During the week a great number of reports have sprung
up from various parte of the country as to airships being seen at night. These reports are too numerous, too vague, and mostly too foolish to be given in detail. That a foreign airship may have visited us is perfectly possible. Mr. Churchill seemed to accept the evidence as conclusive that a strange airship visited us on October 14th and was seen over Sheerness. But, of course, a flight of airships could not have come across the North Sea without being seen by someone while it was still daylight. The only reason we mention the subject is to deplore the atmosphere of silly panic created by the rumours. To admit the need for protecting ourselves against a new form of warfare is one thing; to give way to a fit of nerves and use panic-stricken language is another. It is really despicable. Our countrymen are at their worst when they see an airship in every light or star, and a spy in every restaurant. It is only natural that airships capable of crossing the sea should cross it. Let us expect such things. Our business is to build a fleet of dirigibles adequate for our protection as quickly as possible. Dirigibles can be met only by dirigibles. Aeroplanes are almost useless by night, and a dirigible is a very poor target for any gun yet invented that fires from the ground.
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