FINDING AVIATORS
FOR THE UNITED
STATES
ana af Ma MR la *Mrk (ho fomin
and ffotnfi of MM ono auapactad of •
(riM, ha tokaa atn to pick far cha*
duty ana who la not nan raightod; whan
ha paata ana of hi* man to ovorhoar
tha plotting of conapiratora, ha tokaa
cara to choaaa ana who la not hart of
kautaf; whan Uncla item aolacto a
man far hia flying eorpa, ha tokaa cara
to Ml act ona who la not lacking In tha
BacaoM ao much arror haa rrapt in
to public print in connactioa with do
acriptiona of tha taata to which candi
dataa for tha army flying corpa arc
a ufa jar tad, tha madical dapartmant of
tha army haa given approval to tha
publication of tutbtntic infonDAtion
concaming thia part of tha aarvica by
thoaa who hava haan apacially daaigna
tad. Thia daacription of tha axamina
tion af proapactiTa aviator* covara
•vary Uat; tf yon can paaa it, you arc
At to attampt to hacoma a flyar.
What tlx Flyer Mart he.
Th« following ntrtett from an offi
cial rirrular letter will giva an idea of
the general requirement* that a candi
date for th« amy flying rorpa muet
meet: "The candidate thould ba na
turally athletic and have a reputation
for reliability, punctuality and honesty
Ha ihould hart a cool head in emer
gency, a good aya for diatance, a kaan
aar for familiar aounda, a steady hand
and a aound body, with plenty of re
eerve; ha thould ba quk-k-wttted, high
ly intelligent and tractable. 1—a
ture. Ugh-strong, overconfident, Im
man now bi the training campa whoaa
only drawback la that they are too
youthful in appearance to be oAeera
of a national army composed of older
men. It la precisely the keen young
men of thla claai that make the best
aviators."
The age limit* are nineteen to thir
ty-one yean. The algnal-aervfca ex
amining board* are given diacretion in
the matter of extending the age limit*
when peculiar fltneea, previous flying
experience or other apecial reason*,
may make it deiirable. A year or ao
of college work or it* equivalent la
made the basis of the general mental
requirement*. In that matter al*o the
examining boards are given diacre
tion in deciding what ahall be accepta
ble aa the equivalent. Special familiar
ity with gaaoline engine* and exper
ience in operating and caring for auto
mobile* make an adrantageou* back
ground for training as airmen. Know
ledge of photography, of map reading,
of map-making, of telegraphy, and
especially of wireleea telegraphy, ia
important to the military aviator.
The military aviator U not merely
an aero-chauffeur. He ha* to perform
three distinctly different kinds of work
and hia work ia done "aolo."
inree turns or tMe Aviator.
Fir*, he i* the free-l*nc* acout.
Hia photograph* and maps of the en
emy country, and his report* of enemy*
troops, artillery and so on, main up
tha foundation of tha military plans
tor that part of tha front on which ha
happen* to be serving. During an of
feaatve ha reports the tuecaaa or fail
are of artillery Are and corrects it*
range, and he keep* headquarter* in
touch with the enemy's movements and
activities. In a word, he 1* the eye of
the array,
lo hi* aecond role the aviator is the
watch-dog that guard* against air
prowlers. In the fa*t-pur*uit machine
he must keep the enemy aeroplane I
scout from making observation*. The
scout flyer* cannot get to* high orj
they will not he able to *ee clfcarly
what they are **nt out to obeerva.1
The pursuit plane, flying at an alti
tude of from sixteen thousand to
twenty-two thousand feet, lies in wait
far tha aaamy aaoat Marking fcrtt
■coat ar di l»aa Mw away.
11* third kM W work tor dM avia
tor la boMMr*fftaf. from I kaigfct
of not Mara than two thooaand to four
tKouaond foot, ha drnpa boat ha upaa
«nomy gaa factorto*. munition* plant*
or 4ayata, hangar* and similar rtrue
turaa. A ilnfla airman from tha waa
tam front, who aaeapad aurraaifully
aftar hi* advantura, managad to do
lt roy a larga part of tha Eaaan muni
tion work* la Canary.
Thi« ahort outlina of tha Military
artivitiaa of tha airman ta anougV to
■how that ha Muat indaad ha a raal
auui in avary sanaa. Tha Modioli
Carpa of tha army ha* established
spacial examining unit* in batwaan
twanty and thirty contra* in tha Unit
ad Stataa, whora Man who wiah to taka
tha training course in aviation may
appaar for axamination.
Firat of all, tha eandidata must paaa
tha phyateal anamination—by far tha
moat exacting of all aueh axamination*
in military aervica. If ha paaaa* it, a
board af examiner* than looks into hia
educational qualification*, character,
axpariance and maatal poiaa. If ha
provoa aatiafactorily ta tha board that
mortally and morally, aa wall aa phy
sically, ha ia promising matarial for
tha training, ha is accepted and caaa
miaaionad in tha aviation branch of tha
signal Corpa. Ha than bagina hia
training.
TIm special examining unit* that
conducts the physical examination art
each oriuiud under the auspices of
lont inch institution as a itaU ani
versity or a large general hospital and
are made up of the moat highly trained
■sdiral specialists. Cieneral diagnos
ticians, who themselves constitute a
staff of conaultaata upon r<Hitiona of
tha heart. lac* and etbar internal er
They examine the applicant throughly
making notes as to his height, weight,
condition of cheat, lungs, heart and
blood vessel system, bones and Joints,
digestive organism, muscles, akin and
nervous system; they carefully meas
ure his blood preaaura, test his kidnays
and make sure that he ia free from
such conditions as hernia, falling arch
es and spinal curvature.
Importance of tk« Ejn
The candidate than (Ml to the eye
specialist, who test! hi* eye move
ment*. the stereoecopic vision and the
reactions of the pupil*, and who notes
any existing abnormal condition of hi*
fjn. The examiner alio carefully
maps out the limits of hi* field of vi
sion, and thus make* sure that the ap
plicant can catch sight of anything
moving into the line of vision from
above, below, or either side. The spe
cialist then testa his color perception,
and measures the so-called muscle bal
ance of his eyes, to determine whe
ther there ii any tendency toward
crossing of the eyes or its opposite,
upward or downward or lateral diver
gence of the eyes. That part fo the
test is very important, for under stress
or great fatigue a latent tendency of
that kind might become active, and the
aviator might in making a landing
wrongly .estimate the distance to the
ground.
Before the days when a prospective
•viator'* eyes were tested for moacle
balance, a certain student kept amash
ing machines in making fading*. He
had wrecked six before it was discov
ered that one of hi* eye* tended to
swing upward when he became tired,
and that be thus received a falsa im
pression of the level of the landing
field.
The eye specialist examines the
sharpness of vision if the candidate—
the standard required is full normal,
both for distance and for near objects.
Finally, he dilated the pupils and ex
smine* the interior of the eye to escer
tain that the nerves and the tissues
within the eyeballs *'e in normal,
healthy condition.
Kara, Nose. Sense of Balance
The candidate next goes to the nose
and-thnat specialist, who make* note
hi
pfcara of ■ fttfht, |
■■Milt to rapid. AiWnaMa, by iffart
»l tha KodwkiM Mm, whirh M
praant tha automatic aqalising to tha
•Ir prmn in tha aardrum, and thua
ba inriirartly raaponaibla for dangaroua
attarka of haad notoaa and dtoahiaaa
durin* an aarant. Tha aama to trw
of abnormal tonaila, particularly tha
kind commonly rallad "huriad." Tha
■panaliat aajuntnaa tha Eoatachiaa
tuhaa to maka aura that th*y ara nor
nuw ure war miiwv >■»»■
plicant and uki him about all the
trouble* hs may have had with hia
•am— attacks of head noises, ringing
orhuzzing in tha ei.rs, earache*. dis
charge from tha aari, and hardns** of
haaring. Tha special iat inquire*, too,
whether tha applicant has had attack*
of dissineas, which fraquently are
caused by obecure ear trouble*; and
whether ha haa baan aaaaick, aa that
ia on* of tha ways by which a normal
balance-mum ia aaeartainad. Tha ex
aminer alio investigates thoroughly
tha nature and severity of injuria* to
tha haad that tha candidate may have
suffered. Than ha examines his ear
canals and dmmheada and carefully
teats hi* haaring. Fall normal bear
ing Is absolutely required.
Last, the physician measures the
candidate's balance-sense.
Man ia normally provided by nature
with sound-producing apparatus, tha
voice, and with a special sense by
which ha can also pareetve sound. Ia
the same way nature has provided man
whaieby ha ess pestehe iitin.
Using hia special senses, maa is able
to educate himsalf to do certain things
using hia haaring sense, for exam pie,
ha ia able to educate himsalf to talk.
Similarly, using his motion-pareeiving
special sense, he ia able to learn u
balance himself. The baby ftrst mean
ingless sound* and falls over on at
tempting to sit up; but as its educa
tion proceeds it learns to talk and to
balance itself property.
1HC rcwwn uwv • man can imiancc
himself on two legs of ■ chair in which
he is seated U btetiM hi* special mo
tion-perceiving sense notifies him the
instant • motion begins, which unlaw
he had time to compensate for it will
pitch him over backward. What w*
call "balance" is really skillful mus
cular control of the body and limbs in
accordance with the information that
comet in constantly from this special
motion-perceiving sense.
Odd Teat in ■ Task.
If • fully developed men baa nor
mal motion-perceiving sense, and ha*
educated himaelf to be able to exer
cise normally skillful muscular control
of his body and limbs, we do not need
to worry whether he will be able to
master the difficult part of <lying.
This special motion-perceiving ap
paratus is in the inner ear! but al
though it is situated next to the hear
ing organ in the ear, it has nothing to
do with the hearing. Of course, a man
perceivee motion in other ways than
by this special motion-perceiving sense
he can see himself moving, and he
feels motion through his (Wet. hit
back or whatever part of him to in con
tact with anything outeida his own
body. That feeling is called "nuecle
and-joint sense," or, for short, "mus
cle sense."
But under certain conditions a man
is deprived largely of the contributory
information that comes from his mus
cle sense and from hight; yet ha re
mains just as much aa ever in need of
definite and trustworthy information
concerning motion. The following do-1
scrip tim of an interesting experiment1
will serve to illustrate how certainly j
you can rely on a normal balance-sense
(Continued to page five)
FOULS MUST GIVK amrf GIVE
mmd AFTEM THAT THEY
MUST CIVC MOM
Crvm Uatil TWy Tmml H| *4
TU Till tWy IWt
(M«U OM. »I—"Befors th • nt
anda." eselaimed Biff Jack Virgo of
London at a banqnat In Mm fceHryn,
thia afternoon, "you have pt la give
and r*a until yon foal K and than
you kavo got to keep an (Wing until
yon dent fad it" ka conMmal in Chee
tartonian parados.
Tha wkarafora of tkia big talk from
thia bif man ta tha damand upon tha
Unitad fltatea for $.18,000,000 ta carry
on tha war T. M. C. A. work. Jack
Virgo, hand of tha London T. M. C. A.,
parent association of all tha world, is
now (laid aatiaUry of tha T. M. C. A.
of tha Britiah ampiro, a big t:tis at
which ha Inugha, but into wkick ha ftta
and (Ills with Ma big body, kia big
voice and kia brain.
Charlottaana hava raraly hoard any
inch talking aa ha gava tham today.
First ka aaet a hundrad or ao in tha
ballroom and thara aa tha daaaart at
tha banquet gave a Sft-minute talk
that thrill ad laadara in Charlotte buai
naaa and thought. Two boars later ka
went to tha Frist Praabyterian church
and gin his ample axparianeaa m the
grant countries of the world, begin
ning at London, continuing in Flan
ders Jan op to No-Man's land, back to
Mesopotamia, over a dozen aeaa,
through the submarines and back to
America which be is a-mtnd to eaM kia
country.
Q#t Staff* far Bifftr Werlu
Jack Virgo Wft the London work
with its 10,000 pan mnibtra to An
lomething for kit adopted country, ha
to
^uared ctrciee with kk Uf kk Jack
Virgo, Jut m powerful lushing aad
than mm, want an tha professional
stag*. Ha an( baritone te grand
opera but quit for tha bigger work in
| tha Ilnfdoa of God. Now ha ia tha
rxggsat linn individual engaged tn
-suing tha I36JOO.OOO that is needed
»nd North Carolina is allotted 1300,000
Charlotta will undertake IXt.tOO of
it and tha city made a flue beginning
today. When tha hanqaaters sat down
to their plates they nam be rod among
,the guests the Boat prominent Char
lotte man. C. W. Dwirich cam* ever
from South Carolina aad told much of
tha work, the elaaaanu that will make
it go and the world's tribute to Ha
worth. F. C. Abbott, one of the ftneet
advertisers that any newspaper ever
claimed, introduced Mr. Virgo and in
doing so betrayed the sarret of that
business succeea. Mr. Abbott attends
only to his basia»s«; he eaneaivea that
the purpoae of aa introducer Is not to
make the • peach and ha turned Jack
Virgo looee.
This man Virgo sung his way into
renown. But more recently ha put the
art and the enthusiasm in him into
the work of the Kingdom. It wae he
who moved Harold Begbie, who wrote
that great book, "Twice Born Men,"
to try something less spectacular and
Begbie at Virgo'* suggestion indited a
book on "The Ordinary Man aad the
Extraordinary Thing." It is not such
a thrilling work, but it sustains Begbie
CooMa't Talk Atroritiea.
Mr. Virgo in the beginning dectured
that hr ha* no heart to talk atrocities
that he ha* ««en and know*. 'The
"lade who go over there and corn*
bark rarely apeak of them." he *aid
"but Harry Lauder'* *on, who wa* kill
ed, did after a long time tell hi* fath
er, mjr dear friend, how he *aw 02 of
hi* comrade*, (tripped *taak naked put
under the rain all night, then made to
flee before their raptor* who leveled
gun* on them and »hot them a* they'
fled. Thl* poor boy had no heart to
mlk about thene horrible thing* when'
he got away fi»m them. He wiahed
to forget them.
"And »' -a I know of one man cap
tured who wa* made to tarn and run.'
He wa* unfortunately wounded but
.lightly, and r w tha word advtaadly
And Itiii paoyla who now Imm tha
poor fallow hafora hia «tfi and ehU
dran ana auda tkaa b«ry him allva.
No woadw tha waair. want mad and I
•hould not ba aurprtaad if tha duldran
do not grow tha thirty Mfond of an
Inch.
ftoron Nighto; Ma Air Raid*
"I loft London Ortobar Mr. Virgo
continued, "and tho laat won n»«hta I
■past in London I witnoaoad ril air
raid*. I do not naad to toll yon that
tkaaa raid* ara not pttinf on the
aenrea of oar people, they ara. I spent
houn in tha oellar during thoaa laat
dnya there. I counted in tho air onoa
36 of Umm nurhirm tbovt our build
inc. Whon wo pt tho warning of tho
raida, tho gun* to our right and thooo
to our loft aant up thaaa barrge flro*
and tho only tiling to which thoy can
bo likonod ia tho firing on tho bottlo
fronta."
Ho haa humor. Ho told how ho
dodged submarine* and erery devilish
devic* of tho Gorman* by land and aaa
and whon ho got back to Liverpool,
than to London, ho found tho Gorman*
'potting at mo from tho air." Ho
found tho toboa in tho grant city "Ut
terly crowdod with hundroda of thouo
anda" and tho callara w«r« doing a
land ofllca baainoaa, rridontly.
"Whon I think of tho man who hare
gono ovar thora and tha muaber who
have been wounded, I am appalled
that any ramain to carry tho war on,"
ho mid.
i»« §*T« BJipenenres irwn III in«
landa of th« woondad. Om day ha
uM 12,000 soldiers who had boon «hn»
up brougft back to Egypt and they
were a fearsome sight. "On* parti
cularly bnprssaaH ma," ha said. "1
II ia ncoaqaaraMa. RaM of
to be desperately
wounded. turned and watkad off. Soma
of thaae want back tha second, tha
third, tha fourth, tha fifth, yai, tha
sixth time when woondad. (Applaoaa)
"Back a*. It-nil ia tha Gasae"
"Wail, in Cairo that day thay war*
fallow that I thought *>• aa daapar
ataly wnamled, (at to tha stairs. I re
proached myself far not aiding him
whan ha turnad, deliberately started
walking up tha stairs, leaked at me
and what do you rackon ha said. That
ehap said 'Bock op Miater. it'a all in
tha fiaa.'" (Graat applaaee.)
I" Mr. Virgo talkad about tha work in
tha campa, toid how it wma sometimes
op pes ad, hot always tha oppsattiun
tba-oratically waa maitume by tha
work actually done. "There wma of
tan abjection to tha pi aa thing," hej
said, "bat oarer to tha practicing.
Tha big Britiabar rasa* rifht out
to ewadHiesia in
Egypt, in India, In Iroland hi many
plaraa. "Thay aay that M par cast of
oar oaloaiaa are loyal." ha said, "aad it
nay ba trwa, bat if it ia land ea my
trip thranch India that other two par
cant that ara aot," Ha had aai
woondad soldiers spot upoo by tha na-j
tivaa.
ii* had the mum. It is the old sys
tem of intrigue and espionage. "It all
goes back to that," he aaid, "and you
and wo are in thia war to wia it for
liberty, for troth, for honor, and tor
humanity."
He had boon in the country long
enogh to aw that maay do lot realise
that tho nation ia at war. A fow had
heard it from tho Pacific coaat on to
tho middle weet. A fow more have
heard it nearer thin tide, but he was
sorry to toll them that the thing which
miiat bring it home to them ia the die
aster that will he felt and the giving
that must pinch. "Before thia war
»n'a," he thundered in that great bari
tone, "you have got to give and give
until you feel it and then keep on giv- i
ln» until you don't feel it."
He apoke briefly ot the visitation of
rk» in the cam pa. It ia one of the pre-j
mmy ma
im Um
of that work.
"Tan ran gtvm 960,000,000 and I pro
phoay tkat you will do it," ho mid.
"Ami you will not nptt it. Nn«ki»g
that you can do ia food «i«i(k for
tbooo lad* who aro In tho tronrliaa in
•tofonaa of your country."
(ii um iwn
Mr. Virgo went to the Praaliytcrian
rhurch at 4 o'clock ind »pok* mora
particularly of hia nptntnrtt behind
the tranche*.
He haa watched tka brmva British
•nd French hoy* "go over the top,"
and ha haa neen them come hack limp
'ng, sometime* on •tretcher* "never to
speak a ram at all." Often ha waa
'tuinorou* In the narration of theae
experience*. He parhap* had diA
culty convincing hia congregation that
He waa frightened aometime*.
The moat intereating mac ha n mm the
tanka not excepted, tliat he told about
m the "motor bath," • fraat device
far miniate ring to man In joh-lota of
hundreds. It rata out to place* where
the poor fallow* who are *e pa rated
from that great Chriatian inatitution,
the bath am) it ia a wonderful thine aa
deacribed by Mr. Virgo. Ha waa hoard
at the church by many who were ef
Hia audience at the hotel. *
The Londoner left on aa early train
for more of hia southern engagement*.
Charlotte had one of the fear and
Charlotte waa happy.
Beat L— tW Lire.
Washington, Nov. I.—Twelve man—
all the crew of a picket boat of the
battlaahip Michigan—were loat whan
their tittle craft foundered in home
waters.
In a brief announcement of the dis
aster today the navy department gave
no details of where it occurred. Pre
sumably the fast little picket boat waa
on patrol duty and foundered in a
heavy sea or met with some accident.
Three bodies have bean found and
inasmuch as all the others are missing
the navy department assumes that all
were loat. With the casualty list the
department made this formal state
ment:
"The navy department announcaa
that on October >0, the picket boat of
the United States ship Michigan foun
dered. Apparently the entire cm
were lost. The finding of the bodiee
of three of the crew and the failure to
find any other trace of the boat or Hi
occupants lea da the department to be
lieve that all were loat."
AdMrilk Woodyard Reedy.
Aahavilla Not. S.—Aahrrilla'a woad
yard will bo mdjr for beainoao Two
day. Tho city hu (vKluucd a H*
and oquipmont, hai contracted lor
thouaaoda of cords af wood, «oil Ml
tk< Ituiap and km (. o. b. AphariH*.
Tho wood will, of oourx. bo «oid at
coot and it ia boliovod now after much
of tho wood ha* boon contracted for
that tho prico to tho individual pwr
rhaaar will ho around 96 a cord.
All old troan will ha cut out of tho
parka and tchool grounds and tho hopa
la onlortainod of achieving tho cow
plot* stabilisation of tho (not marhpt
jy making wood an economy aibati
tute for coal to an ostent not hithorto
■onaidorod pooaihio. Mayor Rankia la
taking a moat active iateroat In tho
'uol plana. It it itated today that
Isheville haa had under advinoMoat
loma mch plan at this aiivco U.t Ao
put. Tho fool admimatratera hara
iro D. Hay dan Ramaoy, chairman; W.
J. Williamson and R B. Hay*, tho lat
er Ion# a n-aidant of Mneombo, bet
t ikmi of tho former President.