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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 1215.PDF
Flight, November 22, 1917. First Aero Weekly initthe World. Founder and Editor : STANLEY SPOONER. 4 Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. No. 465. (No. 47, Vol. IX.) NOVEMBER 22, I917. [WposlyFree!C4d3.d' «•»* • ^TL >, The Last to Adopt Single Service .. .. .. .. .. .. 1218 S1 llgrti " Comrades of the Great War " .. 1210 and The Aircraft Engineer. The "Flying-Boat"Case 1219 Editorial Office: 36, GREAT QUEEN STREET, KINGSWAY, W.C. 2. TheTo" Altitude PaVachut'e Reccrd '.'. '.'. '.'. '.'. '.'. ""« Telegrams : Truditur, Westcent, London. Telephone : Gerrard 1S28. The Royal Aero Club. Official Notices 1223 Annual Subscription Rates, Post Free. The Roll of Honour.. 1223 United Kingdom ... iSs. 2^. Abroad 20.1.0^. International Aircraft Standards 1224 Airisms from the Four Winds _ .. .. 1227 CONTENTS. , Personals , _ .229 Editorial Comment: « PACE The Air Force Bill in Parliament 1232 The Air Ministry Sensation - .. ..1215 Aviation in Parliament 1237 Lord Northcliffe's Letter i3i6 The British Air Services .. .. 1238 The Air Force Bill ,2I8 Legal Intelligence 1240 NOTICE OF REMOVAL. The Offices —Editorial and Advertisement of •• FLIGHT and The Aircraft Engineer"—on November 10th have been removed to more con- venient premises at 36, GREAT QUEEN STREET, KINGSWAY, W.C. 2. The telephone number remains Gerrard 1828, and the telegraphic address is Truditur, Westcent, London. ' All communications should therefore now be addressed to • 36, Great Queen Street, Kingsway, London, W.C. 2. " Newspapers are an essential part, of our war organisation."— (Sir Auckland Geddes, Minister of National Service.) 'UST as the public had believed that if all has not been well with the organisation of our Air Services in the past, all and every means were in a fair way to be adopted to secure the maximum of efficiency, a verit- able bomb-shell has been dropped upon us. When Lord Northcliffe's letter declining in no measured terms to accept office as Air Minister was published, we thought the plain speaking which has been long due on Air Ministr *^e conduct of the war had come at Sensation. ^ast- Apart from any considerations of the publication of such a letter to the Premier being opportune or not, we were willing to waive all such minor matters as the feelings of those in authority for the sake of having it brought home to the, nation that there are still many directions in which the house requires to be set in order. But when Lord Northcliffe's communication was followed on the very next day by one from Lord Cowdray, resigning the Ministry and pointing out the obvious indecency of his being left to learn of the impending change from a newspaper letter from a third party, we confess that we stood aghast that such things can be in this, the fourth winter of the war. With the matter of Lord Cowdray's administration of the Air Board we are not concerned at the moment. So far as it is known he has done excellent work. At least it is certain that under his presidency the services have been very greatly expanded, and our output of aircraft enormously increased. It may be that his administration has been wanting in some respects •—quite possibly it has, since the perfect adminis- trator has yet to be born. But, as we have said, we are not concerned with the Prime Minister's reasons for making a change. The country has put Mr. Lloyd George at the head of the Government because it believes that he is the b,est man for the job, and if it seems good to him to replace one Minister with another, then the country is behind him and will approve his choice. There are, however, two ways of carrying out a proposed change—that of the gentleman, and the other. The manner of effecting the jettison of Lord Cowdray certainly does not fall under the former heading, and is frankly an insult to a well-tried public servant. If it stopped there, the matter would not be so serious because then it would simply resolve itself into a question of taste and method, but unfortunately it goes far beyond that. It is entirely destructive of public confidence in the administration, for one thing—and that the most serious. It shows us the spectacle of a Prime Minister w7ith so little faith in his subordinates that he must needs get rid of them surreptitiously, as an employer who fears that if he dispenses with a workman by the ordinary method of notice, the latter
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