Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/278

 not only because the Navy has a very Hmited number of specially trained de- signers in this class of work, but be- cause such a plant would call for the di- version from actual flying work of many of the most competent operators. Any

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advancement of aeronautical work to war, especially if the private manufac- lose the ideas and results of private in- turers had been driven out of business vestigation and experiment. The estab- by government competition? At present, lishing of a government plant for the after a year and a half of warfare, and general manufacture of aircraft would although private manufacture of aero- require a complement of officers that planes took a tremendous boom after the could be ill-spared at the present time, failure of the government's experiment.

Great Britain is forced to buy almost the entire output of the many American aeroplane factories.

Should war be declared upon this country after the private manufacturers had ceased their efforts, because of gov- ernment competition, the government factory would not be able to supply the needs of our Army and Navy. It is conceivable that we might not be able to cross the ocean in search of privately manufactured aeroplanes. In that case we would have to build up the industry from the start, while thousands of enemy aeroplanes hummed over our heads, and dropped bombs upon our ships and troops.

Mr. Henry Woodhouse, a

���The navy has a half dozen of these flying boats which

can really fly. It should have five hundred as a basis

for a real aero corps

��government plant which could be estab- Governor of the Aero Club of America, lished in the near future would be entire- in expressing his opinion of this project ly inadequate in war time, as aircraft to the writer, said :

��would be required in large quantities for such an emergency."

In spite of this report, the project is still being agitated, and numerous offi- cials appear to be in favor of establish- ing such a factory. Southern news- papers, particularly those conducted in Florida, are jubilant, but it is to be hoped that they are "counting their chickens before they are hatched."

Senator Fletcher says that government manufacture would act as a stimulus to private manufacturers. When did gov- ernment competition ever act as a stim- ulus to private manufacturers? Certain- ly not in Great Britain when the govern- ment was conducting its costly experi- ments along those lines. Great Britain found that by means of government manufacture it could not keep up with the foreign powers in times of peace. How did it hope to produce the thou- sands of aeroplanes necessary in time of

��"Manufacturing of aeroplanes and motors, which Senator Fletcher pro- poses, is inadvisable, first, because it would retard the development of naval aeronautics, and second, because it would discourage the youthful aero- nautic industry. Needless to add, there is, therefore, no argument in favor of the proposition."

There are many persons, interested in the problems of national defense, who see in such a project a real start toward a greater air fleet, and overlook the fact that it is a start in the wrong direction. It is probable that they cannot see the far-reaching e\\\ results of such a step. On the other hand, a large number of far-seeing advocates for real prepared- ness are displaying great concern that so obvious a "pork barrel" proposition should receive even the most casual at- tention of Senators and Congressmen at a time when the nation seems at least

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