Blimp Base

Secretary of the Navy Wilbur, whose home is in San Francisco, paid a visit to San Diego. After several days spent in enjoying the shrewd and expansive hospitality of his San Diego friends, he announced that the huge Navy blimps, Shenandoah and Los Angeles, would move their base from Lakehurst, N. J., to San Diego.

Two reasons were put forward to support this proposal: 1) Weather conditions are more favorable in San Diego; 2) the dirigibles need a Western base if they are to cooperate efficiently with the Pacific Fleet. Objectors pointed out: 1) That the Secretaries of the Navy do not create naval bases; 2) that Congress, having authorized the expenditure of $10,000,000 to build the Lakehurst hangars, may be reluctant to spend as much more to build new ones in San Diego; 3) that things other than weather affect the location of airports; if dirigibles have a military value, they are needed in the financial East--a district which would be a conspicuous enemy objective in wartime; 4) that good weather and war do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. If the dirigibles are to be of use in war, they need "practice" in bad and mediocre weather.

President Coolidge professed ignorance of such a change. Navy officials at Washington expressed surprise. The plan for the change is probably eventual rather than immediate.

Vienna-Prague

From "Vienna flies an airline; over the Danube Valley, checkered with green and yellow fields, past the drowsing towers of weedy castles, the Kreuzenstein--a fagot of aged stone pillars, fortressed quadrangles, powder turrets --on into Czecho-Slovakia, energetic Republic blazing" with red roofs, factory chimneys, to the place where Prague with its thousand monuments dreams in a fortressed valley. The cost of this trip by plane is $4--the equivalent of a third-class fare by rail; it occupies 1 hour and 40 minutes; the train takes 8 hours, including an hour at the frontier. No wonder that the directors of the Franco-Rumanian line announced last week that their passenger and freight traffic had multiplied by five in the past year.