Adams County news. [volume] (Ritzville, Wash.) 1898-1906, 1901-10-23
AIR SHIP C|RCLED THE TOWER
TRIP WAS A PERFECT SUCCESS.

Prize, but Committee snys He wna
Too slow-Large Crowd Present.
SantOs-DumOnt Loudly Cheered-
Ship steered by u Motor.
Paris, Oct. 21.--The Santos. Dumont
air ship ascended at ST. Cloud at 2:3S
o'clock In the afternoon and FIVE min.
utes afterward began to round the
Elffel tower. Santos-Dumont complet.
ed his trip successfully. but question
has arisen as to whether 1t was done
within the time limit. 80 minutes.
NJ. Deutsch says the aeronaut won
the prize. The committee, however,
declares that Santos-Dumont took 80
minutes 40 Al seconds to make the
trip.
Santos-Dumont started for the first
time at 2:29, but on leaving the park
his guide rope caught in a tree and he
was obliged to descend. He started
again at 2:42 p. m, rose $50 yards and
then pointed for the Eiffel tower, the
balloon going in a straight line. 1t
was seen through field glasses to ar
rive at the tower and round It, The
time up to that point with the wind
In the balloons favor, was minutes
and As seconds. It returned against
the wind and made slower headway.
but still kept in the right direction for
st. Cloud. which 1t reached in the total
time of 20 minutes, Is seconds. But
instead OF descending Immediately,
Santos-Dumont made a broad sweep
over the Aero club grounds. with the
result that another minute and 25 sec
ends were consumed before the work
men seized the guide ropes. Thus
technically Santos-Dumont exceeded
the time limit by 40 seconds.
Crowd Was With Him.
The enormous crowd which had
gathered inside and outside the
grounds gave the aeronaut tremend-
Gus ovation. AS his basket came with.
in speaking distance. Santos Dumont
won the prize?"
Hundreds OF spectators shouted:
yes, yes" but the Count de Dion, a
member Of the committee. appeared
and threw damper on the enthusi,
asm by saying: my friend. you have
lost the prize by 40 seconds"
Numbers of the onlookers protested
against this announcement In lively
terms. but the Count'de Dion said:
"That is the decision of the commit.
tee in acceptance with the rules of the
contest"
The crowd, however, refused to ac-
cept this view and a warm discussion
ensued. the majority Of the spectators
taking the ground that Santos-Dumont
was entitled to the prize because he
had reached the grounds within the 30
minutes, although he had not de-
scended Immediately. The aeronaut,
after protesting against the decision
Of the committee. finally shrugged his
shoulders and remarked:
Anyway. I do not care personally
for the 100000 francs. intended to
give II to the poor"
The crowd persisted In declaring
that Santos-Dumont had won. A mum.
ber of ladies' who were present threw
flowers over the aeronaut. Others Of
fered him bouquets, and one admlrer,
to the amusement OF the onlookers,
even presented him with little white
rabbit.
At this moment M. Deutsch himself
arrived at the club grounds, having
only shortly before that moment
reached Paris from Biarritz. He ad-
vanced. embraced Santos Dumont,
shook hands with him and said: For
my part l consider that you have won
the prize"
The crowd then gave the two men a
great ovation. cheering heartily.
Santos-Dumont claims he won the
prize because he reached the park
within the time and that the original
rules governing the contest made no
mention OF having to touch the ground
within 30 minutes.
The dispute Is due to the action Of
the committee. which some time ago
modified the terms Of the contest by
inserting the latter stipulation. San.
tos- -Dumont at the time protested and
refused to be bound by the fresh regu-
lations. and strenuously upheld this
view with the Count de Dion and other
members OF the committee on descend.
ing today. finally declaring that he
considered that he had won the prize
and would not try again. II the money
was withheld, 1t was not his fault.
M. Deutsch said he would give $25,-
900 francs to the poor, Notwithstanding
the decision Of the committee. but
Santos Dumont declined to accept the
offer as a solution of the difficulty.
There was a large assemblage Of
people at the Eiffel tower and consid-
erable interest was manifested in the
movement In other parts Of Paris.
groups Of people gathering in the