The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-06-16
DID NOT PAN OUT.
One Of the Very Few Ohio ideas That Did
Not succeed.

One Of the Very Few Ohio ideas That Did
Not succeed.
"The flying machine fever" /" said pat
ent onioe Official, prevailed very extsn-
sively during President Grants admins
tratioD, when General LeGgett of Ohio
was commissioners Of patents. Many In
ventors, or at least persons who supposed
that they weFe inventors, had IL very bad,
and there wassoarcsjy week that some Hy-
Ing mschips fellow did not turn up or write
70 the patent Office. Tho great majority
Of them never even won't 90 far a. to make
. model, but oontented themselves with
crude drawings explaining their ideas Of
aerial looomotion, All Of them were poor
and wanted the patent 0fl1oe to furnish
the money TO build thoY mschines. re-
member one fellow In particular. He wss
well known 10 General Leggets and served
under him In an Ohio regiment during the
war. He tslegyaphsd General Leggett
from Urbana, O.. Hold patent on flying
machine until arrive. Refuse all spplica-
tions until you have seen mine. The
general answered him, by mail, however,
that the Office would oonsider anything he
had to offer, or words TO that effe~A Then
there came from the inventor y let
ter for q couple Of weeks desci.s the
invention with great detail. 20 cut Oh
tho supply Of letters, the general wrote
him q personal letter, with the idea OF
cooling him down, bot 10 had the opposite
eject, for II was followed BY the announce.
lDent that the inventor would arrive here
IN Q fCw days and would give an cxhibi.
tioD Of the machine. The man did come,
and with him oame his machine. In shape
IL was like . sugar hogshesd, with the
customary wings Of nearly all flying ma.
chineA It was light, and was made OF
white cotton covering spiral steel frame.
Nothing would SUIT the inventor except
lat the patent ofiics should take short
recess, while every one connected with II
could 60 out and zee the machine fly from
the r street porch Of tho building. The
general finally persuaded him that the hrst
exhibition should not be 70 publicly given
and that he and few others wsuld exam.
Inc the machine that afternoon after Office
hours. About Z O'Clock Q half dozen OF
more repaired to the r street porch. and
the inventor, after scFvwing up half doz.
en- or 30 springs and oounterbalances, an.
nounoed that he was ready to fly the won
der. It was supposed that no intended to
60 up In It, but he soon dispelled that
idea by saying that the machine he had
was but miniature model Of what he In.
tended to make, but that 1t was sufficient
70 show what could be done.
Finally be let her 90, and to the surpris'
Of every one the machine 6ew nicely NJ
In the air and across f. street. BY mis-
calculation II struck the corner Of the post
Office department. building very hard and
fell In the area q mass Of broken metal
smashing itself into q dozen pieces The
inventor ran across to look at the rem
naDts, and by the time he had returned Il
explain the cause of the disaster the porti
90 was deserted. 1t was an Ohio idea,
General Leggett remarked. and 1t was one
of the very few Ohio ideas that did MOI
pan out. Washington Star.