Life — October 1, 1925 — page 16: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

OCTOBER 1}, 1925 “While there is Life there’s Hope” Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY $98 Madison Avenue, New York Cuartes Dana Giason, President R. E. Suerwoop, Editor F. D, Casey, Art Editor WO mat- ters of the rst impor- tance are in the way to- wards a better lerstanding of their present status in this country. One is aviation and the other Prohibi tion, War prophets and people who try to visualize the next Great War, if there is one, give to aviation the first place in prospective military forces. They tell us that the next war is likely to be a war of gases and perhaps the means used in it will include disease germs, They tell us that it will be considerably a war on cities and civilian populations and they talk about airships of one kind and another as being the instruments that will determine which side wins. The demand for another big war is not yet urgent, but a great many people want the United States to be in a posi tion of power and influence if another Great War comes, and even more so if it threatens. If it threatens, our country can do more to stave it off if we have a suitable provision of up- the-date war apparatus. We certainly are not going to have a great army, nor even a great provision of The size of our navy is limited now by agreement, but it is common sense that preparations—defensive and of- fensive—should include an aviation department as strong as any going. That is why all the noise about avia- tion, the outcries of Col. Mitchell, the added interest in the subject which has come with the loss of the Shenandoah and the perils of the aviators so nearly lost in the Pacific, are timely and to the point. Aviation is a highly technical matter as to which the common run of warships. our Crate Maxwent, Vice-President Lancuoane Giason, Secretary ond Treasurer us know very little and have almost no opinions of value, but we are interested. We want to know the views of the best experts on the subject and we want our aviation and main- This public concern to be realized by the President and has been r the appointment of a committee in- vestigate the force organized tained in the best manner. scems ognized by ircrait situation with a view to ascertaining the best means of developing and applying aireraft in the national defense.” The headed by Major General Harbord, in- cludes experts, leading citizens of the country, and members of the committees on military and naval affairs of the House and Senate, and seems likely to he a competent body, and perhaps able to recognize that Youth, and that the men most likely to know about it are the flying men, and not admirals a proaching the age of retirement. That is where Mitchell and his out cries come in, He is a flying man The present policy of the Administra tion scems to be to starve the Army and the Navy. Hf so, all. the reason for making the most of avi. tion, and of the young men who really know that subject committee, aviation belongs to generals and more HE other investigation, not so im- portant perhaps and carrying no governmental authority, is that lately made into current Prohibition by the Department of Research and Education of the Federal Council of Churches. The report of it is coming out at this writing in installments in the newspa- pers, Its conclusions, so far as they have come, find the present result of Prohibition to be a mixture of good and had and the movement itself to be still on trial, The report will not settle anything, but in its complete form it will be studied with interest, the more so because it is a report by Prohibition upholders who want to know how their panacea is really working in the coun- try, and what prospect there is that in its present form it will ever realize the hopes of its backers, ca——w! g N the matter of coal there scems to be little doing except that the distri- bution of the coal already mined and on the market is doubtless proceeding satisfactorily. No doubt the miners and the operators are thinking things over, and Governor Pinchot Mr. Lewis, the king-pin of the United Mine Workers, have pleasant talks that add to knowledge. Maybe a settlement will be reached before Congress mects and maybe nothing much will happen until anthracite coal is considerably scarcer and dearer than it is now, but you can't tell, and the uncertainty stimulates the appetite for coal and helps to reduce stocks. The solution of the coal problem in nd scems to have been put off until April. Possibly our problem will drift along as long as that. What is wanted, both here and in England, is some permanent solution of — coal troubles, cither government ownership or something better, that will protect the consumer against the anxieties and extortions that periodically result when miners and operators disagree. AYOR HYLAN'’S defeat in the Primaries by 100,000 votes is an interesting step in the effort to get 4 competent Mayor for the City of New York, but it is not a final step. It leaves the observer asking what next. All that has been discussed as Lirr goes to press is whether Mr. Hylan. with Hearst to back him, is as good as Mr. Walker with the backing of Governor Smith, Also whether Mr. Waterman is the best of the Re- publican candidates. To these ques- tions we have got satisfactory replies. E. S. Martin. comicbooks.com