lO 



The Re\"iew of Reviews. 



existing. The I^'reiuii arc in a far licttcr 

 position to (lefcnil thcinselves in the air 

 or even to take the offensive. But tliat 

 will be of small help to us in our agony. 

 At this moment we have nt) adequate 

 dirigible in the countrv, and far too few 

 aeroplanes. Let us by all means have 

 many aeroplanes and hydroplanes; but 

 ought we to neglect absolutel}'^ the dirigible 

 in view of its recent achievements ? We 

 think not, and we would consider that 

 public money would be well spent which 

 gave us at least an equal chance of defence 

 against German dirigibles. We are c|uite 

 willing to be told that dirigibles are no 

 good ; but little worth as they may be, we 

 believe that the national defence requires 

 as many chances of success or failure as 

 Germany possesses. Until something is 

 done we must always see a sinister, relentless, 

 and unhghtable shadow lying across the 

 ha|)py and smiling cornfields and pastures 

 of England. 



Thanks to the enterprise of 

 What Has Been th<^ Daillj Mail the aero- 

 Done, plane is alwavs before the 



j)ublic, and the nation 

 owes a debt of gratitude to Lord Northcliffe 

 for his sustained action in this direction. 

 We know little enough now in all 

 conscience ; we realise but feebly the signi- 

 ficance of aeroplanes; but we shudder to 

 think what would have been our ignorance 

 JKid there been no such newspaper effort. 

 But the work has only begun. 1'here is 

 the great question of the relative value of 

 dirigible and aeroplane. This to our mind 

 resolves itself into the old tale of the hawk 

 and the heron : whichever can rise highest 

 and quickest wins, or at least does not lose. 

 It is interesting in this connection to observe 

 that a French military airship recently rose 

 as high as 9,922 feet. Why should not 



the idea be practicallv tested by Lord 

 Northcliffe ? Let him organise a mimic 

 battle over the sea between a modern diri- 

 gible and the latest variety of aeroplane. 

 Let this be done at a time when the naval 

 display is being organised fcjr the benefit of 

 the political party pawns, and thus enable 

 the elected of the people, if not the elect, ro 

 see with their own eyes the real thing, the 

 future war in the air. There is everv 

 probability that the Admiralty would give 

 every assistance, and it would be a suffi- 

 ciently sporting event to arouse enthusiasm 

 in the heart of the great British public, and 

 so awake them to a clearer realisation of 

 aerial possibilities. There would be risks, 

 but not more — if anything less — than in 

 aerial Derby races and ordinary com- 

 petitions. An interesting sidelight on the 

 commercial value of aerojjlanes is given 

 by the series of photographs taken from 

 the air of the sunken Oceana oft' East- 

 bourne — an enterprise owing its origin to 

 the fS/)hrre. Wlicre would we be in aerial 

 matters were it not for such Press enter- 

 prise : 



Baron Marschall v. Bieber- 

 The Coming ^^^-^^ \y.^^ arrived in our 



Our German Friend '"''l^t and has succeeded 

 in enshroudino; himself m 

 oblivion, which indeed we were told by the 

 German Press was the first essential. We 

 can choose between the widely differing 

 stories of his mission, that he is an angel 

 of ])eace or a fiaming sword of destruction, 

 and rest content that, whatever he may 

 have had as earlier instructions, h.is work 

 here depends solely u[ion oursehes. If he 

 finds us strong and determined to be 

 stronger, ])eaceful but able to command 

 ])eace, nobody will be more amiable-he 

 would even smile at tiie British naval visit 

 fo New York and the enunciation of a new 



