The Death Toll of Our Misspent 

 Aeronautic Appropriation 



By Eustace L. Adams 



These officers are asking, "Which of us will be next?' 



THE terrible and increasing mor- 

 tality rate among our Army and 

 Navy aviators is proportionately 

 greater than in the flying corps of any 

 large nation in the world in times of 

 peace. Death after death among some 

 of the finest officers in the Army and 

 Navy seems to be necessary to shake the 

 officials and people of the country into 

 a realization of facts that have been 

 repeatedly brought to their attention. 



In the fulfillment of his duties, officer 

 after officer has flown in antiquated and 

 patched-up aeroplanes, knowing that the 

 machine was unsafe and likely to col- 

 lapse at any minute. These young men, 

 splendid types of American manhood, 

 have bravely sacrificed their lives that 

 the United States may at last look the 

 issue squarely in the face. Their death 

 seems cruelly necessary to drive home the 

 fact that the Army and Navy must be 

 supplied with sufficient modern aero- 

 planes. 



As this article is being written, the 

 Army and Navy have, together, twenty 

 machines. Of these twenty, six are in 



actual flying condition. The rest are out 

 of commission, some temporarily, many 

 permanently. We have now about fifty 

 officer-aviators who are actually capable 

 of flying a machine ; yet Montenegro, a 

 nation so small that we seldom hear of it, 

 although it is at present fighting in the 

 World \\^ar, has an aeronautical corps 

 of fifty machines, and more than two 

 hundred first-class aviators. 



Our aeroplanes are, for the most part, 

 hopelessly out of date. They are patched 

 and worn. Some of them are two or 

 three years old. Each officer should have 

 one machine, which he — alone — should 

 fly. If he breaks a part, he should super- 

 vise its repair, and when he takes it 

 into the air again, he should know its 

 condition. As it is, several officers fly 

 the same machine. Students are taught 

 to fly in it, and the result is usually much 

 breakage. Everyone or no one super- 

 vises the repairs. Consequently the of- 

 ficer who is called upon to fly never 

 knows the exact condition of his 

 machine. 



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