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Aviation History
1913
1913 - 0770.PDF
[/UGHf] JtJtY 19, 1913. ARMCHAIR REFLECTIONS. By THE Diplomacy. I AM quite sure I should never do for a Member of Parliament, leaving out of the question a Cabinet Minister: I am not well enough up in that subtle art known as diplomacy. Perhaps I was brought up in a rough school, but at any rate, when my father asked me whether I had been to school or been fishing, I had to answer in plain English. Had I been versed in the gentle art I should probably have replied: I have to answer the hon. member of this family in the affirmative ; but to which side of the issue this is to be applied, I am not at the moment, for obvious reasons, able to say. In accordance with the customs and standing orders of this house, I proceeded to the place in question, but until I have the report of the schoolmaster, I do not think it wise, in the interests of peace, to give a definite reply, and would ask the hon. member to delay his question for twenty- four hours, when I shall no doubt be in a position to answer it to his and my own satisfaction. Interest, is a word that can be used quite correctly, with more than one meaning. It may mean money in return for the use of capital. It is also used to denote whether one is concerned about certain things. It may also be used in the third person, and in such a way that it is not quite clear whether it means money or concern, or both, or neither. Mr. Wing: " Has any member of this House been invited to see these aeroplanes ? " Col. Seely : " I have invited two hon. members, and, indeed, I invited all of them to see what could be seen without detriment to the public interest." Now I, as I said before, not being well up in diplomacy, am not at all sure what " interest " in this case means. I take it that " public " means all and sundry—or, to bring it to the unit for the sake of simplicity of argument, me. Having got it to the simple state of Col. Seely and myself, perhaps I may now try to get a little light on the subject. Does Col. Seely mean that if the hon. member or members saw all there was to be seen in the way of aeroplanes, it would be detrimental to my interest (value) as to what I was getting for my share of capital expended ? or does he mean that if they saw all the areoplanes we possess, it would be so many that it would be detrimental to my interest (concern), and that I should not want to help to buy more? I really think Col. Seely is treating me with too much consideration in shielding my tender person from the things that it is not good for me to know. I don't want to be shielded. The ostrich method of defence does not appeal to me at all. I want to know how things stand in plain English : yes or no. My " interest" is the protection of these shores, and I am ready to pay for it. A short time ago there was a little argument between Mr. Joynson-Hicks and Col. Seely, as to whether the Colonel could produce eighty efficient aeroplanes, and it came to a little sporting event. Col. Seely said he could, and invited his opponent to go round and count them for himself. Mr. Joynson-Hicks said he would, and if he were wrong would apologise. I got quite interested, and as the days went on, and the daily papers reported how many had been counted day by day, I felt that at last I should know, and began to speculate' in my own mind as to who would prove right, This is now some little time ago, and now Col. Seely says he does not know whether Mr. lovnson-Hicks has been right round or not, and Mr. Joynson-Hicks says he has been right round, but that Col. Seelv has asked and DREAMER. received his assurance not to make public any informa tion he may have become possessed of, except by such statements to Parliament as he may think necessary. Now I do not understand this, because it is diplomacy, and I only understand plain, straightforward English. No, I am afraid I shall never represent England at one of the foreign legations. The Problem Solved (Once More). In writing last week of Mr. Parsons' claim to have solved the problem of aerial navigation, I said he might, for all I know, have something up his sleeve of great importance to aeronautics. A reader of FLIGHT sends me a cutting from The Western Daily Mercury, which once more shows how great minds sometimes get into the same train of thought. The cutting is in the form of a letter to the Mercury and is reprinted by them. In it their correspondent says, " Sir,—In commenting upon the remarks of your Naval and Military correspondent, in to-day's Mercury, .... With reference to his notes upon air concussion, I suppose I shall raise another storm among the quidnuncs by stating that airmen may have no fear of the effects of air concussion or any form of atmospheric disturbance, from whatsoever cause, if they were aloft in a safety aeroplane, of which I have full working (scale) drawings and all constructional details. There would be no need for airmen to worry about the rapid manipulation of their ailerons, &c, as I have discovered a method which ensures not only automatic equilibrium and the prevention of the usually fatal 'side-slip' but also an absolutely safe method of landing on terra firma, should any serious accident occur to the machine whilst at a high altitude." Now here we have two men, in widely-separated parts of this country, who between them should evolve some thing worth having. Mr. Parsons of Hull says he has got (or will have) a machine that will rise vertically from the ground and descend the same way, and moreover can be navigated, and that without the usual planes, and Mr. Tozer of Plymouth has got scale drawings and all constructional details of another wonderful machine, which has apparently got the few things that the other lacks. I think it is positively wicked that two great men like these should be allowed to hide their respective lights under a bushel. Surely in this rich country there is money to be found somewhere; and as Mr. Tozer says, " All this would give airmen the greatest confidence in their machines, and, further, its adoption would create a new and highly profitable industry." Now, then, here is a chance for somebody to help two clever men, assist aviation, and make a bit for themselves. I would enter tain the idea myself, but I promised to raise my hat to Mr. Parsons some day, and now I shall want two hats, and I can't afford everything. Seeing Most of the Game. There is a saying that, " Those who look on see most of the game." This is as it may be, but there is not much doubt that those who look on at flying and learn a little aerodrome/atew get quite a fair share of "kudos" in the shape of admiration from the fair sex, to say nothing of introductions leading to invitations to parties and week-end visits. I really believe that a good deal of this kind of thing is simply done to pander to a passion for what is known in the vernacular as " swank," but in some cases it is unfortunately done with the 796
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