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24 Mar 1907. CHASE BALLON EIGHT MILES Marshfield Boys Expend Considerable Energy in an Effort to Win a Show Ticket. MARSHFIELD, Wis., March 23.-Dewey Johnson and Harry Holbrook, aged 8 and 9 years, in an endeavor to get a free ticket to a 10-cent moving picture show followed a paper balloon to Auburndale. The balloon was sent up at noon. It was followed by four boys, the two named, and Norman Kohl and Lawrence Ludington. The last two, after a chase of some miles, returned, but not so with Holbrook and Johnson. While crossing a field they were chased by a dog and in making their escape lost the direction of the balloon. This brought them to the Wisconsin Central railroad [[?]] and following that they arrived at Auburndale, having gone a distance of over eight miles. After a rest they were sent home by train. [[?]] Buffalo b.y. 24 Mar 1907 IN AIRSHIP DAYS What will the world be like in the days of the airship? Will people on upper verandas and on roofs have to dodge around like people do on the streets nowadays? Will people walking along the street be in constant danger of death from some object carelessly dropped by a heedless airship navigator? It must be admitted that a bag of sand, a heavily filled satchel, a metal seat, a monkey wrench, or a searchlight, falling from a great height, would do considerable damage if it landed on the head. Perhaps in some instances the navigator himself might choose some innocent pedestrian as his landing spot and plunge heavily down upon him from the clouds. The popular type of flying machine will probably be propelled by a motor of some kind. This will mean that it will be made up of many mechanical parts, any one of which is liable to accident and precipitation to the earth below. On some sand will be carried in bags as ballast, and in order to rise to achieve more speed it will be necessary to toss out these bags, much as is done in the old fashioned balloon. Airship parties will be given, empty wine bottles and dishes will go over the side, and increase the danger to the man below. The congestion of airships will be much the same as the congestion of autos in the present day. The city will be the centering point for them. Hence, anything dropped from one of them will have excellent chances of falling on top of somebody's head. The airship is no dream. It is bound to come. If airships become as common and much used as they promise to be there will be an airship craze, and this craze will discount the bicycle craze of a few years ago and the more recent motor car mania. Santos Dumont, slightly ahead of the rest of the world in this matter, has an airship that flies, turns, rises or falls, and obeys the hand at the helm. It is the latest fruit of his inventive genius. He calls it Aeroplane No. 14, it being the fourteenth attempt at this type that he has made. Built on the principle of the bob kite, which inventors declare to be the ultimate discovery in the science of overcoming the air, it starts from the ground and rises under the power supplied by an electrical motor, much as a bird. It runs by its own force, it asks no odds of wind or air; it goes where and when Dumont want it to go, and Dumont declares that soon anybody may have one like it. Count Zeppelin, a Swiss gentleman with a hunger for airships, has made a balloon which carries him over the lakes and mountains of his native land. This affair is more complicated than Santos Dumont's machine. It occupies half a city block when resting on the ground, but it is efficient. Forlanini and Von Parzeval have flown great distances, and Graham Bell, experimenting in this country with a box kite arrangement, declares that the slight imperfections which so far have prevented positive success in this line have been overcome. Apparently, then, nothing remains but the building of the ships. What the auto pretends to be in the line of a terror is nothing to what the airship will be as a matter of course. The inventors probably have not thought of this phase, but it is certain that they will have it called to their attention long before air sailing has become common. Probably airships are desirable, but so are the auto and the bike, in moderation. In the interests of civilization the airship may be considered a great boon; but what of the poor chap who happens to be under it when it loses a piece of machinery? He hardly will be expected to concur in the opinion that aerial navigation is a blessing. With Owner and Friend Aboard, the "Initial" Lands in Meadows Near Atlantic City, After Pleasant Trip from Point Breeze. Rare skill in aerial navigation, and good luck in handling their balloon, the "Initial," which left Point Breeze yesterday afternoon with Alfred N. Chandler, its owner and president of the Aero Club, and Alan R. Hawley, of New York, aboard, allowed the darling aeronauts to approach within six miles of the ocean, after a ninety-mile sail, before they made a safe decent to earth at dusk last evening. The balloon, which was being swept rapidly towards the sea, made a successful landing after an exciting fall to the meadows between Pleasantville and Atlantic City. Messrs. Chandler and Hawley returned to Philadelphia last night and at the Art Club received the congratulations of many enthusiasts, who had heard of the success of their trip and had assembled to greet them. Made Good Start. The start was made as 12.29 o'clock under perfect weather conditions and without a mishap or single marring feature. Several hundred persons assembled at the start and applauded the daring aeronauts as the leaned over the basket to wave a final good-bye when the balloon arose. The absence of wind currents near the ground permitted Mr. Chandler to try an experiment in the method of starting and his success promises to receive recognition from other aeronauts, who will undoubtedly accept his ingenious scheme. Instead of relying upon an anchor rope to hold the balloon to the ground after being filled with gas, Mr. Chandler accomplished this yesterday by excess ballast. When the preliminaries had been complete he began throwing out the sand, first by bags and then by handfuls. Finally the enormous bulk was held trembling upon the earth only by the weight of a few grains of sand. So perfect was the balance that the basket was raised from the ground without attracting attention and then as Mr. Chandler allowed a handful of sand to trickle through his fingers, it began to rise more perceptibly. More headway was gained when another handful of sand was thrown out and finally the balloon went up slowly to a height of about 300 feet. There it appeared to hang in midair for full five minutes. Apparently more ballast was thrown out as the balloon gradually ascended to a height of about 600 feet and then it encountered a current of air from the north-northwest. Experts Help Amateurs. Prof. Samuel A. King, the oldest living aeronaut in America, and Leon Stevens, a well-known professional, who is accredited with more than 2500 ascensions, had charge of the preliminary arrangements. Mr. Stevens originally was to have accompanied Mr. Hawley, as Mr. Chandler has been ill and did not expect to be able to make the trip, although he volunteered the use of his balloon Initial for the voyage. This morning, however, he could not resist the temptation and almost at the last moment requested Mr. Stevens to allow a substitution in the basket. Thirty-five thousand feet of gas was forced into the silken bag. The extreme limit of safety was reached in filling the balloon, allowing practically nothing for the expansion of the gas from heat. As practically every ounce of sand possible to carry was aboard as ballast, the aeronauts were prepared to make an extended voyage had the higher winds carried them in any other direction than towards the sea. When last seen from Philadelphia about 1.30 o'clock the balloon was sailing majestically over League Island towards the southwest, apparently bound for Cape May. Several automobiles, containing members of the Aero Clubs of Philadelphia and New York started after the balloon, expecting to be on hand at the finish of the trip and to render assistance in case of accident. Secretary Davis, of the Philadelphia club, had charge of the party. Before the automobiles had reached New Jersey, towever, the balloon changed its course and floated away more to the east. The followers were unable to locate the minute object, as it was then several hundred feet in the air, and in hopes of overtaking the aeronauts continued on toward Cape May. Sensation in Jersey. The balloon was next seen by members of the Country Club near Pleasantville. Its appearance created a sensation, as they had not heard oof the ascension. Considerable excitement also was caused in watching the race with danger. The balloon was descending as though on an inclined plane, being swept toward the sea at about the same speed attained in the
