1937-03-02 — Page 15

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH. TUESDAY, MARCH

1987.

BRITAIN NEEDS 20,000 AEROPLANES Her Defence Position Worse Now Than Two Years Ago

ONLY THE FIFTH

AIR POWER IN

EUROPE

BRITAIN'S UNPREPAREDNESS IN THE AIR WAS

ALARMINGLY EXPOSED BY A RECENT STATE- MENT IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS THAT THE COUNTRY IS AT LEAST 45 SQUADRONS SHORT OF THE PROGRAMME DESIGNED TO GIVE 1,500 FIRST- LINE MACHINES BY MARCH 31 NEXT.

For two years the National League of Airmen has been urging the need for the nation's complete air defence.

That Britain is still only FIFTH air power in Europe, and needs 20,000 aeroplanes without delay, is here pointed out

- By CAPTAIN NORMAN MACMILLAN, President of the National League of Airmen

FOR two

years the National that the National League of Airmen League of Airmen has waged was drawing an exaggerated p' ture. ita campaign for adequate air de-Time and again people have said to me: "We cannot believe the position to be as bad as you say it is. We in the British Govern- mes, and their spokesmen lead us to believe that everything is nil right.

fence for Great Britain and the British Empire.

through the columns of its official organ, the Sunday Dispatch, its mem bera have been kept up to date with the true facts of the continually growing inferiority of Brillah air power compared with that of other nations.

FOR SAFETY

On February 27, 1930 a potition signed by thousands of members and supporters was submitted to the Prime Minister calling for adequate steps to be taken to secure the safety

of the citizens of this country.

This petition was accompanied by

a letter calling for an increase in

craft to 15,000.

"But "the moving finger writes, an having writ, moves on."

The debate on the motion tabled/ Mr. Oliver Simmonds, M.P., in Le House of Commons last Wednesday has wrung from the Government ad- missions which show that the state- ments of the National League of Air- men were based on the true situp- tion.

To-day Great Britain's relative position is. I belleve, even worse than it was iwo years ago. Let me quote from Sir Thomas

the programme of first-line alr-Inskip, Minister for Co-ordination of On November 18, 1936 a resolution Defence. He said that 87 squadrons passed at the National League of Air- had now been formed, men meeting at Kensington Town Hall was handed to the Prime Minia- ter by Rear-Admiral Sir Murray Sucter, C.B., M.P., who presided over the meeting.

ADMISSIONS

THE FACTS

This is a terminological inexacti tude is relation to the expansion pro- gramme, for some of these squadrons were already in existence even before

he Great War begondrong actually This reiterated the subject matter formed since the expansion pro- contained in the petition and its ac-gramme was authorised is 35, ot companying letter.

which 13 are, according to Sir Thomas Inskip, on a one-flight basis.

Daring the past two years it has been the custom for Government spokesmen to minimise the serious ness of the air altustion. To some degree this has members of the public to imagine

caused

DEATH BY KNIFE

TRACED TO 1797

Duluth, Minn. Feb. 28 Hanging of Gordon Bliss in Port Arthur, Ont., recently for the murder of pretty Mildred Johnson, 18-year- old telephone operator, recalled the earliest recorded formal execution in the Northwest, winch took place on the Superior Bay front, a century and a half ago..

The condemned man was a Chip- pewa Indian, Woy-say-geshick, who had "casually" murdered a voyageur, according to data in possession of the St. Louis County Historical Associa- tion.

These 13 flights are equal to four and one-third squadrons. So that we have in actual fact produced the equivalent of 20% squadrons in 20 months:

By March 31, according to the on will have reached

Minister's own statement, the expan- figure of 33% squadrons instead of the 71 promised by that date, an expansion

rate of less than 50 per cent, of the

promised figure.

A RED HERRING

To Introduce into the debate, na was done for the Government, ques- tions of guns and balloons, is to draw a red herring across the facts which have been elicited by Mr. Simmonds's motion,

The truth is that the Air Mine istry has falled in iis appointed task to make within the limii al- lowed that provision for the na- tional safety that was deemed to be the minimum requirement for the purpose.

I have recently visited both Ger- The crime occurred in 1707 when many and Italy, and in both countries the Northwest Fur Company had a have been privileged to see something trading post on the Superior Bay, of their air development, which has John Baptiste Cadotte, a mixed-been concurrent with our own expan- blood of ability, was in charge of sion

the stockade.

FUR BOYCOTT THREATENED

programme.

What have seen leads me to the inevitable conclusion that Great Britain is sull, after 20 months' of ort the ifth air Power in Europe. effort, the

The murderer fled to his tribe on Lake Court Orielle, 60 miles from the I base this statement not only on trading post. Cadette sent word to the quantitative relationship but also

Manufacturers of Coronation mementoes are working at full capacity to meet the demand. shows a girl putting the finishing touches to a bust of Queen Elizabeth.

The picture

SON FOR ROBERT DONAT

A son was born the other day to. Mrs. Robert Donat, the film star's wife.

Dona!, who

thirty-one, has already a daughter aged five and a son aged two and a half..

He commented: "I think the child's career has been decided for him already, My wife was playing a Bach fugue two hours before he was born I was playing a plece by Cesar Franck at the actual moment. He will probably be an organ grine. der."

CONTRACT STOPS POWELL FROM

SHAVING MOUSTACHE

WILLIAM POWELL wanted to

shave off his famous mous- tache. It was his own idea and he insisted on it.

But he can't do it without violating a clause in his contract.

The moustache was to be sacrificed by Powell for his role of the butler in "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney” at his ̈ ̈ own request.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,

officials

Was

tried to persuade him nol to shear his upper lip. but Powell adamant. Secking all means to pre- vent it, Powell's contract was studied as a last resort,

And in Powell's own words was discovered a clause making, it a breach of contract if at any time he is to be called upon to banish the mousinelic.

So the butler in "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney" will wear a moustache after all.

H. A. C. 400 YEARS OLD IN JULY

Celebration Plans

It is a relic signal to the

IN July the Honourable Artillery quarters.

Company, which claims to be sutlers to sell no more liquor. the oldest regiment in continuous For generations the King has been existence, celebrates its four hua- the Captain-General of the Company, and many famous men have been dredth anniversary-an event not members. Among them are the Duke only of London interest, but of of Marlborough and Sir Christopher pride to the whole British Army. | Wren.

Company has

Preparations are being made The Hon. by a committee who are drawing fine war records of active service in

up a programme which will South Africa and the Great War. probably last for a week, and From 1914 to 1918 no fewer than 14,000 men passed through its ranks among guests at the celebrations and more than 4,000 HAC, men will be a contingent from the obtained commissions.

Ancient and Honourable Its battle honours include "Ypres," Artillery Company, of Boston, "Somme," "Arras," "Bullecourt," and U.S., which is an offshoot of the "Passchendaele," as well as Italy. London regiment and has main- Egypt, and Palestine, tained a spirit, of kinship over a long period of years.

The Honourable Artillery Company was incorporated by Henry VI, it

HE MADE

was called up for service by Mary I. SINGAPORE It mustered to resist the Spanish Armada, and was reviewed by Que

Elizabeth at Tilbury, and all through BRITISH

the Stuart period and the Common- wealth it did gallant service.

For four centuries it has been re-

the

ONE night in 1819 a slim, un- cruited from the best type of London's athletic gentleman of middle youth, and in the early days the young age set sail from Penang with a men who carried the long bow and British flag and a great idea. the cross bow were the gallants of London,

He landed on an island in "Time immemorial" is the date Malay Archipelago, uninhabited, fixed by historians for the founding except for a handful of fishermen, of the H.A.C., and one of its carliest hove to his fleet of four ships and duties was to protect the City from holsted the Union Jack in the grey the robbers and bandits who lived in dawn. the forests of Hampstead and High- gate.

9 O'CLOCK GUN

Every night at 9 o'clock a gun is fired at Armoury House, the head-

WOMAN TELLS

the fugitive's band that it must de-in the qualitative relationship as it JUDGE OF

liver Way-sag-gc-shick, or he would rétuso to continue fur deals with the clan.

The following spring, the entire tribe reluctantly marched to the post and delivered the accused brave. Indians from throughout the Superior region flocked to the stockade to see what

donc-os did voyage would

be

urs and trappers from many little outposts.

stands to-day.

The Shadow Factory scheme for zines is self-condemned by Sir engines Thomas Inskip's admission that it will not operate until January 1938,

And having said that, he then states that he and the Government would be glad to have the assistance of anyone who could offer sugges- tions how to speed up output.

THE FAULT

MID-AIR ROMANCE

IN

The island was Singapore, now one of the world's greatest seaports, the strategic centre of millions of pounds worth of floating trade, and key- point of British naval power in the Pacific.

FAR SIGHTED

The man was Sir Stamford Raffles, then Governor of Java, and a far- sighted Civil Servant.

By the Treaty of Vienna dominent power in the East Indies had been restored to the Dutch, who promptly acquired or claimed all the Islands in the Archipelago.

Wisencres in Downing Street, fearing a dispute with Holland, cen-

but the sured Raffles,

Governor- General declined to evacuate the port, and Raffles obtained ✡ con- cession from the native Sultan of

Versailles, Feb. 21. heart in 1931 in a whirlwind a low voice Madame courtship in the clouds when he Irene Schmeder, the air-was teaching her to fly. woman extradited from which lasted for five years without Johore.

"Then began an exquisite Idyll Eugland on a charge of a shadow between us," she added.

But on her return from a voyage die by the kalte-the fashion of the a ponderous machine which takes a French flier. Pierre Lalle- alleged, confessed to an affair with Singapore became Internationally

shooting the well-known abroad last year M. Laliemunt, she

Cadotte organized a trial with a jury of white men and way-say-ge- shick was convicted and sentenced to

quickest justice of the times.

RANSOM MOVE FAILED After sentence was passek), walling relatives of the Indian tried to ran- zom the condemned man with furs and pelts, They managed to sway Cadotic, but the voyageurs were im- placable.

noon

At

the day following the

The fault üles in the failure to appreciate that what was needed was a swift-moving organisation, and not

to revolve.

lng of years before its wheels begin mant, when they were in an The people of Great Britain mast aeropane, told the examin- awake from lethargy, and in thele ing magistrate here to-day and a production of aircraft and the story of her unhappy pilots which will give not less than love affair.. 5,000 first-line aircraft.

own interests demand a speed-up

ly be enlarged to build 20,000 air- The programme should immediate- trial, the Indian was led in front of craft, of a performance unexcelled by the outpost and an appointed execu-those which can be produced by any tioner alabbed him. The blow was other nation within the next threo not fatal, however, and an enraged years. voyageur delivered the coup de

grace.

Although the Indians witnessing the execution outnumbered the white men, they impassively watched the manner of "pale-face" justice and returned without incident to their villages. After that white men were safe in all Chippewa villages.

CLARK GABLE RUMOURS

Hollywood, Feb. 18. Rumours of a romance between Clark Gable and lovely Carole Lombard are steadily gaining ground. Clark goes over us often as possible to the Paramount Studio to see Carola

in scenes for "Swing High, Swing Low," her fatest picture.

Madame Schmeder landed at Selsey (Sussex) on December

20. She was slightly injured.

She related how the hand-

#pretty typist.

BEGGED HIM TO RETURN. 44T was not in the least bored {while you were away," he said.

"I love Pierre passionately," de- clared Madam Schmeder, with emotion, "I begged him to return to me. I swore I would fling myself oberboard from our acro- plane if he left me."

some airman Lallemant won her mant relented, and shortly after

For a time, she continued, Lalto-{

wards she told him she

was to become a mother, She then dis- covered that Lallemant has renewed his friendship with the typist.

Wireworkers Still Out on Strike

After Over Two Years

London, Feb. 10..

THERE are 650 men in Manchester who have been on strike for nearly two and a half years. On June 30, 1934, the men struck in protest against the introduction of a system of speeding up production at the works of a wire manufacturer, and ire sull on strike, with no hope of an early settlement of the dispute. The local Wireworkers' Union claim that the spirit of the strikers is unbroken, though the firm is carrying on production with outside labour.

.......... Since the strike was declared nearly half the strikers-have- had jobs found for them in other parts of the country and the rest have long airæce exhausted their 'unemployment benefit.

news left him absolutely in- different,

bitterly. "He was pitiless to me in my grief and despair,"

"Was it then that you conceived the idea of killing him?" asked the magistrale.

Bursting into. tears, Madara Schreder protested that she wished

only to kill herself.

"It was only on the day of the

It was not until five years of con-

stant negotiation had clapsed that

recognised as British.

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THERAPION No:11 THERAPION NⱭ2

drama in mid-air that I thought ofHERAPION NĚ.3

taking with me into death the man I worshipped," she sobbed...

was adjourned

The interrogation

at this point,

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