V
vf i ma
MASTERY OF AIR
Ambitious Minds Would Con
trol Only Element That
Has Defied Man
Now It Is Thought That the Aero
plane Devised by Wright Brothers
May at Least Point the Way to
Success -Could Laugh at Vessels
of War.
EW YORK. Those reti
N
cent and Intensely ab
sorbed westerners, the
Wright brothers t Day
ton. O.. appear to bar
at last conquered the ele
ments which have so long baffled the
Ingenuity of nan. and aerial naviga
tion, so Ions regarded as a fascinating
absurdity, now seems to be very much
of a practical reality, says a writer ia
the New York Times.
Aside from the triumph of the loos
aad apparently easily controlled Bight,
the most Important item contained in
the news dispatches from Mantou, X.
C where the brothers hare been con
ducting their experiments, is the state
ment that the aeroplane not only car
ried both men. bat carried them in a
sitting position. The earlier aeroplane
of these InTentors carried but one
aviator, and it was necessary for him
to be prone upon his stomach.
The significance of the statement lies
in the apparent fact that the inventors
hare at last succeeded in overcoming
the real problem of mechanical flight
the problem of equilibrium. Aero
planes that would support their opera
tors hare previously been tested. En
gines of sufficient lightness to propel
them through the air at a sufficient
speed and to carry their own weight
and that of the operators have also
been successfully tried. There have
been plenty of aeroplanes that would
fly in still air. The one needful, essen
tial, and undiscovered thins vss an
airship that would not capsize when
the wind was b toning.
Writing in a recent Issue of Mc
Clure's Magazine, George Kibbe Turn
er quotes the Wright brothers as as
serting that no one who had not nav
igated the air can appreciate the real
difficulty of mechanical flight that
the great problem the problem of
equilibrium never occurs to any one
who has not actually- tried flyicg.
The Wright Brothers have conducted their experiments with great se
crecy. The above illustrations give, however, an excellent idea of their aer
oplane. They are from photographs taken from a distance for McClure's
Magazine. The iper picture shows the glider in motion. The lower picture
show the method ef starting.
Thus, the real question of the flying
machine is how to keep it from turn
ing over.
Air in Constant Turmoil.
- The chief trouble." the brothers ex
plained, "is the turmoil cf the air.
The common impression is that the
atmosphere rues In comparatively reg
ular currents which we call winds.
No one who has not been thrown about
on a gliding aeroplane rising or fall
ing ten. SO or even 30 feet in a few
seconds can understand how utterly
wrong this Uea is. The air along
' the surface of the earth, as a
matter of fact, is continually churn
ing. It is thrown upward from every
Irregularity, like sea breakers on a
coast line; every hill and tree and
building sends up a wave or slanting
current. And it moves not directly
back and forth upon its coast line,
like the sea, bat In whirling rotary
miiiiw Some of these rise up hun
dreds of yards. In a fairly strong
wind the air near the earth ia more
disturbed than the whirlpools of Ni-
Tbe problem of mechanical flight
Is how to balance In this moving fluid
which supports the flying machine; or.
technically speaking, how to make the
center of gravity coincide with the
center of air-pressure. The wind often
veeia several times a second, quicker
than thought, and the center of pres
sure changes with it. It Is as diffi
cult to follow this center of pressure
as to keep your linger on the flicker
ing blot of light from a prism swing
ing in the sun.
"It has been the common aim of
experimenters with the aeroplane to
smir,HT
solve the problem of equilibrium by
some automatic system of balancing.
We believe that the control should be
left to the operator. The sense of equi
librium is very delicate and certain.
If yon lie upon a bed three-quarters of
an inch out of true, you know it at
once. And this sense of equilibrium is
just as reliable a mile above the earth
as it is on it.
"The management of our aeroplane
like that of the bicycle. Is based upon
the sense of equilibrium of the opera
tor. The mechanism for preserving
the balance of the machine consists of
levers operated by simple uniform
movements which readjust the flying
surfaces of the machine to the air.
The movement of these levers very
soon becomes automatic with the avi
ator, as does the balancing of a bicy
cle rider, and simpler to operate than
a bicycle. In fact, the aeroplane is
easier to learn. In all our experiments
with gliding and flying machines, we
have not even sprained a limb; we
have scarcely scratched our flesh."
Fatalities Among Inventors.
But if these two experimenters tare
had immunity from mishap their pre
decessors have not. Among the first
to undertake the task of demonstrat
ing that a mechanical flying machine
is possible was Otto TLiilienthai, a Ger
man mechanical engineer. He made a
study of the flight of birds and event
ually concluded that very little was
known of the laws which govern the
flight of the feathered tribe. He be
gan experimenting in 1S91. using wings
constructed like those of soaring birds.
Equipped with these, he sailed down
hill sides into valleys. After a series
of more than 1,000 flights one of his
wings gave way one day and in his
tumble to earth he dislocated his spine
and died the following day.
That was in 1S9. Three years later
an PngTisnra.in. Percy S. Pitcher, be-
gaa experimenting along the same
line. He had essayed only a few flights
when one of ftis wings broke and be
sustained injuries which caused his
death a few days later.
On this side of the Atlantic. Prof.
S. P. Langley conducted some notable
experiments, fashioning in 1S96 a
small, steam-driven aeroplane which
made a Eight of three-quarters of a
mile. In the same year Chanute of
Chicago constructed a gliding ma
chine which attracted some attention.
Four years later the Wright brothers,
two young bicycle makers of Dayton,
began experimenting.
It was not long before their efforts
began to attract attention. But they
sedulously avoided notoriety, kept
their own counsel, and devoted them
selves to the task of solving the prob
lem of mechanical flight. Mr. Turner,
however, gained their confidence, and
thus describes them: "Two lean,
quiet mem in a dingy, commonplace
little brick bicycle shop; pleasant, un
assuming, most approachable, but
shy and silent under the oppression
of the greatest secret of the time. Or
vilie, of the more social and conversa
tional temperament, did the greater
share of the talking aa amiable, kindly-faced
man of 35. Wilbur prema
turely bald, about 40, with the watch
ful eyes, marked facial lines, and dry,
brief speech of a naturally reticent
Their New Method.
To quote his account of what the
brothers told him just prior to their
going abroad last year for the demon
stration of their machines before for-
gn war departments:
"We had worked out a new method
of practice with gliding machines,"
they explained. "LiUienthal and Cha
nute bad obtained their experience in
flying vrith the operator's launching
himself from a hiil and gliding down
on to lower land. This involved car
rying back their apparatus, after a
short flight, to the top of the - hill
again. Because of the difficulties of
this awkward method, although Lii
lienthai had made over 2.000 Sights,
we calculated that in all his Bve years
of experiment he could not have been
actually practicing flying more than
five hours far too short for the ordi
nary man to learn to ride a bicycle.
It was our plan to follow the example
of soaring birds, and find a place
where we could be supported by
strong rising winds.
"A bird is realty an aeroplane, Tfce
portions of Its wings near the body
are used as planes of support, while
the more flexible parts outside, when
flapped, act as propellers. Some of the
soaring birds are not much more than
animated sailing machines. A buaaard
can be safely kept in an open pen 30
feet across and ten feet high. He
cannot fly out of it. In fact, we know
from observation made by ourselves
that he cannot fly for any distance up
a grade of one to six.
"Yet these birds sailing through the
air are among the commonest sights
through a great section of the country.
Every one who has been outdoors has
seen a buxsard or hawk soaring;
every one who has been at sea has
seen the gulls sailing after a steam
ship for hundreds of miles with scarce
ly a movement of the wings. All of
these birds are doing the same thing
they are balancing on rising cur
rents of air. The buzzards and hawks
find the currents blowing upward off
the land; the gulls that follow the
steamers from New York to Florida
are merely sliding down hill a thou
sand miles on rising currents in the
wake of the steamer in the atmos
phere, and on the hot air rising from
her smokestacks."
Think Great Speed Possible.
The brothers believe that the event
ual speed of the aeroplane will be
easily 60 miles an hour, and may be
forced np to 10O miles. Our experi
ments have shown." they said, "that
a flier designed to carry an aggregate
of 745 pounds at SO miles an hour
would require only eight horsepower,
and at 30 miles an hour 12 horse
power. At SO miles 24 horsepower
would be needed, and at 120 miles SO
or T5 horsepower. It is clear that
there is a certain point of speed be
yond which the air resistance makes
it impossible to go. Just what that is
experiment will determine. Everv
year gas engines are being made
lighter a fact which will increase the
surplus carrying power of the machine
available for fuel and operator and
heavier construction, but at present
60 miles an hour can be counted on
for the flying machine. This, of
course, means speed through the
air.
The aeroplane running 60 miles an
hour wiil have surplus lifting power
enough to carry fuel for long jour
neys. Our 190? machine will carry
gasoline enough to fly 500 miles at a
rate of some SO miles an hour. We
can. and possibly soon will, make a
one-man machine carrying gasoline
enough to go 1.000 miles at 40 miles
an hour. Moreover, any machine made
to move at speeds np to 60 miles aa
hour can be operated economically at
a cost of not much over one cent a
mile for gasoline.
There is no question that a man
can make a lighter and more efficient
wing than a bird's. A cloth surface,
for instance, can be produced offer
ing less surface friction than feathers.
The reason for this fart is that a
bird's wing is really a compromise.
It is not made for flying only it must
be folded np and got out of the way
when the bird is on its feet, and effi
ciency in flying must be sacrificed to
permit this. - The wings of aeroplanes
will vary In size according to speed.
A slow machine will require a large
wins, but the faster the speed the less
will be the supporting surface nec
essary, and wings for high speeds will
naturally be very small. Not only will
less support be needed, but the size
must be reduced to reduce the fric
tion of the air."
Fearful Only of Capsize.
Although on of the brothers had an
ugly fall only a tew days ago. they
both maintain that the only danger
to be apprehended from an aeroplane
is the danger of a capsise. A break
down, or a sudden stopping of the en
gine, they say and they certainly
should know does not entail disas
ter, as on the first thought it might
appear. Their explanation is that
while the aeroplane Is supported in
the air through Its own motion
through it, yet gravity furnishes all
the energy that Is needed to get
safely to the ground. When the
power is shut oft it merely scales
through the air to its landing. Theo
retically, it is safer at a mile above
the earth than at 100 feet, because it
has a wider choice of places in which
to land; you can choose your land
ing from 256 square miles from a
mile above the surface It descending
one in sixteen. "As a matter of tact,"
they said, "we always shut off the
power when we start to alight, and
come down by the force of gravity.
We reach the ground at so slight an
angle and so lightly that it is impos
sible for the operator to tell by his
own sensation within several yards
of where the ground was first actu
ally touched.
"We feel that It is absolutely essen
tial for us to keep our method of con
trol a secret. We could patent many
points In the machine, and it ia possi
ble that we could make a success of
the invention commercially. We have
been approached by many promoters
on the matter. But we believe that
our beet market Is to sell the m
chine to some government for use In
war. To do this it is necessary for
us to keep its construction an abso
lute secret."
To the same writer the brothers
made the interesting statement that
they did not expect the aeroplane ever
to displace the railroad or the steam-
boat. They predict that its chief
value will be in war time, when it
may be employed for dropping explo
sives upon an enemy or for recon
noitering purposes. In this connec
tion may be added the tact that the
navy department has planned an ex
tensive series of experiments with,
dirigibles, the purpose being to dis
cover their avai lability for war usage.
Those who advocate the employment
of these machines point out the fact
that flying machines sailing over a
fleet are immune from any attack
save that of small arm fire, and that
they could attain a height so great as
to be out of ra?ge from these smaller
weapons. There is no type of larger
gun now carried on shipboard that is
capable of such extreme elevation. Of
course it would be easily possible to
construct a gun mount that would per
mit of high angle, or even vertical
fire, but the question is asked how
would you be able to hit one of these
small targets sailing so high in air?
When firing at a floating target any
error of sighting can be detected by
the splash of the shell. But how is a
gun-pointer to tell where bis shells
are going when he is firing upward
into the air?
No Danger.
"Whatever you do, dear," wrote the
ardent lover, "don't show my letters to
you to anyone. -
"Have no fear, dearest." came the
reply. Tm just as much ashamed of
them as you are.
And. with that, the engagement be
came a matter of history. Judge.
. These New Coiffures,
"What a queer ornament Miss Snuf
fles wears in her hair!" said Mrs.
Trulywed. "Can you see what it isT"
"Yes that's not an ornament. If a
the price tag, answered Miss Belle
Tinkly. Cleveland Leader.
DAY OF TELEPHONEi
ITS USE IN RAILROAD OPERATION
IS AT HAND.
Practicability of Innovation Seems As
sured Development of Teieg
raphone System Will -Do
Much to Forward It,
That recently enacted laws affect
Ins the hours of labor for railroad
employes may re
sult In the substi
tution of the tele
phone for the tele
graph In railway
operation is as
serted editorially
in the Railway
Age, says the Lit
erary Digest. Such laws, the
writer tells us, have within the
year been enacted by congress and by
the legislatures of eight states. For
telegraphers Wisconsin limits the con
secutive hours of service to eight.
West Virginia to from eight to twelve,
and the federal law to nine for day
and night stations and to a maximum
of IS (for not more than three days
per week) for day stations. Says the
Age:
"The necessity of providing addi
tional operators, which is now im
posed by reason of these statutory
limitations as to permissible hours of
labor for telegraphers, presents a seri
ous problem for railway officials in
charge of operation, and in seeking
a solution the telephone will undoubt
edly receive very serious considera
tion. Several systems, including the
New York Central, the Pennsylvania,
and .the Union Pacific, have estab
lished schools of telegraphy In order
to educate operators. Other roads
have had recourse to the telephone as
an auxiliary, and the Pennsylvania and
New York Central as well have made
experimental installations. The prac
ticability of utilizing telephony in
tram-dispatching has greatly increased
by the development of the telegra
phone system, which, by providing se
lective devices in connection with the
telephones and the Morse instruments.
permits the use of one circuit for the
simultaneous communication of tele
graphic and telephonic messages. The
Southern Pacific system has now on
the Sacramento division 25 Btation
telegraphones; these are at points
from 30 to 40 miles apart, and from
the stations so equipped communica
tion may be had with intermediate
stations by telephone. "Also train
crews may communicate with the op
erators at telegraphone stations by
connecting telephone instruments car
ried In the baggage-car or caboose
with the telegraph wire by means of
a fishpole device, such as used on
many interurban electric roads. -The
advantages in permitting the employ
ment at intermediate stations of sta
tion agents who are not telegraph op
erators are apparent, and the system,
which has been in operation for about
18 months, has been found to work
satisfactorily in every way. One dis
advantage sometimes urged against
telephony as a means of - directing
train operation, namely, that a very
large portion of sounds heard over a
telephone are unintelligible, except in
connection with the context, is found
In practice to be of no importance,
since train orders are stereotyped in
form and the knowledge of the hearer
as to the general subject of the mes
sage causes that association of ideas
which is necessary for ready compre
hension of what to one not familiar
with the work might be unintelligible
sounds, and experience has demon
strated that, with the same rules as
regards the repetition and checking,
train orders may be transmitted by
telephone with the same degree of
safety as by telegraph."
First Dining Car.
"Just 40 years ago." said T. C Ne
ton. a Chicago railroad man. "the Chi
cago ft Alton railroad put on the first
iH-iiwg car ever operated on any rail
road train tn the world. This was
the run between Chicago and St.
Louis. If that car could be exhibited
now it would create universal merri
ment. It had oilcloth table covers,
the seats were screwed to the floor,
and its Illumination depended on can
dles.
Think of the contrast between that
primitive affair of 1868 and the mod
ern dining car, finished in solid ma
hogany, with gorgeous furniture and a
menu as elaborate and cooking as
dainty as that supplied by any of the
foremost hotels of America. Verily,
we have been 'going some in the four
decades that have gene by since the
first crude experiment."
Argentina Railroad Construction.
The railroad Ones of the Argentine
republic have reached the border of
Bolivia, 1,200 miles from Buenos
Ayres, and as the result of
treaty with Bolivia the Argentine gov
ernment is making engineering studies
for the prolongation of its line to be
built by the Speyer-Clty bank syndi
cate of New York. In July the New
York syndicate win have finished the
first section of the Bolivian railway
under its contract with, the Bolivian
government.
Wide Variance in Cost.
The average capitalization of the
220,1 S3 miles of railroad In foreign
countries is $108,000 a mile. In the
United States the average for 222,340
miles is a little more than 858,000 a
mile.
Electric Locomotives a 8uccesa,
The New York, New Haven A Hart
ford Bail road Company- is now oper
ating 41 electric locomotives and it is
stated that there is not the least dis
satisfaction with the results. -
THE RAILWAY ENGINEER.
There are Meroes famed In story, rtx&tly
famed, for deeds of arms;
Men who've fought tneir country's toe-
nten. and In sudden n!gnt alarms
Have rushed out to shoes aad shouting is.
the smoke and reek and dark.
Never pausing, never heediac. offering
themselves a mark:
Gams where their duty called them tn
the nation's came of war;
Finding death or flndtnx story never
questioning what for.
But peace has Its greater heroes, asaa of
throttle and of wheel.
Men who, crouched tn their can windows.
drive their panting steeds of
Over moor and fen and mountain.
ins; over trestles nigh
Thrown across deep cleft and hami Eno
mere cobwebs 'gainst the sky.
On whose nme nans; higo of hundreds
as they leave the station fight
And with straining of steel sinews ptusgn
afar into the night.
Men who, facing swtft disaster, are keyed
. up to such a height
That each nerve and Joint and ami to
springs to do the thing- that's rlgfeK
Men who. when they cant avert Jt. go te
death dear-eyed and bravo.
With strong bands tfcris on tne throttle
in a mst attempt to save;
Hope of story or of pensions is not thetrs.
no more than tear;
Aye. indeed, peace hath Its hero in the
railway engineer.
J. M. Lewis, in Houston Post.
WINTER TRAVEL. IN SIBERIA.
There Are Frequently
Snowed Up for Days.
When winter sets in adventures by
rail are frequent, and the process of
"roughing It" is trying- Often trains '
are snowed up at little squalid stations
on the steppe, where the pswngnw
can get nothing but black bread and
tea. For hours? .Aye, and for days.
It depends on the authorities how
long the Ill-a tarred travelers shall
abide.
This year numerous trains were
caught in the snow. almost buried
there, and generally on the open
steppes 50 or 60 miles from a lemon
and 100 miles from a beefsteak. The
passengers besought the station mas- .
ter and others to have them dug out
and to clear the line. They even tel
egraphed to the minister of ways and
communications, and received assur
ances that the order would be given
It was given and disregarded.
Story telling and card playing fa
the flickering light cf a candle were
the most serious occupations of the
prisoners on the steppe. In one case
"he and "she" met for the first time
under these uncommon conditions, fell
in love over a sausage, a stale roO
and half a bottle of wine, which . he
happened to have, and they married
shortly afterward.
Here is a copy of one of the tele
grams from snowed-up passengers that
were sent last season: This is the
second day that we are kept by
snowdrifts here in the lonely station,
Pookhovo. In spite of the energetic
telegram of the minister of ways and
communications the manager of the
line has taken no efficacious measures.
We are doomed to linger on here for
an indefinite period." (Signed by the
passengers of the International wagon
of the Rostoff fast train. And they
lingered on for two days.
Railroad Stolen Overnight.
Citizens of this community are mnca
distressed over the fart that the only
railroad they owned has been stolen.
Everybody was proud rf the railroad,
and the fact that It was only five miles
long did not make them any the less
loyaL
The railroad was stolen some time
last Friday night. It was there when
the citizens went to bed at the usual
hour, and It was gone when they
arose Saturday morning. Where it
went is a mystery.
There is a suspicion that some high
financier hired a lot of men to ro3
up the track and carry it away Eke
a carpet. President Botts, who Is al
so general manager, conductor and en
gineer, said: -
"Before going home I locked the en
gine np is the barn and chained the
railroad to the trees. I also took Che
precaution of nailing down the right-of-way.
When I came out the next
morning there was not even a spike
left. At first I thought the system
had been mislaid, bat careful search
destroyed that theory."
A reward has been offered for the
railroad, and, meanwhile, all beslscss
here is at a standstill- Sherman
(Pa.) Correspondent PhiladeJpfefa
North American.
Low Wages for Railroad Mem.
A report on the number of railroad
employes in England, with the amoaxt
of wages paid by classes, just pub
lished by the Amalgamated Society of
Railway Servants, is the first com
plete one of the kind that has yet
been issued. The report covers, for
the United Kingdom, 2 S3 ,28 "railway
servants." The fact is shown that
over 100,000 of these are working at a
wage of 1, or $4 85 a week, and that
more than one-half of the railway em
ployes of the United Kingdom receive
1 to 1 10s, or 84.86 to tTJO a
week. It also appears that only about
11 per cent, receive more than 87.50 a
week.
Ties Rapidly Becoming
In the United States last year 1.
000.000 railroad ties were need, which
denuded 600,000 acres of forest to
supply. The British railways are sun
plied from Russia, 4,000.000 ties a year
being needed. The Russian forests are
now so much exhausted that the peas
ants have to sledge the trees for ma
king these ties a distance ef 20 miles
to get them to the rivers.
Block System
There are now not far from 89,00
miles of railroad under block signal
operation, nearly 10,000 mOes of
which have been added within a year
and a half. AH of this nttg f
tributed among 84 different