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Aviation History
1910
1910 - 0038.PDF
[/JJGHT] JANUARY 15, 1910. FROM FRANCE FOR TIME and time again have we urged upon all those who desire to see this country take its proper place in the aero nautic councils of the world, thenecessity of rallying solidly round the Aero Club of the United Kingdom and of lend ing their immediate aid in making that body as thoroughly representative of the British Isles as it is possible for any national institution of the kind to be. Various reasons have been advanced for this course in these columns during the past twelve months, and it has been our constant endeavour to show why that parent body with its allies—the Aeronautical Society and the Aerial League—deserve and ought to be accorded the whole hearted support and direct membership of every go-ahead patriot, let alone of every individual who hopes to take any practical part whatsoever in the gigantic work that lies ahead of this new movement. Possibly it is not too much to say, however, that never before has there been a more telling occasion than during the past few days, when the absolute necessity for unity of action as between all those who would foster the British aeronautic industry has been exemplified in a specially striking manner, and in a way that aflects the whole future prospects of the United Kingdom in relationship to those of other European countries—and of France especially. Events have in fact transpired across the Channel in con nection with the arrangement by the International Federation of a calendar of events for 1910 which seem to disclose a disposition on the part of our French friends to underrate the immediate intentions of this country very considerably, by regarding the British aviator as not existent, not only now but for some little time to come, and by looking upon British aeronautic interests as being of but small account compared with those of France. It must be admitted, of course, that we have a good deal of leeway to make up over here, and that is one of the principal reasons why enthusiastic energy urgently needs to be aroused at home ; but apparently it is quite overlooked, or may perhaps be unknown to the foreigner, that inventors have been doing a vast amount of work of late in this country, even though they may not have been talking overmuch about it. And thus it is possibly hardly to be wondered at that the Frenchman has been inclined to complete his plans for the new year in advance, omitting to make proper allowance for activities in other countries. As we have already suggested above, however, it is an admirable thing for this country that it has had a strong representative body, composed of men of experience in such matters, and not merely of fresh comers into the field, with little more than enthusiasm to carry them through, and that the Aero Club of the United Kingdom has at this comparatively early stage in International aeronautical politics been able to take a firm stand. At the Conference of the past week in Paris, the overwhelming importance of France appears almost to have been sufficiently dazzling in the eyes of the Frenchman to have blinded him to the reasonable requirements of the other nations that take the lead in the civilised world. All the choicest dates throughout the coming season would apparently have been allotted cheer fully to those various towns in France that were keenly anticipating the promotion of big International meetings during the year. England, joined by Germany in particular, and backed up also by Denmark, was compelled to take a very firm stand indeed in order to prevent being outvoted at the Conference. As events turned out, the British Club was ultimately successful in upholding the rights of this country even though it involved a considerable amount of diplomacy, and the adoption of an extremely firm attitude to bring that result about But although it is satisfactory to be able to record that suitable dates were ultimately allotted to the United Kingdom for a meeting in July as well as for another in August, yet the main point that really concerns us here is one of principle and of policy alone. Here, in fact, we have a case in which any sign of weakness or of internal dissension on the part of this country might have done incalculable harm, not only to our prestige in the eyes of other nations, but actually to the business prospects of the aeronautic industry for very many years to come. The risk, it will be observed, is that of permitting France, during these earliest days when she has already acquired a useful start, to profit by that lead to the extent of using it for the purpose of maintaining it indefinitely. It is, in fact, quite bad enough that just at the present time anyone who needs a ready-made power-driven aeroplane has a bigger selection from France than over here, and one of the principal reasons why institutions like the Aero Club are founded is in order to enable experimenters and builders at home to take their proper place immediately the progress made by them is sufficient to justify it. Just in the same way that this question for the forth coming season has brought the A.C.U.K. very much to the fore, and has emphasised the necessity that there is for imbuing it with the fullest possible authority to speak in the councils of the world, and to exercise real power, so other events of the same kind may occur at any moment from now onwards, and a vast amount of harm be done if any display of weakness were at any time rendered unavoidable owing to national dissensions between one representative institution and another. The present, therefore, seems to be a particularly appropriate time to urge upon our readers the desirability for efforts to be put forth by them for increasing the power wielded by the Aero Club of the United Kingdom and its allies. Hence we suggest that those who have not already joined the membership of one or other of those sporting, scientific, and patriotic institutions, respectively, if not more than one of them, should send in their application forms at once, and should use their best endeavours to induce as many friends as possible to follow suit. Therein, for the immediate future, at any rate, lies the road to progress for the aeronautic movement in Great Britain. It is not, in fact, everyone who can at the moment lend a helping hand by carrying out experiments, by building machines, or by popularising the science of flight. But there are plenty of all-British flyers, both on and off the stocks, of which a very great deal indeed will be heard between now and the time of the British July meeting, and we do not hesitate to say that the degree of satisfaction with which we and others who are interested in British aeronautics will be able to look back upon the present year at its close will depend hugely upon the extent to which the membership of these three representative bodies increases in the immediate future. 34
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