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Aviation History
1918
1918 - 0279.PDF
MARCH 14, 1918. creation of great administrative activity, but prac- tically no expansion of shipbuilding output. Instead, -friction has arisen at every point between the Govern- ment and the private shipbuilders. We have no in- tention of rushing in with suggestions in a matter in which we are as ignorant of the technicalities as the people who have been put in charge of this vital department of our war effort. It is enough to state the bare facts and allow our readers to drawn their own conclusions. As for the broader issue of bureaucratic control of industry, there is no room for two opinions. A certain measure of State control is undoubtedly necessary during the war, and we cannot, therefore logically argue against it. But the fact is patent to all who have given the matter more than a passing thought that " control " has gone far beyond the necessities. That, we are afraid, cannot be helped now. It is too late now to begin to reconstruct all our methods, but once we have done with the war the country must see to it that the stifling incubus of Government " control " is removed and our industries given a chance to reconstruct and expand under the influence of that personal initiative and enterprise which alone can achieve success. It is with the deepset concern that we j^ have read the Air Force Memorandum Air Force, dealing with the rank and pay of the personnel of the Force. In the case of the officers all the old ranks of Wing Commander, Squadron and Flight Commander, and so forth, are to disappear, and in future these officers are to be known by the respective Army titles of Lieut.- Colonel, Major, Captain, &c. Without the smallest hesitation we say that this is a capital blunder, for ; the reason that it is absolutely destructive of the esprit de corps which has been built up around the old descriptions of rank. We are aware that in the WAR LOAN WEEK IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE.—The Italian S.I.A. biplane, in which Capt. theMarquis Laureati made his Turin-London non-stop flight, with a nearer view of its engine and the extra petrol tank. 275
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