Evening Star Newspaper, May 25, 1937, Page 13

« AVIATION BUREAU . URGED BY MADOO Senator in Forum Address Says Adequate Air Force Insures Peace. Concentration of the Federal Gov- ernment’s authority over commercial aviation in a single responsible bu- reau or independent commission was advocated by Senator McAdoo of Cali- fornia, wartime Secretary of the Treasury, in an address last night. He spoke on the National Radio Forum, sponsored by The Star and broadcast over the Nation-wide net- work of the National Broadcasting Co. ‘The Senator further declared there should be “a standing committee of both Houses of Congress charged with the sole duty of considering aviation legislation.” Speaking on “Future Air Conquests,” Senator McAdoo first reviewed the history and progress of aviation, re- cent conquests of the airways of the world by commercial aviators and the eerial armaments of the world’s major mations. “While the United States is far in advance of all the other great na- tions in commercial aviation,” he said, “it is far behind them in war plane development. “I am firmly convinced that with an adequate Navy and air force we can keep the United States at peace with the rest of the world, and I am equally convinced that without it we &hall court unnecessary and grave danger in the future.” Flight at Kitty Hawk. The text of his address follows: ‘Twenty-nine years ago the Wright Brothers made themselves immortal by their first air flight at Kitty Hawk, N. C. American genius built the first successful airplane, and from that be- ginning has come the miraculous air- eraft development of today. ‘The world was & long time awaken- Ing to the tremendous significance of the Wright achievement. Even this eountry, which gave the heavier-than- air craft its birth, did not grasp the full meaning of the mighty achieve- ment of the Wright Brothers until May 21, 1927, 10 years ago, when a tall, slim youth thrilled the world by dropping out of the skies to an air- port in Paris after an amazing flight from New York across the turbulent Atlantic Ocean. The peewee plane used, for it is that in comparison with the giant sky eagles of today, was commanded by a young hero whose dron nerve and dauntless heart carried him alone in his frail craft across the mighty Atlantic. The whole world was delirious over this amazing con- quest, and Charles A, Lindbergh, like the Wright Brothers, made his name immortal. Another young hero appeared a few Years later to carry into practical ex- ecution the great achievements of the Wrights and Lindbergh. He had the vision to see that an indispensable service to mankind could be rendered if distant countries could be con- nected by passenger airplanes flying over the great seas which separated them. Again American genius found expression in the person of Juan T. ‘Trippe, whose outstanding contribu- tions to the development of oversess flying have carried the stars and stripes across the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the waters which lave the shores of Central and South America, and whose bold plans for airplane service across the turbulent Atlantic are now nearing fruition. Across our own continent, men of like vision to Trippe have enlisted effectively for the creation of great transcontinental airways which are today the finest of their type in the world. Other heroes of aviation are the men whose genius has developed the airplanes and navigation instruments, without which no one could success- fully fly. Among them I refer to Glenn Martin, Boeing, Douglas and Tom Megan. Demand for Speed. The outstanding characteristic of modern civilization has been and con- tinues to be a demand for speed in transportation and commission. Its progress has been marked always by speed and more speed. The tele- graph led eventually to the develop- ment of the telephone on a world-wide scale, to the radio, with its amazing power to penetrate the illimitable ether and carry the human voice to the remote places of the earth. The insatiable desire for speed finally pro- duced the automobile, which has rev- olutionized the economic anc social life of the world. The railroads were rapidly becoming moribund until they transformed themselves again into in- viting agencies of transportation by improving their equipment and pro- viding greater speed. How are we tb meet the insistent demand for speed except by development of air trans- port? It is the only medium through which the safest form of speed can be provided. Our city streets and our highways throughout the Nation are gorged with passenger automobiles, motor trucks and motor busses. The hazards of automobile transportation are reflected in the appalling annual list of deaths and casualties. The day Seems near at hand when we shall have to build superimposed streets in our cities and additional highways throughout the land to meet the ever- SENATOR McADOO. ~—Star Staff Photo. increasing demands of motor traffic. We must turn to the unlimited air as the safest medium for transporta- tion at highest speed of the millions of people who must be accommodated in the not distant future. I stress the word safest because, notwith- standing some tragic accidents, the record of air flights in this Nation and throughout the world has shown conclusively that, for the number of passengers carried, it is the safest method of transportation of any which modern ingenuity has yet de- vised. Speaking first of the international aspects of aviation, the United States stands first in monumental accom- plishments. With Miami, Fla, as its base, the Pan-American company has developed & marvelous system of air transportation, reaching Mexico, the Central American republics, the Canal Zone, Western and Eastern South America and the West Indies. Re- cently it has extended its lines across the vast Pacific Ocean so that a pas- senger may now go in seven days from San Prancisco, via Honolulu and Ma- nila, to Hongkong, China, a distance of 9000 miles. I made this trip to Hongkong and return last October— 18,000 miles over water—and I can testify personally to its practicability and safety. From Hongkong one may continue by British Imperial Airways across Indo-China, Siam, India and Egypt to London. Only the Asiatic link re- mains unfinished. The Pacific Ocean, though vastly wider than the Atlantic, presents far more favorable meteoro- logical conditions for flying than the stormy and intractable Atlantic, but already this wild ocean horse is about to be subdued. Pan-American Air- lines and British Imperial Airways have entered into a joint agreement for a trans-Atlantic service, and it is next 12 months. When this is done it will be easy to fly the entire 24,000 miles around the globe, and within an incredibly short space of time. The wildest imagination would scarcely have predicted this five years ago. Difficulties to Overcome. It is interesting to consider some of the difMculties which must be over- come before a North Atlantic flight can be undertaken. I must try to de- scribe some of these in non-technical terms so that all may understand. First, we must study the meteoro- logical conditions across the North Atlantic. Every student knows that the cold waters from the Arctic, com- ing down to the Gulf Stream, cause dense fogs and rain and storm condi- tions. These are the greatest dangers to air navigation. For many months the research staffs of the great air- lines have been studying the meteor- ology of the north and central zones of the Atlantic Ocean. By northern route, taking off from Newfoundland, we have an over-water hop of only 1,900 miles on the route from New York to London. But it is over this zone that the meteorological condi- tions are most unsatisfactory. Here comes American genius to reduce those conditions to practical nothingness. It has been discovered after years of study of what we call the substrato- sphere—that is, the sone about 20,000 to 25,000 feet (4 to 5 miles) above sea level—is practically immune from storms and fogs. But the atmos- pheric pressure at those altitudes is only about 5% pounds to the square inch. We live in an atmosphere of about 15% pounds to the square inch at sea level. It can be seen, therefore, that it will be necessary to increase the cabin pressure artificially in order to make human transportation safe and comfortable. In the substrato- sphere the temperatures are subzero. Consequently the ship must be arti- ficially heated. Again, the oxygen supply is very lean, and the cabin must be enriched with oxygen. These difficulties the aircraft buiflder has overcome by constructing what is called a sealed-pressure cabin—that s, & cabin strong enough to withstand the artificial increase in the air pres- sure to meet human needs. It is in- teresting to note that the mere act of compressing the air also heats it, so that, with a certain amount of regu- lation, the air in the cabin can be compressed to the necessary pressure and heated to the necessary tempera- ture at the same time. The next step is to enrich it with oxygen. This can be readily accomplished in such a ship. Flying at an altitude of 20,000 to 25,000 feet, we got above fog and bad weather, except for occasional thunder heads, which come up to a peak and can be easily avoided. The lightness of the air in the stratosphere enables the supercharged engines of the air- plane to send it along at & greatly increased speed—200 to 250 miles per hour. The next question that arises is how to land the ship from these high alti- tudes if the home port is obscured by fog. Extraordinary advances have been made in blind flying instruments, with which these ships will be equipped. There is no doubt that safe blind flying will be an accomplished fact before these substratosphere flights are undertaken. Unity of Efforts. ‘The research bureaus of the trans- portation companies, of the air manu- facturing companies, of the scientists and meteorologists, have all combined to achieve the type of aircraft I have partially described. The Pan-American Co. has recent- ly made a successful pioneering flight from Honolulu to New Zealand. This the experience acquired therefrom have determined the Pan-American Co. 'to establish an airline from Hon- * * Toclry 45 T2 Dagy/ * * * A lame canary and a snoopy neighbor uncover a murder... of misfit clues, and a trick murder the police missed “'She'd just started to olip the canary’s claws when this young mai grabbedberin hisarms."’ THE CASE OF THE LAME CANAR Perry Mason thought it strange that a divorce client should bring a caged canary into his office—and then re- fuse to explain it. Curiosity led him into a crazy collection Get set for'a breezy, high-speed mystery starting in this issue. The newest case of Perry Mason, trial lawyer ex- traordinary. It's much too good to miss! by ERLE STANLEY GARDNER Begins in this issue at your newstand today IN THIS ISSUE Fiction The Case of the Lame Canary (First part of Eight) ERLE STANLEY GARDNER Echoes That Old Refrain CORKY FORD Lousy Shespman RAY PALMER TRACY Bingo and The Peke Crisis P. G. WODEHOUSE No Parking ARTHUR TRAIN Death on The Nile (Third part of Eight) - AGATHA CHRISTIE Features Out Of The Scrap Heap ALBERT W. ATWOOD What Are A Man’s Rights 1RA JEWELL WILLIAMS and IRA JEWELL WILLIAMS, Jr. The L(fc of Mrs. Riley Here's Your Bridge, My. O’Shaughnessy JOSEPH B. STRAUSS' with Frank J. Tayler Flying High W. D. TIPTON I Want To See The Editor MARK RHEA BYERS Cartoons Editorials Post Scripts THE SATURDAY EVENING POST | construct a formidable air armament, | | 50 that no matter what eventuality | | bold advance into the South Seas and | expected to be in operation within the I D. C, TUESDAY, olulu to New Zealand, thus giving a short and direct air route from San Francisco to the South Pacific. In a remarkably short space of time admirable air transportation will be provided to all parts of the world, bringing all races into swift and de- pendable communication, and laying the basis, I think, for & better ap- proach to peace among the nations than any single agency or instrumen- tality or method yet devised by man. While the United States is far in advance of all the other great na- tions in commercial aviation, it is far behind them in war plane develop- ment. The airplane did not figure in battle until the great World War—1914 to 1918. The best combat planes in that war had & flying radius of only 160 miles, or about as far as from Wash- ington, D. C,, to Trenton, N. J. Their speed and armaments were compara- bly very feeble, We now have bomb- ing planes with a radius of 1,500 miles and formidable armaments. These latest bombardment airplanes of our Army can fly 1,500 miles and back again without a stop and at a speed, under normal conditions, of about 200 miles per hour. Fifteen hundred miles by air is more than half the distance from Washington to San Francisco. If we translate this into European distances, using Paris as a center, one of these bombardment planes could take in any point in Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Moscow, Norway, Swe- den, the whole of Great Britain and 8pain and a large part of Iceland. And this is not the last word in mili- tary airplanes. They will be made swifter and more destructive as time goes on. One of the significant developments of the day is the race in naval and air armaments in Europe. The great nations there, divided as they are by mere artificial lines, realize that over the land the airplane is likely to prove the most effective and destructive weapon in the next war. The race for air armament, therefore, is pro- ceeding with great intensity. Ger- many is supposed to have in commis- sion 5,500 military planes—the greas est air force in existence today. Rus- sia comes next with 5,400. Italy has 5,000; France, 4,000, and England, 3,500. Japan has 3,000, while the United States has only 2,600 military Pplanes, ‘The best figures available indicate that the number of airplanes under construction by these nations in 1937 is as follows: Russia first with 3,000, Germany next with 2,900, then Great Britain with 2,700, France with 2,500, Italy with 2,300, Japan with 2,100, the United States with 1,200—or 900 less than our great Pacific neighbor. Importance of Planes. It is not, however, the number of | airplanes which determine the air strength of a nation. It is the eM- clency, the speed and the armament of the craft which determines it. Science and engineering skill have combined to make such rapid develop- ments in aircraft construction that planes frequently become obso- lete within a short time after they| have been commissioned. It is prob- ably true that a large part of the aircraft of the United States Army and Navy is already obsolete. To what extent the air armaments of other nations are obsolete there is no means of knowing. But in any case it is our first duty to maintain our air ar- maments at the highest standards of | efficiency and effectiveness, Intensive development of military aviation in Europe and in the Far East compels the United States to we may have to face, we shall be ade- | quately prepared. Because the At- lantic and Pacific Oceans offer us| MAY 25 1037 some protection which other nations do not have, we can get along with a amaller air force than any of them; but when the Atlantic Ocean may be flown in less than 2¢ hours by giant bombers, the people of the United States would indeed be stupid if they did not realize the potential menace of these great European air arma- ments. Alrships and pllots are & part only of the essentials of an adequate air force either for commercial or mili- tary purpcses. Back of them are the great factories which inust make the planes, the stafls of scientists, en- gineers and experts not only in the fleld of mechanics, but in the field of meteorology, the ground forces to maintain the planes in first-class re- pair, and the airports and landing places throughout the country which are vital to successful flying. Radio equipment is one of the most important of all the essentials to safe operation of airplanes. And an essen- tial part of radio is, of course, the dissemination of accurate information at all stages of the journey concern- ing weather conditions over the route to be traversed. In addition to that, we have the question of education—the creation of & general knowledge on the part of the growing youth of the land of the sclence and technique of flying and its importance to the future of civi- lization. In Germany and in Italy, aviation is taught in the schools and the interest of the growing population is enlisted in aviation—practice and development. This educational sys- tem is & useful factor in the develop- ment not only of the commercial but the military strength as well of the Nation. In America we are giving little or no attention to the question of aerial education. I am firmly convinced that with an adequate Navy and air force we can keep the United States at peace with the rest of the world, and I am equally convinced that without it we shall court unnecessary and grave danger in the future. I speak with some knowledge when I say this, be- cause I am certain that if the United States had possessed a Navy in 1917 capable of taking command of the sea we would never have become in- volved in the World War. Let us never again repeat that error. The best guarantee of peace for America is to be prepared, not for aggression but for the assertion and maintenance of every vital American right. I am strong for peace and I am strong, too, for national security, because our abil- ity to maintain our national security means, in my opinion, peace. In our country we are making a grave blunder in giving no authorita- tive and organized direction to the development of commercial aviation. Of course, military and naval avia- tion should and must remain in the War and Navy Departments. Com- | mercial aviation is a national problem, since the Federal Government has | exclusive control over interstate and | foreign commerce and because air- planes know nothing of State lines in the course of their operations. Our | Government has scattered among sev- eral departments authority over com- mercial aviation. The Department of Commerce has certain functions to perform. The Interstate Commerce Commission is endowed with authority | over certain phases of air transporta- | tion. The Post Office Department has | & large measure of control through | the operation of the airmail. There | should be & concentration of author- ity over commercial aviation so that all phases of this great develop- ment may be under highly in- formed and skilled direction. Some of the European goverments al- ready have air ministries, which are equivalent, in our country, —_—_—m—m—m—m——m Myr. and Mrs. Jesse Crawford are tonight, WMAL, 8§ PM., NBC Blue Netwerk Bernie’s guests . 1 to & secretary of air commerce. In other words, they have dignified it with a cabinet status. While I do not advocate that such a cabinet position should be created now, it is essential, in my judgment, to concentrate the authority in some respomsible bureau or independent commission of the Government. In the Senate and in the House of Representatives, this great and rapidly developing, highly technical and im-; portant industry is a side issue to cer- tain of their standing committees. There should be, in my judgment, a standing committee of both houses of Congress, charged with the sole duty of considering aviation legislation. More and more, as time goes on, this will become obvious and urgent. At present our Government has no definite commercial aviation policy, and it can have none until we effect the necessary organization to study it and to formulate it. Once this"is done, we can drive consistently and per- sistently at a definite objective in the general development of aviation for our economic and social requirements. One thing is certain, and that is that our Government should give every development of aviation. All nations are doing this, and we should not be indifferent or oblivious to the neces sity for reasonable popular support. A haphazard growth of air facilities over 1and and over sea will render us a Nation less capable of doing the things necessary to meet the highest demands of our people now and in the future, We shall prove recreant to the duty imposed upon us by manifest destiny if we sit complacently and with obe scured vision. 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