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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1909)
unday Bee. PART THREE ADVERTISE IN THE OMAHA DEE BEST IN THE WEST HALF-TONE PAGES 1 TO A. VOL. XXXVIII NO. 40. OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 21, 1909. SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS. The Omaha NAVY OF THE AIR MANNED FROM SCHOOL AT FORT OMAHA Study of Aviation by the Army Has Centered in the Signal Corps School of Instruction, and Colonel Glassford is Busy Preparing Men to Handle Airships of the Future Campaigns IN COLONEL W. A. GLASSFORD, commandant at Fort Omaha, one meets a soldter of the approved spirit, with ideas of the new order. He meets one with frank courtesy, Is companion ably social If you have business worthy his attention, and If you desire to talk aviation, admitting you know little or noth ing of It, this man who knows much of It Is at once interested. He la not frigidly condescending lu tne matter, .either; he ''gives up" like a gentleman anxious to oblige. In two minutes he will have brought forth from this drawer and that pigeonhole, from this table and that stand, printed articles and pictures as an aid to his kindly and incisive explanations. And any person connected with the fort who may have something the colonel thinks will shed more light is reached by telephone with a request to produce at once. Colonel Glassford has an educated and abiding interest ijr aero nautics, arelial navigation and all connected there with, and im presses one as Just the kind of man who would make good if, for Instance, Fort Omaha became a place to make parts and assemble airships, dirigibles and flying contrivances generally. It is now a great supply depot, but it lacks sadly many things that congress and a generous appropriation can alone provide. The colonel has decided opinions, well based on knowledge, and he talks and writes on avi ation and its promise as an element In war most Interestingly. Here are some of his views: , ' "It may be said to be Invariable that war Initiates nothing, but develops everything that haB had trial prior to the war. "We have no airships, nor will there be many unless several times the sum now proposed be given. By the time we get airships it is possible the aeroplane will have succeeded it In other armies. The aeroplane, first successful In the United States, seems likely to be first adopted abroad. "Other nations have already extensive military and naval aero nautical plants which have been built up from year to year. The . great sums they are now spending are upon development We have nothing. A considerable plant will be necessary to commence with. Trained military aeronauts must be made. It will take much time to get ourselves to the position to which other nations have arrived in material and personnel. Then only can development commence. The position we might find ourselves In, In case of sudden attack, Is alarming." That Colonel Glassford is competent to express an opinion " ;i - - . r- rm-v fa .. .. .. -;W- ' jZJui&"j, "v -.-,.t'. s . , i.;f , . . r.. . -vSl -tY "r - BALLOON HOUSE, GAS HOLDER AND GENERATOR PLANT AT FORT OMAHA. former to 220 volts, and at this voltage Is brought to the generator, which is of 200 horse-power. The motor generator delivers direct current of 1,500 amperes. The output of this plant Is 750 cubic feet of pure hydrogen per hour. One room of the building Is equipped for compressing hydrogen. same balloon discovered the "trails," or roads, which could be used. These things wrung from General Shatter, who was stubbornly skep tical, an acknowledgment of satisfactory work. It is no mere dream' to forecast such an order as this being issued from Fort Omaha some time In the future: "You will proceed low the line of march; and it can travel a hundred miles In a very short time to report Its Information. So superior is it to the ordinary spherical gas balloon that there Is no room for argument, in the view of competent judges. Fort Omaha has this distinction todny, that It is the theoretical and practical training school for the signal corps cf the army. If it shall continue to hold that distinction, it seems absolutely neces sary that the eighty-two acres now comprised in the grounds about the fort will have to be materially enlarged. Even now the school at Port Omaha is attended by about 250 men, and a very large propor tion of those attending are selected men from civil life, or are men who in other branches of the service have shown an aptitude for aviation that would .indicate they might become realapeclallsts Id that line. At the fort Just now there are men who have been laying cable at qutlying points on the coast, and clever mechanics and line men, and telegraphers, and signalmen, and electricians, and aero nauts, and scientists of no mean attainments in their particular sub jects, as well as men expert In handling fireworks and others who know how to manipulate mirrors in field work. Here is really a large group of men who have studied more or less deeply, and many of whom have achieved a fair measure of suc cess in some professional specialty. Their skill Is an asset of the country, liable to be drawn on at any time. The greater the pity, therefore, that congress, the body which should do so, has not yet provided what Is held to be at least reasonably necessary by the men who are devoting their lives to the study of this vital subject, and its proper development as an adjunct of the army. Master signal electrician Is the highest grade among the men of the signal corps, and the breadth of knowledge that a man must have to attain that rank Is not confined to any narrow bounds. The most desirable candidates for the corps are young men with good gram mar and high school training, as they have a fine chance to attain distinction because of their trained minds and exact methods of thought. There are several divisions of the school, recruit, telegr.tph, student, advanced and specialty classes. Recruits advance according to their ability, and having qualified to a certain point of ion)- petency are sent wherever their knowledge will make them most valuable, in the opinion of their superiors. The West Indies get some, the Philippines others, Alaska draws a few, and there Is call for men of particular equipment on the three cable ships under con- It has a motor-driven four-stage compressor, which is capa-, with dirigible No. 1 and aeroplane No. 2 to make a recon- CP ble of forcing gas into the cylinders at a pressure of 3,000 pounds to the square 4nch. The pressure used varies, de pending upon the weight and strength of each type of cyl inder. In the same, room there is a motor-driven pump for use In testing cylinders to determine their strength. This hydraulic pump will give a pressure of 5,000 pounds to the square Inch. The installation of the equipment was completed and tested in September, 1908. The building, being brick with a steel roof and concrete floor, Is abso lutely fireproof; and electricity being used for all motive power, the danger of UNITED STATES XRMY DIRGIBLB PROVma GROUND, IN FLIGHT OVER FORT MYER worthy of serlon attention no on will question. When, in the fall of 1890, congress extended the scope of work under the signal corps of the army to the duty of collecting and transmitting information, he was sent to Europe to Investigate aeronautics there, because the added function of the signal corp's work naturally Included aerial navigation, which had even then become a very Important means of collecting information. At the time of Colonel Glassford's visit a large balloon for our army was constructed in France, and was sent for exhibition to Chicago, was used at Fort Riley, Kan., and later to Fort Logan, Colo., for practice ascensions. Official reference by the War department to the desirability of developing means of aerial navigation has since been frequent; but, as Colonel Glassford said in an article published In Aeronautics, "there references beat upon deaf legislative 'ears; politicians could not see what science was bring ing on." In the article referred to Colonel Glassford sums up his conclu sions as follows: "The success of the great airships recently de veloped abroad has awakened the world. With no such ships nor trained aeronauts, it is not difficult to imagine the predicament of this country In case of war. Their importance as a military weapon has impressed every thoughtful mind. Most military, men clearly see that the mastery of the air means the mastery for na tions. The United States has this mastery within its grasp." Fort Omaha thus becomes a possible potentiality in the prog- ress of this tremendous epochal development. But not in its pres ent condition of equipment, nor with its present very limited area of territory. Colonel Glassford has sent to the War department, to be submitted to congress, plans for acquiring additional land sur rounding . the fort, considered necessary to any real experiments by the men of the signal corps stationed here, but nothing has been done; on the contrary, a pro posed appropriation looking to more efficient equipment and a wider scope for work at thie point was recently defeated in congress. The Fort Omaha balloon house, which was completed dur ing the summer of 1908, is proba- bly the finest in the world. It" was built at a cost of $34,000 and Is constructed entirely of steeL with floor of concrete. The di mensions of the building are: Length, 200 feet; width, 0 feet; height over all, 80 feet. Inside there is a clear space of seventy five feet In height. Three hun - dred and twenty-five tons of steel were used in the construction of this building; the doors weigh fourteen tons. Adjoining the balloon house is a brick building containing the machinery and apparatus for gen erating and compressing hydro gen. The method of generating hydrogen is known as electrolysis of water. A current of 1,500 am peres Is passed through thirty large cells, decomposing the water Into Its elements, hydrogen and oxygen, ine electric power is furnished by the Electric Lighting company of Omaha and delivered at this building a three-phase al ternating current of 2,100 volts. It is stepped down If a trans. J ":- ...ft, explosion from the gases generated Is very slight. Just north of the gas plant Is a gas holder of 60,000 cubic feet capacity. This is fifty-six feet four inches in diameter and forty-eight feet high. When hydrogen Is gen erated it may be piped direct to the balloon house for immediate use or stored in this gas holder. Mechanical flight has been accomplished, plumb' to the point of certainty. It Is a veri fied fact, both as to the llghter-than-alr machines, the dirigi bles and the heavler-than-alr machines, the aeroplanes, and to bring home the local applica tion, to stir the pride of Omaha and Nebraska in behalf of holding here what we have, and increasing the plant, it should be kept in miud, as Colonel Glassford points out, that a captive military balloon used by the United States army in connection with military operations has a record of ac complishment quite conspicuous. For the first time in history, artil lery fire against a concealed enemy was directed from a United States army balloon. Signal officers of the United States army made the first use of the telegraph from a balloon; and from the same moving vantage point the hiding place of the Spanish fleet was con firmed. Success at San Juan Hill, contributing somewhat largely to making a president of the United States, was in no small degree due to a reopening of fire suggested from the army balloon which was making observations during the siege of Santiago de Cuba; and the '--' t -. - - .4 nalssance of the Canadian border above Portal, and note what movements, if any, are proceeding about Fort Fran cis." If the United States congress wakes up and lets go of the pursestrlngs the army has the men to reallxe stranger forecasts than the above. "It is a noteworthy fact," says Colonel Glassford, "that the most conspicuous mention of our balloons during the civil war was made by observers from foreign armies." Even the great bulk of the officers of our army today give but scant'conslderatlou to the balloon as a useful ad junct for operations In the field;" and Colonel Glassford . and other men who know the subject say this is solely because the offi cers have not had op portunities for experi ence with the new weapon, for such, in a sense, the military bal loon or airship is. A simple description of the signal corps di rigible balloon, with which successful exper iments were made at t Fort Myer, Va.. would be as fol lows: One hundred and twenty feet long, nineteen and a half feet In diameter, holds 20,000 cubic feet of gas. It contains inside a balloonette, which holds 2,800 cubic feet of gas. The car of the balloon is sixty-six feet long, two and a half feet wide and two and a half feet high. The motor Is a twenty horse-power water-cooled Curtlss machine. The propeller at the front of the balloon car Is connected to the engine by a steel shaft. Tho propeller Is built of spruce, with a diameter of ten feet eight inches, and turns at the rate of 460 revolutions per minute. Such a balloon can accomplish much more than the war balloon, that Is without propelling mechanism other than the wind. Major George O. Squire, who was In charge of the official army trial at Fort Myer, points out that it can ascend so far into the atmosphere as to take advantage of the air currents to increase Its motor-created speed, while every movement Is under control of the aeronaut. Held stationary over the enemy's camp or battle line, the observer can note every detail, and if need be photograph the vista; or it can fol- i SUCCESSFUL TYPE OF AEROPLANE PROVING GROUND. IN FLIGHT OVER FORT MYER SCHOOL HOUSE AT FORT OMAHA. President Taft and His Cabinet in Session ' "" ' i inn ii ii in. mi. mi iii n i , i, !.... as .. W C.'H'I SH.1 1 . . I f'l'JiilM I il ll .1 Hillll 1IIH.I .1 I i,npi il I I Mlinmmii I J. t . ,-'..',. -. .. . .. . . -It - - - K T. '- hit 7j"- I - ..... it ,x gj? " " i ... . . .. .... . r s i ,., ,i.. .,,,.,.-, . .,..-.,..,..,.,. ,..,-.- - ..... .i, .i, . ,., i .,. ; trol of the signal corps. Through them knowledge of the Omaha plant Is carried to the ends of the earth. Even if they afterward re turn to civil life, the men who go through this school have a train ing of the mind and body that gives them advantages above the ordi nary. In time of war they might aspire to the higher grades of serv ice with fine prospect of success. Old Fort Omaha, historic in army annals for the connection, with its earlier days of Generals Crook, Brooke, Augur and others, . Is not unlikely to again figure finely in the pages of United States history. In the old days operations against hostile Indians were di rected from regimental headquarters, now the instruction building. In the days to come operations in the field may be directed In a manner undreamed of by the warriors mentioned above. The country about the Welland canal and the Niagara river, with fighting mem ories scattered all over it, may yet be reconnoltered by dirigibles or aeroplanes from Fort Omaha; and General Brock, on his monument at Queenstown Heights, can easHy be imagined as the focal point of a United States army airship out on a scouting expedition. This old-time regimental headquarters would not seem at all familiar it the officers and privates of the pioneer days, when Omaha was on, or mighty near, the frontier, could return today. The rooms are given up to classes in telegraphy, men studying elec tric installation, and still others devoting their attention many hours , of each day to signal engineering. ' There is a reference library that would look, mighty strange to Crook or his predecessors, and lec tures fill the atmosphere once given over to short, crisp orders by men who were fighters pure and simple. There are in It, too, study rooms and workshops, and machines and tools, instruments and contrivances unknown to the Indian tamers and their cohorts. 'The personnel and tho methods and designs have changed; but the royal old souls can mingle congen ially, if they are spiritually pres ent, with the mental fiber of the newer soldiers for the flag and Its protection and undying honor la still the key and the watchword. While studying aviation, sig naling, balloon building, aerial construction and kindred things, the present-day occupants of Fort Omaha have acci to modern comforts practice ty unknown to the men of the oihr day. There is a salesroom containing articles not furnished by the government, lunch counter, a bowling alley, pool and billiard hall, reading room, gyran&Hlum, hot and coll water, tub and shower baths. But after all the study and practice of aerial navigation, with all the possibilities of Its applica tion to actual warfare. Is the great thing here. Wireless telegraphy manipulation, handling of gas, aeronautical gymnastics, balloon ascension stunts the certainties and uncertainties of a developing science that uncovers new things every day these be Fort Omaha's forte at this particular stage of its usefulness. And to this central point the workers in Uncle Sato's field of electrical installation, tele graphic end telephonic construc- Oa the Left President Taft. Secretaries MoYeagh, Wlokersaam Mayer, Wilson Juid, Nagsi. On, the Eight Secretaries Knox, Dickinson. Hitchcock ana tteiienger. (Continued on Page Four.).