The Independent . of the astonishing nu-merical strength of the air services, andthe advances in utilization of the air inforeign countries? With half a dozen nations havingbetween 2,000 and 10,000 aeroplaneseach, and hundreds of kite balloons anddirigibles, the official reports of theaerial operations of one day would filla fair sized book. And yet the western battle front inEurope in a straight line from one endto the other is no longer than the dis- tance from New York to Pittsburg, orthe southern boundary of Dakota orMontana or one side of half a dozen ofour other states. At the present ti
The Independent . of the astonishing nu-merical strength of the air services, andthe advances in utilization of the air inforeign countries? With half a dozen nations havingbetween 2,000 and 10,000 aeroplaneseach, and hundreds of kite balloons anddirigibles, the official reports of theaerial operations of one day would filla fair sized book. And yet the western battle front inEurope in a straight line from one endto the other is no longer than the dis- tance from New York to Pittsburg, orthe southern boundary of Dakota orMontana or one side of half a dozen ofour other states. At the present time four foreignpowers, probably six, have the men, themachines, the experience and expertknowledge, that would enable any oneof them by issuing an order today, todestroy Washington or any other ofour great coastal cities from the air ina single night two weeks from now. We have neither aeroplanes nordirigibles, nor aviators, nor anti-air-craft guns, nor any other means of pre-venting such destruction. We should be. (Q Underwood & Underwood MR. WISE WOOD as absolutely helpless as were the in-habitants of London when those terriblemachines arrived from Mars in Wellsstory, The War of Worlds. Only recently Lord Montagu pre-sented a plan for the air defense ofGreat Britain after the conclusion ofthe present war, which contemplatedtwenty thousand aeroplanes. Comparethe coast line of the British Isles withours. And yet our coast lines give us thisadvantage, they furnish us a base fromwhich it will be possible to send outsuch a cloud of aeroplanes as wouldnot only completely overwhelm and de-stroy any air equipment that could bebrought against us by a ^hostile fleet,but could even destroy the fleet itself. Do not, however, get the erroneousidea that I wish to substitute aeriklequipment in place of the Navy. Noth-ing is farther from my thought. I amurging a great air fleet and aero coastdefense, in addition, to the Navy. What about cost? Less than a monthof present war cost to Great Bri
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