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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0876.PDF
• '.•,-:- called, " Enemies all Round," and is apropos the entry of Koumania into the war. Here is an extract from this article which is eloquent of the state of the German mind :— We cudgel our brains, and cannot understand how it is possible that such devilish hatred has centred against us . even m piuM where we, in our good-naturedness, would have looked for friendship. We long for the time when we are ;>; wed to speak our minds In the Press—not about U>. divj ion ei the war booty, for that is premature— about the means to gain the victory, the uses of our i tioats and Zeppelins, and whether, as some maintain.^ it is still possible t<> i osta to "n m ling with England." Why they should be reduced to the cudgelling of brains over so simple a proposition as this, passes <"m|.n iiertMon. Passing over such matters as air nidi 00 undefended towns and villages ; the sinking of defenceless passenger ships, with the incidental murder of inoffensive civilians, all of which it might conceivably be argued are likely to produce a military effect, the German can be answered out of his own mouth. As we have said, though the acts we have quoted have justly met with the abhorrent dis approbation of the whole civilised world, it is open to the Germans to raise the defence that the killing of non-combatants is regrettable, but is nevertheless an inevitable accompaniment of war. That, we know, is in effect the defence they have raised. But what is to be said of their latest addition to the amenities of war ? In consequence of the successful air raids carried out by the Allies on Zeppelin and aeroplane sheds near Brussels, the engaging Hun now places prominent citizens of Brussels within those sheds in the hope that by so doing they will prevent the Allies from attacking them. That is one of the reasons—or it should rather be said that it is the state of mind and feeling that prompts such action, that makes the very name of German stink in the nostrils of the world. No need for the gentle Hun to cudgel his brains about the matter. The smallest amount of introspection should supply him with ample reasons for the unutterable dislike with which he is regarded. • • • Lord Faringdon's Committee, which was British appointed by the Government to in- Trade Bank, vestigate the problems of trade finance after the war, has issued its report with praiseworthy promptitude. That Report is of sur passing interest to the British business man, since it recognises what has been felt by the business com munity for years, that the existing banking facilities H sa The Wright Patents. THBRS seems to have been some amount of misapprehension in the minds ol the Press and public in the matter of the Wright patents. In the course of his Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture before the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain in June last, Mr, Griffith Brewer made the position clear, as we thought. He stated definitely that the British Wright Co. had compounded its rights—past, present and future—in consideration of a lump sum of ^IJ.OOO. so far as concerned machines for the Army or the Navy, which, in Mr. Brewer's own wonls. " iv. in fact, the only real market for aeroplanes in Great Britain." That the British Wright Co. was likely to go to the trouble and expense of renewing patents to exploit a market which, in its own view, does not exist, would not to the ordinary intelligence seem likely. The facts of the position were clearly denned in " FLIGHT " of October i(>th, 1914, at the time the action against the OCTOBER 12, 1916. are by no means adequate to the needs of modern commerce. We have grown used to the spectacle of the man with a thoroughly sound business proposition, without money enough of his own to finance it through, begging here and there for the necessary capital, often without success, and as often able only to secure it on the least advantageous terms. It is wide of the mark to say—as we have heard it said—that no sound business scheme need fail for want of money. Theoretically this may be so, but in practice we have all known the contrary. The history of .the aviation industry will supply more than one instance, to go no farther, for our illustration. Under the present banlang scheme, the joint stock banks will only advance money against securities that can be locked up in the safe, as it were. I The best of commercial undertakings are apt to be turned empty away when they have nothing but " futures " to talk about. In that respect our financial system has lagged far behind that of Germany, where industrial banks exist for the express purpose of financing sound businesses. It is this gap that the Report of Lord Faringdon's Committee—composed mainly of bankers—proposes to bridge over by the creation of a Trade Bank, under Royal Charter and with a capital of £10,000,000, the first issue to be from 2\ to 3 millions sterling. With the full terms of the Report we are scarcely concerned here. What is of interest is the recognition of the principle that legitimate industry requires up- to-date methods of finance if we are to regain and retain our commercial supremacy after the war. Undoubtedly, such a Trade Bank as that suggested in the Report would go far towards removing one of the most serious handicaps of commerce. The Report might go farther than it does in the direction of arranging for the financing of internal trade. So far as it is possible to discern, the Committee's recom mendations are confined to the financing of businesses doing an " overseas " trade. To our way of thinking, if we are to hold our own in the protection of all our markets—including those at home—arrangements will have to be made for the assistance of certain trades and industries which are not directly concerned with an overseas trade. We are not by any means criticising the Report of the Committee. This is admirable and goes much farther than anyone would have expected. But we do suggest that once the principle of industrial banking meets with acceptance, the way is open for a much wider field of activity than is foreshadowed in the Report under discussion. H H Government was settled as stated above. At the same time, perhaps it is just as well for the enlightening of the " man in the street " for Mr. Griffith Brewer to be still more explicit, and, in his own words, " call a spade a spade," and thereby dispel any doubt there might exist by reason of his statement at the Wilbur Wright Lecture being " too Balfourian." Lighting and Public Safety. To the regulations under the Defence of the Realm Act conferring power on the authorities to require the extinguish ment of lights, the following addition has been made :— " Any such order as aforesaid may contain directions as to public lamps being lighted or kept lighted, and if any public lamp is not lighted or kept lighted as required by the order, any person having control of the lamp for the time being shall be guilty of a summary offence against these regulations."
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