Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-08-29
The Coming Air-shin

The fate OF the AIR voyaeer. Prof II,
an, Is not TO be classed with tina, ~
senseless person who jumped into ~.
atty from lofty bridge. or tho ef
senseless person who rode throne ' ~,
Niagara whirlpool in a barrel we
navigation has been the dream 90
thoughtful for half century. car
alton has passed since the Poet 1'a"I
cate NAut-
saw the heavens filled with commerce.
argosies of magic sails,
Pilots OF The purple twilight. drn.r;.
down with costly bales,
Heard the Heavens filled with sboDtir,
till there rained a ghastly dew.
From the nations airy navies grapolir,
IN the central blue"
Though the dream is yet a drssr.
though the obi cot of so much epdss1os
has not get been attained, still for veo,.
past the true question has been No.
whether air voyages were possible In,
whether the means had been devised o..
making them with economy, cer.sirt.
and safety. For the great progress alread1
attained the world owes much to tbos.
who have tested hundreds of apnliannas
made thousands of journeys through ~
air, and recorded with more or Iess
scientific accuracy their experiences and
circumstances. A few have saoriecsa
their lives In these voyages of discover,
and 20 them also the world owes its trib-
ute.
For the object is well worth all the
effort and genius which have been de-
voted to It. Aerial navigation woud
create a new world, as truly as steam
navigation on land and sea have created
new world within the last century. II
the air can be traverse1 at all with Ger.
tainty and safety, much higher rates of
speed are to be expected than have been
attained on land or water, though per-
haps not with bulky or heavy loads. For
the movement of passengers with the
greatest possible comfort and enjoy
ment, and for the swift transportation of
letters and packages of small size, the
air path Will be preferable to any other
The oceans and lakes will cease 10
divide natiOns, even as little as they do
now, for with ordinary fortune q voyage
across the Atlantic might be made ia two
days az easily as II is low in six, and
probably with far less chances OF disaster
if the problem was once solved at ALL
Give n the power TO travel through the
air any direction at will, to rise above
storm or drop below an opposing cur.
rent of air, and to pursue the journey at
higher or lower attitudes as the comfort
of passengers may prompt, and the
whole world would be revolurionizsd,
Many Of the great inventions of late
years seem TO place mankind even nearer
the desired success in navigation OF the
air. The electric motor supplies power
III meny respects better adapted TO the
purpose than any other in fact, as long
as the problem was nov to support pas
seDgtrs and steam engine OF sufficient
power tC give speed, with the necessary
fuel, it seemed we'll nigh insouble. The
discovery of eluminum, and of ecOnomi-
cal processes for It's production from
common clay, ia another step toward suo.
cess, the combined lightness and strength
of that metal rendering it peculiarly
adapted 70 the purpose. When it can be
produced cheaply, eld fashioned into
desired forms, the air-ship OF the future
will not be far away. But it may prove
that the world need not wait for further
developments. Inventions and ingenious
constructions already in existence seem
to approach SO near the desired result
that no one will be much surprised if,
almost any day, "the pilots of the pur-
pie twilight should begin TO traverse the
air