The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-22
The UTILITY OF BALLOONS.
Aeroneut King Does Not Believe
Aerial Navigation Practicable

/
Aerial Navigation Practicable.
Aeronaut King, whose talk in the
MORSTSG NEWS q day or two ago
on balloOning attracted soma attention,
coming as il did from probably the fore
most aeronaut in America, who has made
ballooning life study, while be is a great
believer in the future of the balloon, does
not think that such thing as aerial navi-
| cation is possible. The principle govern
/ ing the flight Of balloons. be says, Is such
that 10 dreamer Of future aerial navigation
VIII ever be able to utilize il for that purpose
Il do not wish to be understood, how
ever" Mr.. King saws, las one who denies
the pos. bility Of the future discovery Of
some means Of making the air the great
highway for the worlds travel.n
Il is wonder, he thinks, why the signal
bureau, spending hundreds Of thousands Of
dollars yearly, does not have a central
| balloon station whence IL might continually
observe from day to day and year to year
such meteorological phenomena as must
lever remain as a sealed book, while it
Is content to stand upon the earth and
speculate on what Is TRANSPORTING beyond the
lmpenetrable cloud veil above. Some
ad vancement has been made in the use Of
balloons for army use in observing the
enemy and inspecting their Notifications,
and as means Of escape and for conveying
intelligence from beleagueTed cities, par
ticuiarly during the seige Of Paris, but the
best results have not yet been gained, and
european countries, especially France and
Germany. have of lats been making I'M
usual efforts to master the problem Of
practical and effective balloon operations
for army purposes. Our own government
has done but little in this direction.
Balloons were III use during the war but
they were connected with no department,
and were entrusted to men of little ex-
perience, who were allowed TO operate
when and where they pleased with none to
question, except the commanding officer;
hence their effectiveness was q minimum of
what might cave been accomplished under
proper organization.
As the history of the balloon stands be-
fore the world to-day, Mr.. King SAYS that
more than century since its first introduc-
ton his own conception of its future great
ness may, to many, seem overdrawn indeed,
yet he asserts his belief that with but one
exception all balloons yet made have bsen
the merest toys, suited, perhaps, well
enough for the work in hand, but the
nerest trlties compared with what must
follow before the great value of the buoy
ant principle of hydrogen gas comes to be
fully recognized. At the French exposition
previous to the one just closed, Mr.. King
says that NJ. Giffard had balloon inflated
which was made Of seven thicknesses of
material, covered with a heavy netting
supporting a car seating fifty persons.
1t was allowed to rise in all
sorts of weather by means Of
windlass while attached to a cable
three inches in diameter at its thicke #, part.
1t was able to stand up against the strongest
wind which occurred during the summer,
and held its gas almost intact the whole
season through. 1t cost 100000 to con
struct it and it cleared 100000 for its
owner. Had the balloon been constructed
on this side of the Atlantic aud been filled
with pure hydrogen, as it was there, and
then set adrift with proper trailing
apparatus TO keep it at a permanent
hight, Prof. King says that it should,
with favoring winds, not only have
crossed the Atlantic ocean, but pos
sibly Europe and Asia as we'll
Indeed" the aeronaut says, az do not
hesitate to say that | believe it perfectly
practicable to Construct balloon that shall
be capable of circumnavigating the globe
Our first effort toward this development of
the balloon must be- TO cross the Atlantic;
then will follow voyage over the Polar
regions after which we will question no
more the marvellous powers of the balloon"