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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0078.PDF
region is spoken of as the " key of Asia " and the " central tableland of the Old World." Martin states that were Germany to control this vast plateau it could be developed into the most formidable air-base in the world. A thousand super-Zeppelins could be stationed there. India could be threatened on the one side, Russia on the other. But Germany must be " first injthe air." Then, and only then, will she be able to " hold the principal overland route to the East " and to " establish her transcontinental empire." The reply to these ambitious projects, in the opinion of the Times correspondent, is the isolation of Germany. England, on the other hand, must strengthen and consolidate her foreign alliances, and, with the help of Russia, must cut across the " Silk Street." .She must be first in the air, as on the sea, and she must do in Persia as she has done in India. Most necessary of all, she must capture control— and that immediately—of the Gobi Plateau, the key of the Old World, thus securing it as the future base of an Anglo-Russian air police. The letter is a remarkable one for the Light attention it directs to the hard-dying German ideals or German world dominion. ItIdeal. impresses the fact that although the responsible people of Germany realisenow that the objects for which she plunged the world into the bloodiest war of history are unattainablenow, the ambition to try again has by no means been scotched by failure. If any argument were needed why we should not listen to the speciousvoice of the peace charmer until we have achieved to the lull the task to which we set ourselves in 1914,it would surely be supplied by the speeches of German public men. What is vital to'the future of the German plans for the domination of the world is that there should be peace before the Hun Empire has beenbled white by the sacrifices of war. Germany must have a breathing space—an interval for recuperationbefore embarking upon yet another venture, even more desperate than the present. We need not, for the purposes of this part of the argument, discuss themeans by which the Germans hope to achieve a belated success for their schemes of world-empire.It is quite sufficient that the dream lives on, and for us to entertain any thoughts of a peace that would leave Germany with the means to pursue her idealswould be the merest folly. We must go on to the bitter end. The dominion of the East as an Domination a^ernative to that of the sea is attrac- of Asia, tive to the German Imperialist, the more so as the idea has more of the practical in it than the other. But it is curious to regard the manner in which the German method of thought is apt to take no stock of the major difficulties in the way of accomplishment of the plan that appeals to it. So far as the control of " Silk Street " is concerned, that is feasible enough, always supposing that Britain and Russia are content to stand by and see that control niched from them. We have also to suppose an amenable Turkey and a passive Persia. The Hun fails to take any account of the strong possibility that by the time the reckoning for this war has been paid, Germany's present allies may have had more JANUARY 25, 1917. than enough of the association. Furthermore, it is perfectly easy to talk about the control of the Gobi and its use as a base for "a thousand super- Zeppelins." The simple fact that the Gobi happens to be Chinese can hardly be expected to affect the case ! China would, naturally, welcome the Hun with open arms, and would cede such a vast territory without the slightest demur in exchange for all the manifold benefits of Germanic " kultur " ! The fact, too, that China is to have the privilege of providing the " legions for 1927 " would doubtless add to the attractiveness of the proposition ! While the megalomaniac vapourings of these German publicists incline us to laughter, it will not do to lose sight of the obvious fact that there is a good deal of practicality behind them. In aiming for the unattainable it is often possible to achieve something. Therefore, we shall do well not to ignore altogether the Eastern threat, for threat it is. We -know that the Germans are intriguing in every country of Asia, and most of all in China. It is for us, then, to take prompt and vigorous measures for combatting those intrigues. But we hesitate to endorse the policy advocated by the correspondent of the Times that we should at once " capture control of the Gobi plateau " and use it as a base for an Anglo-Russian air-police. Does he want us to embark upon a war with China for its possession ? That is what the proposition means. However, we may leave the politics of the question to be elucidated by others and confine ourselves to the air. It emerges that Germany, with her usual far- sightedness, realises that supremacy in the air is vital to all schemes of attack or defence. Whether that supremacy is to be obtained and held by the posses- sion of the Gobi desert or by any other means does not affect the main principle, which is that air supre- macy will in the future mean world supremacy. That is what we are concerned with at the moment, and it is with that that we must concern ourselves in the future. There is no need to elaborate the point now. It is absolutely plain for us to read as we run. An air fleet as supreme as the Navy is at sea—nothing short of that will serve our case—is what We have to aim at now and in the future of " after the war. • * On several occasions of late we have t felt i"1!*;11611 to express a growing se^e of disquietude, consequent upon official abuse of the powers conferred by that far-reaching measure, the Defence of the Realm Act. That Act was passed by Parliament in a time of national crisis, when it was essential that the Government of the day should be invested with the widest possible poweEs to enable it to deal adequately with the greatest emergency in history. It was a necessary measure, and we ourselves would be the last to com- plain of the extraordinary powers conferred by it if those powers were wielded properly and with a due sense of responsibility. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. In too many instances the Defence of the Realm Act has been made the vehicle and the excuse for exhibitions of official crassitude and tyranny which, in ordinary times and under normal circumstances, would have been sufficient to have brought about something dangerously near to a serious upheaval. The favourite pose of the official is that he is the master and the public his servant, 78
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