The Fresno Republican/Vol. 50/Issue 72/Aerial Transportation

by Alberto Santos-Dumont

Aerial Transportation

Aerial Lines Will Solve, Difficult Problems in Transportation For South
American Countries

By Alberto Santos-Dumont

Honorary President of the Pan-American Aeronautic Federation

(Copyright, 1916, by The National Editorial Service, Inc.)

Ten years ago I piloted my very primitive aeroplane for a few seconds, covering a distance of less than 60 metres and the fact was reported all over the world an a tremendous achievement. Today I am traveling through South America making plans to establish aeroplane lines between different points to solve difficult problems of transportation which restrict the development of the resources of South America.

The development in aeronautics in the past four years, but particularly In the past two years, has been tremendous.

A few decades ago the world was astonished by the development of the railroad in North America. the ramification of lines uniting distant cities and facilitating travel, communication and commerce. South America only needs fast transportation to develop its enormous natural resources without fast transportation these resources remain undeveloped. To build railroads costs enormous sums. at times over $100,000 per mile and it takes years. Railroads are being built slowly because there is not the promise of continuous traffic which is needed to make the railroad a paying proposition. Therefore the building of railroads. while fast, considering the size of the population of the South American countries, has been comparatively slow.

The aircraft, particularly the large and powerful aeroplanes that are being built and will be built in the coming few years, bring the opportunity for the South American States to utilize the greatest invention of modern times in doing for then what the railroad did for the United States. Very soon we will see thousands of big aeroplanes operating over the most difficult and inaccessible regions of South America, uniting cities, fostering business and bringing civilization to isolated communities.

An air line can be operated between two points. 100 miles apart, on short notice for what it would cost to build a single mile of railroad.

To those in South America who have been forced to spend one week. and at times longer, to travel over a distance of 100 miles, the very thought of covering the same distance in 100 minutes seems incredible. And yet it is at hand. In some cases, owing to the fact that the passengers will not have to pay for their meals and sleeping quarters for a week during their journey, and will not lose days of time. the air line will actually be much more economic than the present methods of transportation; hence the air line promises to be popular.

South America will adopt the aircraft as a method of transportation in the same way that it adopted the wireless as the method of intercommunication. The establishing of wireless stations proved to be much cheaper than establishing telegraph lines in the South American countries.

The aeroplanes needed for aerial transportation can be constructed now: it is only a question of applying them and the plans for the application may take several months. But when a start is made the development will be swift and the results be such as we can hardly foresee. Difficult problems of transportation will be solved and the aircraft will become an important sociologic factor. It will turn the States of the western hemisphere into an integrally united, cooperating and friendly combination, allied for their well-being in sport, trade and commerce, as well as for strength in time of possible war.