France Lacks Dirigibles.

New York Times 100 years ago today, December 6, 1912:
Temps Says Germany Outclasses Her and Is Gaining in Aeroplane Race.
    PARIS, Dec. 5.— France is inferior both as to the number and the speed of her dirigible airships, according to The Temps, which to-day presents a statistical comparison of the French and German dirigible fleets. It urges the French Government to ask Parliament for extra appropriations in order to remedy this state of affairs.
    France is far ahead of Germany in the matter of aeroplanes, the newspaper points out, but Germany is now forging to the front with armored dirigibles carrying machine guns. It continues:
    "Should it be necessary to mobilize tomorrow, France could muster only eight slow-speed dirigibles against Germany's sixteen aerial destroyers, which are both armed and fast."