AERONAUTICS: Penny Wise

Thirty-two days drought have caused more forest fires in New York State and New Jersey than have been seen in a generation. Air Service officers and the Bureau of Forestry can hardly refrain from “I told you so.” For three years, this Bureau, until its appropriation of $50,000 was cut off, worked in conjunction with the air service and cut down forest fires in California and Oregon to an absolute minimum. $100,000 per year spent on air patrol in New York State would practically remove all danger of such fires, whose cost in the last few weeks ran into millions.