, but none the less in- teresting. results. The experiments in- volved the installation of many items of fairing and streamlining to clean up bad angles which interfered with the smooth flow of air about the plane in m{ht. deut. Matthias B. Gardner, the N tional Capital's most outstanding na- tive-born aviator, who has come to rank as the Navy's foremost acrobatic | pilot, in addition to struggling with the griefs which come to the operations officer at the Anacostia station, has completed a series of experiments “in- volving the determination of accelera- tions which may be expected when engaged in inverted acrobatic flying | including the inverted pull-out, invert- | ed snap rolls, ‘outside’ spins and out- | THE SUNDAY S D " R, WASHINGTON D. C, FEBRUARY 22, () upon wh began a life that was to ride high in hiftory. It is Wake- field, Virgini and the destroying hand of Time the birth-place of George Washington. Fire long since laid waste to the hearth-stone, and for unnumbered years the stark chimney and the slab marking the place of his birth were all that remained. Even these vanished as the years went by. 1931—PART FOUR By James W. Brooks Copyright 19X by Jumes W. Brooks Historiea! it el i tegies ithin a stone-walled enclosure elsewhere on the farm, his forbears slept -- his great-grandfather, grandfather and others of close kin. One day, when but a lad near twelve, he came to this place with his Spartan mother and her household to stand by with bared head as the remains of his father were laid away. Sobering scene for a boy wyhs Geaves Since Removep om man’s responsibilities were soon to fall. i SN2 iy Whatea View ar WakereLo Iy Coreoet Sketches LV D Silver bow! ueed at the N2 side loops,” according to official lan- guage. The description may not sound ex- citing, but it has required of “Matt" Gardner a deal of noisy and sensa- tional flying. most of which he has carried on as far as possible from the public eye over what swamps and waste spaces the Potomac and its tributaries afford. While engaged in this flying, which has added much to the luster of his name among those who follow such things, Lieut. Gardner has been carry- ing in his plane an accelerometer which has recorded, for the deliberations of science and those who build and keep airplanes flying. some of the strains and stresses an airplane is called upon to endure in the trying maneuvers of military aviation. Waiting for Thunder. The meteorological station at Ana- costia is all set for the thunderstorm season. A new static recorder has been installed after several months of test- ing at the navy yard. This instrument measures the quantity of static elec- tricity in the atmosphere is ex- pected to prove of considerable value in locating the direction of thunder- storms and giving some indication of their intensity. This will please the Navy pilots, who, in common with other flyers, have an aversion for thunderstorms which may be avoided. Flight test has been doing quite & bit of work with a Fokker tri-motored transport and with an XT2N-1 (which means an experimental torpedo plane produced by the naval aircraft factory), of the diving bomber type, which has been considerably altered since prelim- inary performance tests were fowl here last Summer. Tests also have been flown with a twin-engine P3M-1 patrol monoplane. Means of determin- ing rapidly the fuel consumption of any given airplane are being worked out. The large hangar at the station is being given a new lining as a step to- ward better fire protection and insula- tion to prevent the eseape of heat dur- ing the Winter and the absorption of heat during the Summer. Work has been started on a temporary barracks build- ing large enough to house the station crew during the construction of a per- manent barracks, which it is hoped may be started in May. Cuban Alr Force Grows. ‘Through the efforts of officers of the United States Army Air Corps, the Cuban Air Service has been increased in three years from 2 to 28 pilots, well trained and excellently equipped. Two provisional squadrons which have been organized in Cuba are said to compare favorably with the best United States squadrons The work of developing Cuban mili- tary aviation has been carried on to success under direction of Capt. Rosen- ham Beam, United States Army Air Corps, who was detailed for this duty by the United States Government in 1927 at the request of the Cuban gov- ernment. Capt. Beam, former executive officer of the Air Corps Training Cen- ter, Brooks Pleld, Tex., has as his as- sistants two American pilots, Lieuts. Jack Hodgson and James Gillesple, Air Corps. When the three-year details of these officers expired this Winter, they were assigned for another year at the request of the Cuban government. When Capt. Beam and his assistants arrived at Havana three years ago they found the Cuban Air Corps consisted of two pilots, four obsolete pianes, and one hangar. The three Americans went to work vigorously and under their di- rection there were constructed an air- drome power plant, three service hang- ars, machine and supply shops, para- chute shop, school buildings, meteoro- logical office and operations office. Un- derground gasoline and oil supply sy tems have been added. Five of the 28 qualified Cuban pilots today have passed 1.000 hours in the air and have qualified as pilots of tri- tored transport planes. During the past ar the Cuban Alr Corps flew 570,000 miles without so much as & forced land- ing. The corps now has 22 modern Wasp powered Curtiss Hawk pursuit planes and 8 Vought Corsair cbserva- tion planes. The enlisted personnel, trained under direction of Capt. Beam and his two associates, includes 162 me- chanics and technicians. The present staff of the school composed exclusively of Cuban officers, the three American officers acting as observers and advisers. The Army Air Corps nceds new am- bulances. Don't get the idea, however, that flying is becoming more dangerous; it isn’t. The ambulances now owned by the Air Corps are of most ancient vin- tage and must be replaced. Some of the fields are using vehicles cf World War days. Automobiles 13 or 14 years old are old automobiles, incapable of the youthful energy expected of a well conducted ambulance. Funds for am- bulances were sought In the war de- partment appropriation bill, but some- thing happened—one of 'the many things that may happen to items of the sort on Capitol Hill—and there are no | new ambulances. In the meantime & man starting out in an Air Corps ambu- lance with a broken bone has an ex- | cellent oppertunity of completing his ride with bruises and mental if not phy- sical shock as well. ANSWER TO Y STERDAY'S PUZZLE ! AND DRIVE IT YOUR}118: Try this new Free - Wheeling Hupmobile now Cruising the streets of this Yov can’t miss it . .. and it’s painted a dazzling white . new Free-Wheeling H City ... .. it’s cruising the streets . the upmobile. Hail it. The driver will give you the wheel if you want to drive it—or “chauffeur” for you, as you wish. But ... feel the thrill of free-wheeling. You never have to touch the clutch to shift the gears . . . second to hi gh, or back again. You use the clutch only to start or reverse. You step on the gas for one block, and momentum carries you two. You travel 10 miles, but the motor (and you) work only 8 . .. momentum again! You save 127, to 209, on gas and oil and tires, even with plenty of thick traffic. Hupmobile demonstrators are equipped with motor ¢ ‘Revolution Counters.” You can see the saving in motor wear and fuel consump- tion for yourself! The is 209, longer. But fol vantages . . . even car’s span of life, obviously, rget all of these striking ad- if they didn’t exist Hup- mobile’s New Free-Wheeling drive would still be a magnificent achievement just for the new thrill and pleasure it brings titles, most arresting of them being “The Flying Collection of Spare Parts.” 0i4 But Net Spry. Aged and ntly overhauled T4M of Navy Carrier Division 3 because to modern motoring. With the determination of Lieut. Col Harry E. Gladman, former executive koflk‘er of the 121st Regiment of Engin- |eers not to carry his fight for rein- statement in the Guard to the United States Supreme Court, it is probable that an announcement will be made | within a short time of a successor to fill the vacancy. The Engineer regiment has been without an executive officer since Col. Gladman was ordered dis- charged because of the controversy which has been pending in the lucnl,: courts, | Col. Gladman said that he informed | Maj. Gen. Anton Stephan during the week that he did not intend to carry the fight any further. While Col. Gladman expressed the belief that his chances of winning by going to the | high court were very good, he said that | he decided that it would not be worth the expense, as the fight was made in the interest of other officers who might be summarily removed. Those who have read the decision of the District Court of Appeals point out |that the effect is to put the military branch of the Government beyond the Combat Train, 260th Coast Artillery, 90.00; State Detachment, 90.00. The other organizations, in their re- spective classifications, with percentages of attendance, follow: Excellent: Headquarters Detachment, and Combat Train, 260th Coast Artil- lery, 90.00; Battery E, 260th Coast Artil- lery, 82.85. Very satisfactory: Medical Depart- Detachment, 260th Coast Artil- 76.47; Company C, 121st Engincers Company B, 121st Engineers, 77, Battery A, 260th Coast Artillery Satisfactory: Company neers, 69.11; Company D, 121st Engi- neers, 68.25; Battery B, 260th Coast Artillery, 68.18; Company A, 372d In- fantry, 65.71; Company F, 121st Engi- neers, 65.07, Battery C, 260th Coast Artillery, 64.51; Company E, 121st Engi neers, 63.07. A, 121st Engi- Examination of candidates for the eligible list for second lieutcnants of Coast Artillery was started Thursday night. ‘The requirement for six months | prior” enlisted service was waived \for the purposes of this examination. They were conducted by Maj. Frank C. Sco- |law. Although Col. Gladman, it was said, pointed out in his petitions that the Army had not complied with sec- | tion 77 “of the national defense act, which defines a mode of procedure for | the separation of National Guard offi- | cers from the service and providing for a formal hearing, the court held that in the military or naval service military law is due process. In other words, it was sald, if the Militia or the War | Department wants to get rid of an |officer for any reason whatsoever all it has to do is discharge h'm, and need not comply with the provisions of statutes setting up a form of procedure which is due process of law. It makes every officer of the Militia and even the Army subject to the whims of superior officers. no matter how faithful or how efficient had been their services, or for what length of time. Because, it was added, if the Army does not comply with the specific of provisions of ‘;muws the courts will not force it to | | do so. Evidence of unusual activity in get- | ting members of the local National Guard out for drill last week is indi- cated in the weekly report on atten- dance, which showed seven organiza- tions classed as superior, with 90 per | cent of their men or more present. The 29th Division Military Police Company headed the list with a per- centage of 96.66 and the cthers, in their relative order, with percentages follow Medical Department Detachment, 121st Engineers, 9545, Headquarters and Service Company, 121st Engineers, | 93.18; Headquarters Detachment. 20th | Division. 91.30; Band, 121st Engineers, 90.31; Headquarters Detachment and fleld, U. S. Coast Artillery; Maj. Stew- art M. Grayson, Militla Medical Corps, |and Capt. LeRoy 8. Mann, Militia Coast Artillery. Units of the 2 Coast_Artillery, | antiaircraft, of the local Guard, are en- | tering more and more the community life of the District, it was said. At the |request of the Potomac Food Distribu- tors' Association, which formally opened | the new southwest market district last week. Maj. Gen. Stephan, commanding | the local Guard, directed Capt. LeRoy S. Mann, acting commanding cflicer of | the 260th Coast Artillery, to assist in the celebration by furnishing the two search lights of Battery A. The search- lights are a part of the regular equip- ment of the 260th Coast Artillery and have been used many times in demon- strations in the city. The night of the celebration was a regular drill period and as airplane fly- ing has been arranged for, the unit re- ceived some very beneficial training while giving a demonstration for the benefit of the community. Battery A, the searchlight battery, is commanded by Lieut. Clifton W. Roys- ton, with Lieut. Louis M. Swingle as second in command. The following members of Compan; 121st Engineers, have been ordere honorably discharged to permit their enlistment in the Regular Army: Pvt, (first class) John S. Pugh and Pvt. Harry W. Wells. The chief of the Alr Corps of th Army has selected Joseph J. O'Dea, 1312 Fairmont street, and John S. Pugh, 1426 T street, members of the local Guard, as flying cadets, to be E, | Eller. | trained in the Alr Corps training center in the class starting March 1, next, ac- cording to a communication received at local brigade headquarters The letter also informs the Militia authorities that if these men elect to| accept the appointment it will be neces- | sary to discharge them from the Guard. The following members of Company | F, 1215t Engineers, have been ordered | honorably discharged on account of re- [ moval from the city: Pvt. James M. | Brady, Pvt. Leo Creasey and Pvt. Melvin | | The following have been ordered transferred from the active to the Re- serve lists of their respective organiza- tlons, on account of business interfer- ence with the performance of military duty: Pyt John C. Anderson. Medical Department Detachment, 121st Engi- | neers, and Pyt Arthur L. Mercilliott, | 25th Division Military Police Company. | Pvt. John V. White has been ordered | transferred from the Reserve to the | active list of Battery B, 260th Coast Ar- | tillery. | Maj. Gen. Anton Stephan has recently | authorized the use of the National | Guard Rifie Range, Camp Simms, Con- | gress Heights, D. C., by the Washington | | High School Cadet Corps for their an- nual encampment from June 19 to July |11. Each year for the past several years Gen. Stephan has authorized this use of the range, and about 180 young men in the organization annually take ad- |vantage of the privilege. Mess halls, | barrack buildings and firing facilities of |the range are made available to them | | during the period of their encampment. | |~ He also has authorized the use of the | range from April 8 to 28 by the Head- | quarters Troop and Machine Gun Troop, |3d U. s. Cavalry, stationed at Fort Myer; from May 11 to 31 by the Head- quarters Company and from July 22 to 25 by the young men from the Citizens’ Military Training Camp to be held at | Fort Myer. Brigade headquarters said | that other requests for the use of the | rangs during the coming season will no | doubt be received and granted by Gen | Stephan, as yearly the range is in con- tinuous use by organizations other than |the Guard from early Spring until late |in the Fall. The Guard reserves to | itself at all times the use of the firing | facilities on Saturday afternoons, Sun- |days and holidays, and at such’ other | times as are necessary for training and | instruction. It was announced at brigade head- iquarters that the general desires par- | ticularly to co-operate to the fullest ex- | tent with the District of Columbia as- ociations which in any way can use the | acilities of the District Guard so long | as their use does not interfere with | training of units of the Guard itself. | The belief in progress—in a humble |past. a better present, a still more| glorious future—has become so much a part of our mentality that it is diffi cult to imagine a time when this| | thought was unknown. | WO ONE FRE OWNER OF SKYSCRAPER MAY LIVE ON ITS ROOF Rumor of Pent House, Residence for Walter J. Salmon 60 Stories in Afr, Persisi NEW YORK (NANA)—Stil in circulation is the rumor that Walter J. Salmon himself will live in & pent house on the sixty-story building that he has erected at Fifth avenue and Forty-second street, but he insists that it is not so. The air up there should be good, the view magnificent, the free- dom from street noise agreeable, and yet that corner seems just a little teo prominent for real home life. The three-story pent house there will house only the machinery required for the elevators and other things. Mr. Salmon, as president of “500 th Ave- nue, Inc.,” the name of the building company, is, however, entitled to re- side at this great corner, for the de- velopment of the north side of Porty- second street west from Fifth to Sixth avenue is I ly of his doing. Nis nearest nel; T, 88 the crow flles, would be the superintendent, whe lives, with his family and various eats, inside the stone lion-guarded Public Library across the way. (Copyright, 1931, by North Ameriean News- i er Alliance.) Sharks lay brown four-cornered eggs, the corners running out into four long thin bands; these eggs mimic the ses- &eedn on which the sharks suspend em. 4 WHERE_TO DINE. Warrenton : : Virginia Forty Miles from Washington Over the Lee Highway Through the ns. pEUlirun Battiefield . eonens Wersemten HapTiotr Chicken or Country Ham Dinner Sunday & Menday $1.00 . 1 to 3 p.m._Supper. 6 to 7:30 p.m. Drive to Historic FREDERICKSBURG And Stop at the PRINCESS ANNE HOTEL Noted for Fed Chicken and Real Virginia Ham Dinners GENUINE HOSPITALITY BIG EVENTS IN ANNOUNCEMENT E-WHEELING AND A PRICE REDUCTION Century § Free-Wheel NEV PRICE OLD PRICE ix, 70 H. P ing Seden $995 $1195 Saving $200 Century Eight, 90 H. Free-Whee! $1295 $1395 Saving $100 ing Sedan 100H.P. Eight Free-Wheel- ing Sedan $1595 $1695 Saving $100 133H.P. Eight Free-Wheel- Ing Sedan $1895 $2080 Saving $188 133H.P. Eight Free-Wheel- Ing Custom Seden . . $2295 $2495 Saving $200 . 5. rasrony Frcer)leelisg H U PM O BI LESoves and Ghte DISTRIBUTORS MOTT MOTORS, Incorporated 1518-20 ourteenth St. N.W. Associate Dealers Decatur 4341 NORTHEAST HUPMOBILE SALES Metropolitan 3306