The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-10-14
Navigating the Upper Air.

BaIlooning has become fad in France
where it has always been IN great favor,
and the International Congress OF Aero
nauts has recommended the issuing OF
certificates Of competency 10 all per-
sons before they are permitted TO make
ascensienss From being q highly smpcr-
tant scientific pastime the balloon as
cension has become Fashionable func-
ton, and wealthy Parisians conduct par
ties Of visitors through the air By aerial
navigation as an after-dinner amuee-
ment. Women manage these pleasare
balloons and within a recent date forty
fair Parisiennes have applied for certifi-
Gates after a course OF lessons. Louis
GODDARD. the son OF the aeronaus who
became famous during the siege of Paris.
is building some educational balloons,
and the novelty of sehoolroonos in the
air viii soon attract attention, the
to the students by daily ascensions A
fee of $500 is mentioned as preliminary
TO the tuition.
Women in France are fond Of aerial
travel. Many years ago a noted aero
maui suggested:
IF you wish ballooning to becomeNp p
ular in France, begin by taking up the
women-men VII be sure to follow
Indeed, the first woman TO make bal
loon ascension was Nine ThibIe, a
French woman. and her example was
soon followed by others. And the first
woman TO meet death in a balloon was
also French woman. Mime. Blanchard.
1t would seem as if the time had come
when it must be decided whistler the
balloon is to be a sensa tional tor or q
practical navigator of the upper air for
scientific service. So far it is incapable
Of sailing from one point to another in
direct line and under control Ii is
still a monster of the sky, TO be gased
at with apprehensive eyes, but little
more than a century has passed since
its inception. When Lunardi made his
first ascension in England 10000 spec
tators watched him, and when in pass
ing over London ne dropped an oar from
his aerial ship, a young woman-who
believed it was Lunardi himself falling
died of fright
Dunardi IN giving an account of his
sensations declared that fear was noi
among them. He was enthusiastic over
the magnificence Of the venture; the mo-
ton Of the balloon among the Islands
of the sky he described as produc ng an
ecstacy, there being no resistance or re-
straint, so that il was easier and mo e
delightful than the broomstick feat OF
Witches, Ariosto's flying horse or Mil
hOAA . SH4OCoAAA NeIAA 1A45 Inc dA6Ck4lO
earth.
Camille Flammarion treats the balloon
with the tender sentiment of lover, AMI
has the aeronaut talk to it as the Arab
does to his rose. He is an enthusiast
on the subject, but so are all lovers of
sky navigation and in many cases the
enthusiasm borders on lunacy, ana the
voyagers Of the air give no thought to
the terrible form of danger which must
be encountered That a man should be
willing TO throw away his life in the
cause Of science or humanity we can
readily understand, but that he should
county fair for q few dollars and a
cheap heroisr, seems incredible.
Every autumn at the time OF the coun-
ty fair or the street harvest festival the
announcement is made in the newspapers
in big headlines, Fatal Fall of an
Aeronaut." One such notice during the
last month adds piquancy to its state
ment by a closing two-hne mention that
the young man was the fourth brother
to fall from a balloon and meet his
death He was not, as in gladiator days.
"butchered to make Roman holiday,
he was only allowed to kill himself le-
gally for the amusement of the Ameri-
can people.
To discriminate, however, the smuse-
ment that is highly spiced with danger
is not solely an American trait. Take
away the possibility from any national
sport and it becomes tame and unnter-
esting. Few people who have once seen
a man or woman fall from ba loon
would ever care to see the exploit re-
peated. No written description can equal
the sensation caused by seeing a human
fgure-ho larger at the distance than
ones hand outlined against the pitiless
sky, revolving at an altitude Of mile
or more, and approaching with awful
velocity, not safety among his kind-but
destruction. We can only hope that Pro-
fessor Helm was right when he wrots:
He who falls from a great height has
no suffering, no terror, no thrill of de-
spair. He hears wonderful music, and
feels himself carried toward some heav-
emily bourne. 1 cannot imagine a more
agreeable DEATH
That the art of ballooning is IN its
infancy is easily understood. Electricity
may increase its value, but there must
be departure from old methods and a
substitution of new ones, aided by me-
chanical inventions, before much of i'm
portance can be accomplished. If the
balloon in which the polar aeronaut An
dree went out on that voyage Of dis
covery from which 1t never returned had
been attended by feet Of balloons, in
stead Of being a solitary voyager. we
might have learned ere this some frae-
ment of its fate. The young ItsIan,
Duke OF Abruzzi. has demonstrated the
feasibility Of such a pan, with an oraa-
mixed and well-equipped expedition. and
the establishment Of relay stations. Re-
cent contests in Paris bstween racing
balloons show that air ships can travel
faster than trains, and the newly ava
kened interest in the achievements in
this line are likely to lead TO results OF
practical value. It may take a few
more generations OF study in a.ronos'ics
but the time is coming when the laws
of gravitation will be subEerved 20 the
best interests OF man. and across TIE
Of the sky will be seen the spec
taele. balloons that pass in the night,
and speak TO each other IN passing"
n. I. RAYNE.
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