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1907 Febuary 22. 

BIG BALLOON RACE 
GOES TO ST. LOUIS.

International Aeronauts Will 
   Start There and Soar 
     Toward This City. 


The Board of Directors of the Aero 
Club of America has decided to hold 
the contest for the international Aero-
nautic Cup in St. Louis. That city is,
from a geographical point of view, ex-
-ceptionally located, being far removed 
from the sea in all directions. 
The authorities of St. Louis have set 
apart for the startling point of the con-
test a portion of Forest Park. This 
place can be enclosed in such a way 
that there will be no interference with 
the inflation of the big bags and the 
supply of gas will be sufficient for 
quickly niling (?) all the balloons that will 
enter the contest. 
The ground is reached by a twenty-
four-inch main, which leads from a 
gasometer one-quarter of a mile dis-
tant which holds over 4,000,000 cubic 
feet of pure coal gas. The gas will be 
forced by very large pumps so that 
inflation can be accomplished in the 
speediest possible manner. The aver-
age specific gravity of the gas furn-
ished by the Laclede Gas Company 
during last year was .43. 
The club proposes to hold the con-
test during the period of full moon, in 
the month of October, probably on Oc-
tober 19. According to the information 
obtained by the Weather Bureau dur-
ing a long period of observations with 
kites and pilot balloons, the usual wind 
prevailing at the season of the year 
in the upper altitudes proceeds in an 
easterly direction toward this city, 
going to the south of the Great Lakes. 
Fine weather is invariably to be ex-
pected then, there being usually but 
three or four days of rain in the month. 
The average temperature at the sur-
face of the earth in October is about 
20 deg. C. 
It will be recalled that the greatest 
known balloon flight ever made in the 
United States was made from St. Louis 
by John Wise in 1859. He landed in 
Jefferson County, this State. 
The Aero Club of America announces 
gas will be furnished free of cost to 
all contestants from the prize. Special 
rates can be secured at the hotels and 
if a sufficient number of members of 
the clubs belonging to the international 
Federation attend, it will be possible to 
secure a special rate of fare from this 
city to St. Louis and return. The reg-
ular fare is $25.25, but in case enough 
aeronauts attend the contest it is probab-
le that a rate of about $32 will be 
made for the round trip. The stream
ship companies on the lines running 
from Europe to this country may also 
make concessions. The Aero Club is 
at work on an arrangement by means 
of which the balloons of foreign con-
testants will be admitted in bond 
free of duty during their stay in 
Besides