WAR IN THE AIR.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 770, 19 March 1910, Page 5

WAR IN THE AIR.

SHOULD THE NEED ARISE : By Telegraph—Press Association—OoDTrlcbt . . . London, March 17. . Mr. O'Goman, manager of the Army aerial factory at . Farnborongh, states that, should the need. arise, he will bo able to 'commission three airships, adequately manned and ready for thoir work. : ' '

"THE VALOUR OF IGNORANCE." In the course of a recent speech Lord Roberts said that what kinds of faa.chinos' would eventually prove most useful in war no one could say. at present with any certainty. .Some favoured aeroplanes,.others favoured dirigiblo balloon's. Both machines wore in their infancy, and were,' no doubt, capable of great improvement. Day by day they read that aeroplanes got higher and higher, and that dirigible balloons made longer and longer journeys. It was merely a matter. of experiment and the eradication of faults for something possibly to emerge from these trials which would astonish the world. England certainly woke up when Bleriot arrived at Dover a few months ago, for few people thought that the feat could be accomplished. What had been done now would bo thought nothing of a few years hence. They had not done much in this country yet. They had been ? waiting to benefit by the experience of other nations. England must not, however, fall behind. Aerial machines might bo of tho utmost yaluo in the next war, and when that war might come they did not biow. England must, make experiments and got ready a staff of men to manage tho machines when they were introduced. Ho believed that aerial machines would be. a great feature in future wars, and he was anxious that this country should wake up and do its utmost in aeronautics. Englishmen were strangely apathetic in these matters, ana he thought he might apply to their attitude the title of a recent American book "The Valour of Ignorance." The English were brave and confident, but, perhaps, if they knew what was in store for them that confidence would not be so great unless they woke up. It waa becnuso they did not believe that.anything could happen that they were content to remain in apathy. (Cheers.)