orld and gave to aviation its
greatest opportunity. The world will hope nevertheless that after
that war shall end the effort to adapt the airplane to the ends of
peace will be no less earnest and persistent than have been the
methods by which it has been made a most serviceable auxiliary of
war.

In July, 1915, _Collier's Weekly_ published an interview with
Orville Wright in which that man, ordinarily of few words, set up
some interesting theories upon the future of airplanes.

"The greatest use of the airplane to date," said Mr. Wright, "has
been as a tremendously big factor of modern warfare. But--

"The greatest use of the airplane eventually will be to prevent
war.

"Some day there will be neither war nor rumours of war, and the
reason may be flying machines.

"It sounds paradoxical. We are building airplanes to use in time
of war, and will continue to build them for war. We think of war
and we think of airplanes. Later on, perhaps, we shall think of
airplanes in connection with the wisdom of keeping out of war.

"The airplane will prevent war by making it too expensive, too
slow, too difficult, too long drawn out--in brief, by making the
cost prohibitive.

"Did you ever stop to think," inquires Wright, "that there is a
very definite reason why the present war in Europe has dragged
along for a year with neither side gaining much advantage over
the other? The reason as I figure it out is airplanes. In
consequence of the scouting work done by the flying machines each
side knows exactly what the opposing forces are doing.

"There is little chance for one army to take another by surprise.
Napoleon won his wars by massing his troops at unexpected places.
The airplane has made that impossible. It has equalized
information. Each side has such complete knowledge of the other's
movements that both sides are obliged to crawl into trenches and
fight by means of slow, tedious routine, rather than by quick,
spectacular dashes.

"My impression is that before the present war started the army
experts expected it to be a matter of a few weeks, or at the
most, a few months. To-day it looks as if it might run into years
before one side can dictate terms. Now, a nation that may be
willing to undertake a war lasting a few months may well hesitate
about engaging in on