needed the improved and particular appliances, they were unable to procure them without the approval of their masters-masters who were absolutely ignorant of their value and their necessity. When excellent ideas for improved airplane guns were invented by pilots, their recommendations went unheeded. Pilots knew nothing about ordnance; the ordnance experts in Washington knew nothing about airplanes and their arming; between these two stools the whole problem of arming aircraft for their greater destructiveness fell to the ground.

Since the Armistice the airmen commissioned by our Government to protect the Nation against attack from the air have found themselves still hampered by this conservative and injurious attitude of their masters. The aviators are young men. The masters of their destinies are soldiers and sailors of the old school.

Money needed for new airplanes is diverted by the War Department to the cavalry or artillery, and the aviators must continue risking their lives in antiquated and obsolescent aircraft.

Vacancies in the Air Service caused by the excessive deaths in this occupation were sought to be filled with non-flying officers from the cavalry or artillery. Year after year the aviators have pleaded and protested, but to no advantage. Their masters are not sympathetically inclined toward aviation. They are veterans of the cavalry or artillery or infantry. These are their old loves and their first concern. The cavalry of the United States to-day exceeds in number the air force. And yet no reasonable excuse can be provided for maintaining a cavalry force whose usefulness has been superseded by the airplane and the motor cycle.

General Mitchell in a letter to the Congressional committee last February stated:

Knowing full well the probable consequences of disagreement with the existing agencies of the Government, I have advised the officers of the Air Service to take no part in this discussion, and let me assume all responsibility. Our first responsibility lies to the United States, and not to any agency of the Government alone.

Thus it is that the former Assistant Chief of the Air Service finds himself the conspicuous champion of the Fourth Arm of Warfare as against the veteran arms which control our military and naval establishments.

In a later article we shall discuss the position of the Navy on this question, and try to ascertain just what the aviators want.

By LEWIS E. THEISS

The charge that there was negligence and carelessness is groundless. Everything that could be done to have the Shenandoah in perfect condition was done. The writer was to have been a passenger on the Shenandoah on the very last flight she made before her final, fatal voyage. For almost three weeks after the suggested date for arrival the writer waited at the Lakehurst naval air station, while one additional thing after another was done to make the ship absolutely perfect in her preparation. The engines were taken down and tuned up, the gas

to

cells were inspected and repaired, new equipment was added. Everything was tested. Nothing that needed attention was overlooked. This long delay in preparation cost the writer his flight; but it gave him an unusual opportunity for inspection and examination. The only way in which the Shenandoah seemed incomplete was in the matter of parachutes. A member of the crew said there were two parachutes on the ship. There were forty-three men on the Shenandoah when she collapsed.

One could not but think of this omission because only a few hundred yards from the Shenandoah's hangar parahutes were being tested daily. A kite bal, 'oon was flown at an elevation of a thous and feet, and Chief Aviation Rigand feet, and Chief Aviation Riggers Starr and Ford, the Navy's parachute exerts, were daily dropping from this balloo, dummies carrying various weights to determine the strength of the "chutes." The weights varied from 100 The heavier burdens to 800 pounds. tore the parachute to shreds. But loads of less than 400 pou nds failed to rip the fine silk fabric, and the dummies came to earth gently.

It was impossible to see not believe in parachutes.

'hese tests and When Chief

Starr was asked what happened when a parachute failed to open, he replied that a parachute of the type he was using had never been known to fail to open. The thing was as nearly fool-proof as anything human can be.

So great is the confidence of Starr and Ford in parachutes that they think nothing of stepping off the wings of a flyingmachine in midair. Starr has jumped something like sixty times and Ford only a few times less. Neither has ever been injured. They make a practice of jumping at least once a month.

Starr, at least, is married. He has two children. When asked why he was willing to risk his life, he said, with a smile: "I am not risking my life. There is practically no risk in using a parachute, provided you are up high enough when you jump. It takes a few seconds for the parachute to work. I make parachute jumps because I am supposed to teach the Navy how to use parachutes. I am trying to 'sell' the parachute to the Navy. All fliers ought to be interested. in parachutes, because the parachute is the thing, and the only thing, that at times will save the life of the aviator." Realizing what a parachute may me to a flier, it is quite natural for

think that parachutes ought to be a part of the equipment of a dirigible, even as life-belts are of a ship. Before the Shenandoah collapsed we Americans were coming to have considerable confidence in these lighter-than-air craft. The Shenandoah and the Los Angeles had flown for many days and logged many thousands of miles. They had bested very hard storms. They seemed pretty trustworthy. Yet there are many weak points about a dirigible.

And,

Always there is the danger of fire. There are wood, fabric, and gasoline in a dirigible. The outer covering of a dirigible is laced tight and then shrunk to the duralumin frame by painting the cloth with "nitrate dope," as it is called. This is highly inflammable. although the volatile materials disappear soon, the cover itself remains inflammable. It might get afire in many ways. A condenser might blaze up-there are wooden strips between the layers of metal pipes in the device-and the flames would be immediately under the belly of the great airship. The gasoline stove on which the crew's food is heated during flights may flare back and start a fire. Such a fire contiguous to the control car might put all the control devices out of commission. Always there is the possibility that the ship might buckle-as the Shenandoah finally did. In fact, there are various possibilities in the way of tragedy, including lightning.

And if one of these possibilities became a reality, what then? Suppose the ship caught fire in midair and the flames. got beyond control, and there was not time left to get the ship to earth before the collapse came. What then? What about the forty helpless men on board of her? When a ship founders at sea, her crew have lifeboats, rafts, and life-belts as a last resort. Ought not sailors on a dirigible to have at least an equal chance?

We have had an investigation of the Shenandoah tragedy, and some explanations. We shall have more. But we

The ill-fated Shenandoah

shall never really know whether those explanations are correct or not. For one thing, how is it possible to tell whether some of the injuries were sustained in air, or when the ship crashed on the earth?

But whether the investigators are able really to learn the truth about the disaster, or whether they fail to discover the exact causes of the tragedy, we have always this question to answer: Ought not Navy men in the air to have as good a chance to save their lives as Navy men at sea have?

Probably parachutes would have been of little use to the men in the control car of the Shenandoah. Yet if any man in that cabin had had a parachute on at the moment the cabin broke away from the ship he would have had only to get outside of that cabin and pull his rip cord, and he would almost surely have been saved-if he could have got out quick enough. By good fortune, the men on the larger section of the hull got to earth safely. But it might very well have hap

-and a parachute that might have saved the lives of some of its gallant crew who died

pened, and it may happen in some subsequent like disaster, that men so situated could not bring the hull to earth safely. What then? Ought not they to have a chance for life?

So far as the average observer can see, everything that can be done to make these daughters of the stars safe has been done. Nothing is overlooked. Yet the stanchest craft that man can make may collapse. The Titanic went down on her maiden voyage-and she was the last word in safety preparations-but her crews and her passengers were not left helpless. They had boats and life-belts. Airships have gone down, and airships will go down in the future, no matter how much men may strengthen them. And when they do, what of the men in them? How to save the aviators ought to be as important a question as how to make the airships safer.

Especially is this the case since these men are doing something for the rest of us, are performing service for mankind in pioneering. Fine, brave men were those men on the Shenandoah. Some of them were as much interested in the development of lighter-than-air navigation as that very fine officer, Lieutenant Houghton, who was in the Shenandoah control cabin when it fell. He showed me this ship with all the enthusiasm of a youngster exhibiting his first invention.

"Do you really like flying?" I asked him.

"I wouldn't trade my job," he replied, "for any job on earth."

Commander Lansdowne was another fine gentleman and a lover of his job. He had the entire respect and loyalty of his crew. Radio Chief George Schnitzer was a most able radio man-one of keen mind and resourcefulness. So you could go through the entire crew. They were able, picked men. They were among the best of their kinds that the Navy possessed. In their loss the Navy has lost not merely so many lieutenants, or mechanics, or radio men; it has lost picked men of those grades. If the life

of even only one of these men could have been saved by a parachute, ought not that one to have had a chance?

And ought not the flying-man of the future to have a chance? Perhaps it will never be possible to build a dirigible that is proof against a tornado. The history of the Shenandoah shows that it is not always possible to dodge such storms. No more can dirigibles forever hope to escape the lightning's thrust. And al

S

ways on land, or sea, or in the air there is danger of fire. It is no secret that the Shenandoah was twice on fire. In the future fire will start on other dirigibles.

When a dirigible comes to the end of her rope, what then? What of the men. who sail her? Are they to die, like rats in a hole, because parachutes have weight? Is loss of lifting power or safety to be the determining factor in equipping

dirigibles? It would be well for us, in considering our future aviation service, to remember that Chief Starr thinks nothing of stepping from an airship half a mile in air. Why not stow an adequate number of parachutes on our dirigibles, even if they do weigh something, so that when our flying-men in the future come to a point where they simply have to step off into space, they will have something to bring them down safely?

OLEMNITY and splendor marked the opening of the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work at Stockholm, Sweden, August 19. The Cathedral was thronged with reverent worshipers, and multitudes were unable to gain admittance. The King and Queen, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, occupied the royal box. The great organ and choir and the congregational singing of the hymns made music that was worth traveling far to hear. The stately liturgy of the Lutheran Church was intoned by robed priests with resonant voices, and the sermon was preached by the Bishop of Winchester, of the Church of England. Then the delegates went in procession to the palace, where the King made an address of welcome, to which responses were made by the Bishop of Winchester for the British delegation, the President of the Federation of German Churches for the Continental, the Patriarch of Alexandria for the Eastern Orthodox, and the Chairman of the American Section for the American. The vestments of ecclesiastical and academic dignitaries and the uniforms and decorations of Court officers, Cabinet Ministers, diplomatic representatives of many lands, and army and navy officers added brilliance to a memorable occasion. After the formal addresses the King entertained the delegates at luncheon. No other religious conference of modern times was opened with such splendid ceremony.

eighteen in the British Empire, fortyfour in Continental Europe, nine in other countries (China, Japan, South America, etc.), and seven branches of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Some of the strongest men in America were present and bore their part in the Conference and its various commissions and committees. One of the four Joint Presidents and the General Secretary were Americans, and the appointed speakers selected by the International Committee on Arrangements included thirty-four Americans. And yet so impressive and varied was the membership of the Conference that the American delegation of about 150 did not appear large or especially prominent. The distinctive dress of the bishops, archbishops, metropolitans, and patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church (Greek Catholic) made them the most picturesque of the delegates. Headed by the venerable Patriarch of Alexandria, they, for the first time in history, entered a conference of churches, and their dignity, courtesy, and Christian spirit added to the interest and value of the discussions.

For ten days serious consideration was given to the pressing problems of Christianity in the modern world, under the joint presidency of the Archbishop of Upsala of Sweden, the Bishop of Win chester, the Metropolitan of Thyateira, and the Chairman of the American Section, who presided in turn. Daily sessions were held from 9:30 A.M. to 12 and from 2 to 4 P.M. These were followed by public meetings from 5 to 7 and 9 to 10:30. Subjects of wide range were grouped under the reports of six commis sions which had been at work for three years, the topics being "The Church's Obligation in View of God's Purpose for the World," "The Church and Economic

and Industrial Problems," "The Church and Social and Moral Problems," "The Church and International Relations,' "The Church and Christian Education," "Methods of Co-operative and Federated Efforts by the Christian Communions."

A typical session illustrated the cosmopolitan and œcumenical character of the Conference. It began with a devotional half-hour conducted by an Angli. can clergyman from Oxford. Then the subject of the day was presented by a former member of the British Parliament, who was followed by a professor in Berlin University, a Methodist pastor from Detroit, a theological professor from Czechoslovakia, a famous scholar from Holland, the Bishop of Finland, the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals of Sweden, the Greek Archbishop of Ru mania, an Episcopal bishop from Japan, and others, until one felt that almost every conceivable phase of the subject was being passed in review.

What was the object of the Conference? It was stated by the American Joint President as follows: First, to make more clear the world-wide task of the Church and to face it as a whole; second, to consider in all frankness and penitence the defects in ourselves and our methods; third, to promote closer fellowship of the scattered churches of the world; fourth, to rise above provincialism and sectarianism and take wide views of the kingdom of God and of our relation to it; fifth, to assure the churches of Continental Europe, divided and crippled by the Great War, of our brotherly interest and to counsel with them regarding the reconstruction of their shattered activities; sixth, to consider how the Gospel of Christ may be more effectively applied to those moral,

social, industrial, and international questions which are confronting every nation.

N

The Common Purpose

EVER have these problems been so acute. The World War let loose all the primitive passions of suspicion and hatred, of greed and passion. Seven years after the Armistice conditions are still unstable and men are talking of the next war. The whole structure of civilization is menaced. How shall relief come? Not by armaments, which only intensify the war spirit. Not by diplomacy, which can only deal with expedients and externals. Not by any merely human devices. Christ, and Christ alone, has shown the way. The Conference sought, therefore, to summon the churches in all lands to apply themselves with stronger faith, more resolute purpose, and more fervent prayer to the great redemptive work which Christ has laid upon his Church. No mechanical schemes for getting different churches and races to work together for the common good will succeed until a new atmosphere of fellowship and prayer is created. In such an atmosphere many present difficulties would evaporate and many things now impossible would become easy. Because the delegates believed this splendid purpose to be worth striving for, its members journeyed far over land and sea to Stockholm for the devout consideration of these great issues.

Was this object realized? Opinion appeared to be unanimous that, so far as a Conference could realize it, it was. Never have the practical problems of this generation been so broadly and so frankly faced, nor have they been more intelligently discussed. The chief value of the Conference was not in what it did but in the fellowship that it developed. It was no small achievement to assemble delegates from so many countries and denominations, men and women of differing temperaments, racial and national traditions, political, social, and religious. views, and to have them sit together for ten days discussing the most difficult and delicate questions in a spirit of perfect courtesy and fraternal feeling. Not an acrimonious word was spoken from beginning to end. It sometimes happened that when a commission or the Business Committee began the consideration of a given question the differences of opinion appeared impossible of adjustment, but at the end a unanimous conclusion was invariably reached. This is not to say that every one was convinced that the best possible course was agreed upon, but the general consensus of opinion was remarkably harmonious.

V

Better than Votes

OTES were wisely few in number. It was distinctly understood at the outset that the Conference was not to be a legislative body, that it had no authority to commit its constituent churches, and that it was not to deal with questions of theology or ecclesiastic organization. It was distinctly a Conference which sought to know the mind of Christ as revealed in the Gospels toward those vital questions of Christian life and work which are so acutely urgent in our civilization. Believing that only in Christ's way of life can the world find healing and rest, the Conference desired to discover how best his message may be applied to those problems with which every nation is confronted. The need for making some such concerted endeavor to learn afresh the mind of Christ cannot be exaggerated. Thoughtful men in all lands are yearning for purer politics, the elimination of the evil causes of industrial unrest, and the rebuke of that grossest of all heresies that men can be Christians as individuals and pagans as citizens and governments. To set ourselves to discover the will of Christ and, under the guidance of his spirit, to find wise ways of applying his teaching is surely the paramount task of the Church.

Two outstanding actions, however, were taken on the closing day. One was the adoption of a "brotherly message to all followers of Christ, beseeching them to join with the members of the Conference in prayer, confession, thanksgiving, study, and service." It is a memorable document, and it is to be widely circulated throughout the world. Grant that lated throughout the world. Grant that in the judgment of some it might have been strengthened at a few points, yet, taken as a whole and as the composite expression of the opinion of representatives of many different communions, it is a noble deliverance.

The other action was the appointment of a broadly representative "Continuation Committee" of 67 members to carry on the work and spirit of the Conference in consultation with the constituent churches and to consider the advisability of calling another Conference a few years hence. The members of this Committee were nominated by the delegates of the respective sections, and confirmed by the Conference. The thirteen members who were assigned to America were chosen by the American Section as follows: Peter Ainslie, Disciples of Christ, Baltimore; Charles H. Brent, Protestant Episcopal, Buffalo; Arthur J. Brown, Presbyterian, New York; William Adams Brown,

Presbyterian, New York; S. Parkes Cadman, Congregational, Brooklyn; Lynn Harold Hough, Methodist Episcopal, Detroit; Shailer Mathews, Baptist, Chicago; Samuel H. Chester, Southern Presbyterian, Nashville; James Cannon, Jr., Southern Methodist, Richmond; E. P. Pfatteicher, Lutheran, Reading; Frederick Lynch, Congregational, New York; William Y. Bell, Colored Methodist Episcopal, New York; Henry A. Atkinson, Secretary, New York.

The following were chosen as alternates: Frederick Burnham, Floyd W. Tomkins, Jr., Margaret E. Hodge, William P. Merrill, Charles S. Macfarland, John L. Nuelsen, Mrs. W. H. Montgomery, C. L. King, L. S. Barton, D.D., Clarence E. Miller, John McNaugher, Bishop Clement, Fred B. Smith.

This Continuation Committee assembled in Stockholm immediately after the adjournment of the Conference, and organized by electing four Presidents, each to serve one year in rotation; the four being the Archbishop of Upsala, the Lord Bishop of Winchester, the Metropolitan of Thyateira, and the Chairman of the American Section. Dr. Atkinson was chosen General Secretary, and Dr. Adolf Keller of Zurich, Professor Eugene Choisy of Geneva, and Miss Lucy Gardner of London were chosen Associate Secretaries. An Executive Committee of fourteen was constituted, the American members being Drs. Atkinson, Cadman, and A. J. Brown.

It would be impossible to characterize in adequate terms the abounding hospitality of the Swedish people. They made the Conference a national event. Several months in advance the King had issued a proclamation regarding the Conference. Everything possible was done for the convenience and comfort of the delegates. Homes were freely opened. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess personally entertained in their palace the British and American Presidents, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Germany, and a French army officer. Diplomatic representatives of the various nations gave dinners or receptions to their nationals. The formal dinners by the city of Stockholm, the luncheon by the University of Upsala, and the closing dinner by the Swedish Committee on Arrangements were notable events. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess attended every session of the Conference and several of the public meetings. The Primate of the State Church, the Archbishop of Upsala, labored unceasingly for the success of the Conference, devoting his entire time to it for weeks in advance and throughout the sessions. The

Conference closed as it began, with stately and solemn worship, this time in the historical Cathedral at Upsala.

T

The Church's Function

HE space limits of this article do not permit mention of many features of the Conference which are of interest and importance to the Christian world. An account is to be published in a volume which should have wide reading. But I must not close without referring to the deeply religious feeling which pervaded the Conference. It was eminently a Christian assemblage. Prayer, both public and private, was continually offered. Loyalty to Christ as the divine Lord and Saviour was repeatedly stressed. The conviction was unanimous that in Christ, and in him alone, can the solution of the problems of the modern Church and world be found. It is not the function of the Church to dictate methods to governments and industry, but it is the function of the Church to state principles and to insist that the Gospel of Christ concerns all life and all relations in life; that nothing that men are or that men do, either

Those who are dissatisfied because more decisive actions were not taken should remember not only the necessary limitations of such a Conference but that the major evils of our day cannot be remedied by merely mechanical means or the votes of churchmen. It is simply rhetoric to say that the churches could, if they wanted to, prevent wars, adjust the disputes of capital and labor, and put an end to intemperance and lawbreaking. The churches have neither the organiza tion nor the power to order governments, corporations, and labor unions to do this or that. The world had such a Church in the Middle Ages, and found the temporal power of an ecclesiastical hierarchy intolerable. Sensible men, within as well as without the churches, have no mind to repeat that experience. Statesmen, employers, and workingmen, when animated by the teaching and spirit of Christ, are better qualified than clergymen to work out practical methods of detail. The true function of the Church is rather to expose abuses, rebuke evil-doers, call to

Christ is both individualistic and social; that greed and robbery and murder are not less wicked because committed by nations; that the moral law of righteousness is applicable to the whole life and relationship of men; and that if men and nations will be just and act in accordance with the Golden Rule and the spirit of Christ the problems of society which now appear insoluble will be easily solved. The Conference in Stockholm was true to this function of the Church. It was eminently sane. Cranks, fanatics, faddists, and propagandists were not in evidence. evidence. A distinguished Continental delegate expressed the common mind when he said in the closing session: "I came with mingled fears and anticipations. My fears have been dispelled and my anticipations have been more than fulfilled." The Conference has undoubtedly made the most notable contribution to Christian fellowship and understanding that has been made for many centuries. Now let us hope that its spirit will work out through all its constituent churches.

ILLY drunk in Alessandro's restaurant, one evening not long ago, a plain-clothes man showed us his badge, his cartridge belt, his revolver, and his enormous flask, and went out among the people of New York to enforce the law. That same night three policemen in uniform were drinking at Alessandro's bar. Not long ago another member of "the Finest" was a regular luncheon guest at Cavello's (all names of culprits in this article are fictitious) and drank freely before resuming his work. He wore his uniform, with a traffic cop's yellow wheel on the sleeve.

These bibulous Tammany policemen get free meals and free drinks. There are many such officers, visiting many such restaurants. When this began, it hurt business, as thirsty civilians were afraid, and a proportion of them, finding policemen in a restaurant, would take one glance and depart. Now the thing is perfectly understood. The more policemen, the safer the restaurant-that is, as a rule.

When a policeman is detailed by his superiors to sit in a restaurant week after week and see that the law is observed, patrons fidget. All day and all

through the evening a policeman kept watch at Pietro's by reading newspapers. Waiters went past him, carrying the usual teapots of wine. Patrons drank wine from the usual cups. But there developed an atmosphere of general uneasiness and depression, and business declined, so Frank Costello, a friend of Pietro's, had the policeman taken out. Frank tells me that it cost three hundred dollars.

At Antonio's one noon an officer in uniform sat talking earnestly with the proprietor for a half-hour or so, then took out a card, wrote on it, gave it to Antonio, and went out. Antonio showed me the card, which said, "Tony is O. K. One of the boys." It was signed, not

only with the officer's name, but with his title. He is a sergeant, granting plenary indulgence to violate the Volstead Act.

Somewhere in New York (it is well known to the police, so why give the address?) you will find Ted Archer's establishment. Ted sells rum. Also drugs and obscene literature. Also cartridges. Gunmen congregate at Ted's, and so do bootleggers and rum-runners. When you visit the place, do not be startled if you find a policeman there; he is a trusty pal of the proprietor's.

The other day a rum-runner stopped me on the street to introduce a friend. The friend turned out to be a police captain. A few evenings later I saw the captain merry over his cup in a restau

rant.

At least one police captain in New York makes a regular ten per cent arrangement with restaurants, proprietors say, but the usual practice is less methodical. Officers come around from time to time and demand two or three hundred dollars. One restaurant owns up to paying in this way about twelve hundred dollars a year. A saloon admits paying as much. "It's all graft," you hear, and while this is said in a tone of deep scorn