WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 87, 11 January 1928, Page 8

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

NOTES AT RANDOM

(Bv

T.D.H.)

The air flight across the Tasman Sea, readers of The Dominion will be interested to reflect this morning, represents the next biggest transoceanic’ jump on record after the transatlantic and Hawaiian flights. .It equals in distance Commander Byrd’s North Polar flight of 1300 milesSout and back to Spitzbergen, and is well in excess of the 900-mile jump across from Alaska to Siberia made by the American round-the-world fliers, their longest single hop. On tlie England to Australia flights the longest over-water stage is the 350-niile flight across from Java to Port Darwin. ‘ . • . x

In point of distance the jump from Sydney to Wellington is only about 300 miles less than the 1750 miles between that separates the extremities of Newfoundland and Ireland, though in their historic pioneer flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1919 Sir John Alcock and Sir Arthur Brown covered 1890 miles between their starting and landing points. Commandante Franco in his flight from Spain to South America in 1926 had as his longest stage a. nonstop ocean flight of 1500 miles. ' The big distance transatlantic non-stop flights to date are Colonel Lindebergh’s. 3639 miles from New York to Paris, Messrs. Chamberlin and Levine’s 3923 miles Iroin New York to Eisleben, and Commander Byrd’s 3600 miles from New York to Ver-sur-mer, France.

Although the flights made from the United States to Hawaii are overshadowed in point of mileage by the big transatlantic flights, the distance being only about 2300 miles, as compared with 3600, the task achieved by Lieutenants Maitland and Hegenberger, who accomplished the Hawaiian flight last July, was in one respect more perilous and perplexing. Whereas the Atlantic fliers had a thousand miles of coastline to aim at, the Hawaiian Islands are but a small speck on the ocean, particularly when approached in a north and south direction as on the line of flight from San Francisco. As it turned out, the pioneers in this flight managed their navi- * gation magnificently, and hit the islands “squarely on the nose.” A second flight made by” Messrs. Smith and Bronte, two Calefornian amateurs, ended by a crash into a tree on the leper island of Molokai, when the very last, drop of fuel had been used.

The long distance oversea flights of 1927, the biggest and most spectacular vear in the air in all the twenty-four since the Wrights’ first historic flight, have cost a heavy toll in life. Twenty persons, including two women, have been presumably drowned at sea, and seven lives have beep lost in preparing for long distance flights. There has been a move in many quarters to put an end to such flving, but it is interesting to note that three out of the eight men who crossed the Atlantic have declared that anv prohibition of this, sort would retard the progress of aviation. Lindebergh demonstrated that’one man could cross the Atlantic unaided. Byrd demonstrated that a multi-motored ’plane could carry four men, tlie last word in scientific navigating equipment, and a complete radio equipment to keep in touch with the rest of the world all the way. Many experts consider, however, that the failures will do more to speed up the building of the right kind of ’planes for long distance flying than all the enthusiasm aroused by the successful flights.

What is an “aggressive” war? We sought enlightenment on this interesting point from Major Fitzurse last evening in view of the differences between France and tlie United States on the point. France is quite willing to make a treatv renouncing aggressive war, but in Washington they don’t like the adjective, and may be obliged to build several more cruisers unless it is dropped at once. The Major informed us that the point as to aggressive and defensive war is dealt with very fully in the fifth volume of his “Principles of Major Strategy, ,r a work which is expected, we understand to revolutionise the principles of warfare as soon as it is published, and to make the next war immeasurably superior to the last one—in proportion to the number of foot-pounds of. energy applied to military purposes. Under tlie principles advocated by the Major a verv high-class war can be conducted at very low cost, and the ingenious time payment advocated may secure the Major a niche in the Hall of Fame as the Henry Ford of warfare. ■ • * •

All wars, the Major explained to us, are both aggressive and defensive wars. This sounds a paradox, but it is per fectly true. Britain, for .instance, has been engaged in numerous wars at different times, but an “"partial dent of historv on calm examination of the facts ’will find that never was she the aggressor. She only fought because aggressive acts bv other nations obliged her to. Speci oils arguments to the contrary, the Major added, “may have been circulated in foreign countries, but no true-blooded Briton, sir, can do otherwise than re „ them with the contempt they deserve The true aggressor is not uecessan y he who draws the sword first, but ne who gives the first nasty look, and considerable research is often needed to uncover the 'truth. “It is very sound defensive policy,” the Major'explained to us “to have a war with another nation at once if it looks as if that nation if left alone might be able to beat vou in ten years’ time, -uch .a. war would naturally be purely defennive.” ■ Young Zoologist (who has be , e “ a ® k Js to lecture over the wireless);. And an the time, darling, though millions mav be listening in, I shall be thinking of “And what’s ’’ your lecture about, old thing?” , .. Young Zoologist: Freaks of ture.” ’ American Mama: “This is your new father, dear.” American Child: “But, mummy, we had hardly used the last one. FIDELIS. You are my harbour from the world’s \Vhe d re tr al S l S ’my argosies safe anchored Yot/’are the golden dreamway of my Tlm’silvered paths that lead to happiYomTrecious voice my lifting soul’s Tlie C ve e ry S ’pulse of life. - - • That yon and I. . „ You I . . ■ we too . . • must one day die. How dare we love, thus doomed and weaponless ? As creatures caged, whose pacings never Sboiv ea «atciiful recognition of. their Our’eves' 1 betray this thought. .. . But. my release . . You are from fear for God in His great might .... , . Gave vou to me and in this thought lies peace. We love His stars too well to fear the night! . , ’ . — Mice Hunt Bartlett in the Road Royal,”