Grey River Argus. and Blackball News FRIDAY, APRIL 17,1916.

Grey River Argus, 14 April 1916, Page 6

Grey River Argus. and Blackball News FRIDAY, APRIL 17,1916.

GERMAN air raids ale becoming increasingly plentiful now that J:lia^ x^ff^iiliiiATfe '/jfeisti -:.-irri:Bbnvmv»'«T and

to be practically nil, it is very galling to our pride to think that the shores of the 1 Motherland are never free from a visit of tljese nocturnal invaders. As usual 8 there is an outcry against the Gov. eminent who although they can do nothing mor© than they are* do-; m a- arc forced" to find a scapegoat and some poor official has to bear the brunt of the blame. Various methods of defence have been sug. gested, but the general opinion seems that the best way is to-es-tablish a-very .large aerial fleet in Britain and make continual raids on Germany. This would give the Teutons* aircraft so "much' to do guarding their own towns that they would have no tim'e*fbr raids on Britain. The Home Authorities, in their official reports, are inclined to make light of .the raids but ths is a very weak method of d e aling with a very serious problem, and will only encourage more Zeppelins to make the trip. The better way would be tb hit the Germans' back in a way that would hurt them severely. Surely Essen, Strasburg and Berlin are not immune from attack, for that would be an 'admission that the Teutons have beaten us badly in aerial warfare, for we already know that their attack is more deadly and as we do not attack their important cities it would appear that their anti-aircraft defences are also 1 invulnerable. At,tack has always been recognised as the best method' of- defence, and nothing would put an end more quickly on the Zeppelin raids on England and Scotland than, an a e rial attack on a grand scale on Berlin. Such rapid progress is being made ; in aviation that very soon: no time in the world will be too remote to be im rirane f r,om« attack, now is the time to destroy Germany's aerial supremacy 5 once and for all. The [British know with comparative exactness the position of the principal hangars, and these, should be raided unceasingly. In at 1 " tempting to construct an a e riai fleet that could be used for these raids the main difficulty that pre sents itself is' the of trades employed in producing any one type of aeroplane. Apart from the -engines which in itselirequires many skilled trades, the construction of the aeroplanes requires designeii, draughtsemen, tracers, high-class wood workers, sheet metal workers, welders, riggers, machanists, sailmakers, erec tors, testers and pilots. It must be understood that the problem 6t* labour faces every employer. Skil led nuen ar e so scarce that no firm can afford to- put off hands because of a temporary slackness, while to put them on short time, despite the ''Munitions Act" would mean a "fading away" to other shops where the earning op portunity was greater. It is in the builders co-ordinating their work that Britain's salvation from aerial- attacks rests. If this were done Britain alone could turn, out 5000 machines. in fiva months. The French authorities now claim 'to have perfected a machine that will be immeasurably superior to the German Fok ber. Surely the; constant menace of aerial invasion has stimiL.lated the inventive powers of English craftsmen, and there should already be in commission a-type of airship that would make Britain master of ithe air as she is already master of the sea. The trouble seems to be that the British authorities are so conservative that they give scant encouragement to v any inventor who brings his work under their notice and it is owing to this mulish policy that many valuable inventions, have been lost to us: and have fallen nto the hands of other Powers who -were ever, ready to, snap up anything that would be of service to them in their preparation for war. Napoleon says "Seventyfive per cent of men will never trouble to take measures until they feel 'the need of them, but then it is always too late." The Man of D e stiny must have had the British War Office in .his mind's eye when he , penned this, for the officials that compose it seem mv capable \ of any initiative. .Tli c main defence of London at present appears to be darkness, but this not appeal* to be much of an advantage, for xas soon as th° approach of the hostile air craift is announced the, searchlights flash out and this reveals to the raiders the ' position of various natural objects that serve ag a guide. The British coast guard service has been abolished without any assigned reason, but it seems to us that the presence of such mien on the coast, would be of inestimable service in warning arid protecting the country. There is one . method that the British might adopt with advantage and that is to place the German intern ment camps in. close proximity to public buildings and important military .positions. This would give some of the Huns an opportunity of being killed in addition to English women and fcafoles. The Government has in its possession a, vast amount of German property, and there is said to b e fully £80,000,000 and • this should be posted . and used to defray the cost of the damage done by German Zeppelin ,Eajcls. It should have a good effect.