The Archive · 1939

French Engineer Suggests Novel "Cloud" Scheme to Defend Cities from Bombers

Artificial Whirlwinds Designed to Shoot Up Volumes of Moist Air to Form Screens

Paris, July 5. French military authorities are The principle involved is similar to that used in airplane testing wind tunnels. Huge propellers would whirl at the bottom of the towers, stir up wind until it reaches a speed of 40 metres per second.: As the air rushed. up, it would. be given an artificial spiral motion. As it left the bottom of the tower, it would by suction absorb moisture enough to hurl 1,000,000 metres of water-laden air into the surrounding atmosphere.

The towers to manufacture these water-whirlwinds could be of varying sizes, depending on the number the authorities would want to build A.high source today branded Mr. Herbert Hoovers assertion in an American magazine that the United States should not attempt to prevent "inevitable readjustments of peoples" as "particularly irresponsible. and mischievous."

The isolationist member, Mr. Hamilton Fish, declared that the House of Representatives would never give. up its determination to guard United States neutrality and would not. permit President Roosevelt to intervene' in Europe. On the other hand, Administration quarters report that a survey of Senatorial opinion indicates that President Roosevelt's neutrality stipulations may eventually be met, even if several weeks' debate is necessary.

Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.

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