The original American war program, based on an army of a million men, made aviation but a relatively insignificant part of the general military forces. This program, which represented the view of the General Staff before the arrival of the foreign missions, was met by two appropriations, $10,800,000 on May 12, 1917, and $43,450,000 on June 15, many times larger than any appropriations ever before made. The British and French missions, however, arriving the last part of April, completely revolutionized this viewpoint. Supported by an urgent cable of May 24 from the premier of France, calling for 2,000 planes a month and a total of 5,000 pilots and 50,000 mechanicians, the $640,000,000 appropriation, the largest ever made by Congress for one specific purpose, was drawn up, put through the House of Representatives Military Affairs Committee in two meetings, the House itself in one, the Senate Military Affairs Committee in 45 minutes, and the Senate itself a week later, becoming law on July 24, 1917. On this date the present large program was really launched, two months and a half after the outbreak of war, and largely in response to allied appeals. The rest of the fiscal year was taken up in amplifying and executing the lines of effort here laid down. Toward the end of the year, however, it became obvious that the system of organization of an Aviation Section as a subsidiary branch of the Signal Corps was not functioning efficiently. The British and French, perceiving that we were encountering the same kind of obstacles as theirs, strongly recommended a separate, independent air service similar to the air ministries they had been obliged to establish and which have worked so successfully since. As a result, a first step was taken in a rearrangement of duties designed to effect a greater independence and a greater concentration of authority when, on April 24, the War Department authorized the following statement: “Mr. John D. Ryan has accepted the directorship of aircraft production for the Army. “A reorganization of the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps has been also effected, of which the principal elements are as follows: “Gen. Squier, as Chief Signal Officer, will devote his attention to the administration of signals; a Division of Military Aeronautics is created, under the direction of Brig. Gen. William L. Kenly. The Aircraft Board, created by act of Congress, remains as an advisory body, as it has been in the past, with Mr. Ryan as its chairman. This arrangement is made with the entire concurrence of Mr. Howard Coffin, who remains a member of the Advisory Commission of the Council of National Defense and will render assistance and counsel to the Aircraft Board and Mr. Ryan.