22 
LAND & WATER 
June 7, 1917 
maintain for good the Allies' mastery of the air. Public 
opinion also recognises the fact that, as the United States 
is to ship billions of dollars' worth of supplies to the Allies, 
every ship must be protected, as they are when they approacli 
or leave the British ports, bv aerial coast patrol. 
We shall also have to protect every ship that leaves or 
approaclies an American jM)rt against submarines and mines, 
and to do that we shall need a substantial aerial coast patrol, 
at least twice as large as the aerial coast patrol which is 
protecting the thousands of shijjs that arrive in or clear from 
I'nited Kingdom ports. It means having to get, train and 
cquii) about 2,000 aviators and about 500 dirigible and 
observation balloon pilots for home defence, making a round 
total of about 10,000 aviators and dirigible and balloon pilots 
which must be trained and equipped as soon as possible. 
How will that be done ? We need not fear about getting 
the men. Our main trouble at the present time is that we 
have thousands of apphcations from young men, mostly college 
men, well fit physically and mentally as aviators must 
be, to be ofhcers in the air services. Himdreds, including 
sons of most prominent American famUies, have been training 
in the operation of aeroplanes at their own expense at privately 
established aviation Ciunps where everythmg is conducted 
under the strictest mihtary discipline. 
In a short time, as soon as the British and French com- 
missions officially inform the American Government of their 
desire to have us send 5,000 aviators to Europe, to be sent in 
small units as fast as they can be trained and equipped, steps 
will be taken to establish a chain of large aviation training 
camps throughout the United States. No other country 
has so much suitable ground and so much protected water 
suitable for aviation training stations as the United States. 
We can estabhsh, if necessary, 100 schools, each large enough 
to accommodate from 100 to 200 aviators. 
We are also in a position to supply the aeroplanes needed for 
the training and, later, the fighting machines needed to equip 
the aviators going to Europe, in any quantity. 1 say this 
advisedly, with full knowledge of the exact status of the 
American aeronautic industry. A year ago there were 
between 20 and 30 small aeroplane firms and two or three 
large ones. The appropriation of three and a half millions 
sterling for army and navy aeronautics brought to the small 
firms the capital needed, and a dozen of them which were 
given contracts by tlie Government last autumn, have 
developed fairly large plants and have trained thousands of 
workmen. The larger plants ha\'e grown to the point where 
they can deliver six aeroplanes a day and can double and 
triple their output in from tliirty to sixty days. 
Besides tlie present aeroplane manulacturers, there are 
any number "of large industrial concerns ready to take up 
the manufacture of aeroplanes and aeronautic motors ; 
and we have now a sufficient number of well trained aero- 
nautic engineers to insure turning out efficient aeropLines as 
well as a sufficient number of trained men and trained aviators 
to supervise the instruction of thousands of aviators. 
All these resources are now only waiting for the British and 
French Commissions to request the American Government to 
supply 5,000 trained and equipped aviators. Then the 
machinery will be set moving and within a few weeks the 
]>rogress will be such that it will astonish the world. 
Only recently I was part of a Committee of authorities 
which studied our aeronautic industry to compare American 
aeroplanes and motors with foreign aeroplanes and motors. 
After an exhaustive study of the mass of evidence and com- 
parison of types, designs and performances, the Committee 
came to the conclusion that American aeroplane and motor 
manufacturers can produce machines which are, type for 
type, equal to the best European products. That is true of 
the small fighting machines, the speed of which goes up to 
130 miles per hour ; of the larger machine used in connection 
with artillery ; of the still larger machine used for bombing 
raids, and of the large seaplanes used for submarine hunting 
and aerial coast patrol. 
And there are some important surprises to look forward to, 
inventions of a revolutionary nature, about which I am not 
at liberty to speak, but which will undoubtedly be available 
within a few months to assist the Allies in maintaining supre- 
macy in the air on land and at sea. An idea of how exten- 
sively the United States is ready to go into aeronautics can 
be gained from a statement recently made to our Com- 
mittee by Secretary Daniels. He said : "1 have $150,000,000 
to spend on aeronautics and we will start training aviators 
and getting equipment as soon as we can get the advice of 
the Allies on this subject." 
'RUTHLESS SUBMARINE V/ARFA 
SO SPAKL THE FIEND AND V/H 
NECESSITY, THE TYRANTS PL^. 
EXCUSED HIS DEVIUSH DEEDS '"| 
ENLIST IN THF. J 
U-S NAV¥ 4 
AND UPHOID 
CIVILIZATION ' 
^ 
\ 
This is a specimen of the impressive posters which are being emplovcd in America to stimulate 
naval recruiting. It is reproduced here by special permission of the U.S. Navy Recruiting Office 
