Wichita eagle., 1888-02-15
PROGRESS IN BALLOONS.
WHAT THE NATIONS HAVE DONE
FOR WAR PURPOSES.
Siderable Balloons q Necessity in the
Wars of the Future-France Ahead of
England and Germany-Her Recent APP
pliances Kept Secret.

wars OF the Future-france Ahead oil
England and Germany-Her Recent APP
pliances Kept Secret.
The scientists have discovered nitro-gly-
cerine. dynamite, melinite, raburite, and
hetlinite, with which armies can be destroyed
and Notifications blown to atoms; they have
invented methods for the wholesale annihila-
ton of everything and everybody, but they
have not yet devised ways and means for the
employment of the same, except in certain
cases, which do not always present them
selves. Mines sometimes are exploded at the
least opportune moment, and are only prac-
ticable when they can be laid without let or
hindrance during a siege, or on the SUPPOSE
ton that the enemy will present himself ex-
actly at the proper instant, while as charges
to projectiles, they occasionally disappoint
those who use them. And supposing even
that they did invariably come up to great ex-
pectations, the field of their usefulness is
necessarily limited, and must necessarily re-
main so until somebody does contrive ways
and means by which they can be worked
withsas easily as ordinary common powder
Rockets and balloons, you must know. are
the particular desiderata at present-of
course, mean balloons and rockets that will
go in the right direction and not behave &C.
centrically-and so far nobody has hit upon
any method for their direction which has
stood the test of practical experience, al
though the man who is well informed has
learned that at last solution has been
found to the very interesting problem of
aerial navigation.
With directable balloons we shall be in
vincible, sing in chorus the big newspapers,
for 10! a Frenchman-he has an Italian
name, but was born Transalpinely-a patriot
who has refused the most tempting foreign
offers, is about to endow his country with
blessing" Where will an enemy be. what
can he do if we, sailing above his head, can
learn and so forestall his every movement,
not to speak of the dismay and terror sown
in his ranks. decimated by the explosives
which We will shower down upon his head!
l should say, effectively. that the enemy
would be nowhere, only l am very incredu-
lous still, having studied pretty attentively
all that has been as yet accomplished in aer-
ostation, which, ii we were to have believed
announcements similar to those made now a
twelvemonth ago, had even then been re-
duced to a positive certainty by Capt Krebs
at the aerostatic laboratory Of Meudon.
That steerable free balloons will be very
useful in war cannot be questioned, Judging
from what was accomplished with the Cap
tive article at Maubeuge, Fleurus. Charleroi
and Antwerp in 1914, at Venice in lS49, at
Richmond in June 1862. at Pasa-Pucu, in
Paraguay, twenty years ago. On the 9Th of
September NJ. laurel, an apothecary of
Metz, attempted to communicate with the
National nafopco H. q
small aerostats, and in the course Of the fol-
lowing ten days did get safely to their desti-
patton about two-thirds of the 800 messages
sent out from the beleaguered city: and dur
ing the siege of Paris. thanks TO NM. Yon,
ID Artois and the brothers Goddard l55 per
sons, S6s carrier pigeons and 5000, 900 Of let
tiers reached the provinces by means of ball
looms between the sd of September. 1870,
and the 2sth Of January. 1871. But these
results. although encouraging. only proved
that communications might possibly be kept
up aerially: they were not absolutely salts
factory. as the aeronauts were always ex-
posed to aleatory risks dependent upon at
moSpheric circumstances. so that there never
could be any certainty of where they would
land.
l suppose, however that the Meudon peo- |
pie have accomplished something seriors in /
he course of the past three years, as tbs |
French army has now regular balloon /
train, with two officers, ninety-four men and !
seven vehicles, including a hydrogen
wagon for field service. and fortress SER
vice of FIVE officers and lac non-commis-
z;oned officers and privates, which organiza-
ion has been taken q a model BY Italy, Rus,
ia and Belgium, ths countries in which, /
,ext to France. most interest has bssn man
Tested in this ques ton
la England military aeros,ation only be-
,an to be developed in ISIS, when series OF
experiments were made at Wooiwich under
be directions Of Capt. Noble, assisted by
>apts. Lee. Elsdaie and Temper. the latter
N aeronaut OF acknowledged competency. /
But their experiments were oniv with cap
i've hs,t>o.e-eta Sar>cau 3ns T.,,s..> 81.