The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-05-25

America who would do this If they once
see my ship fly, and for that reason l
am particularly anxious to arrange for a
| flight.
go back to London In three weeks to
run the Santos-Dumont No. in the air.
ship contest during the coronation week,
but In July 1 will return to America and
the Santos Dumont No. will be ready for
flight shortly afterward.
I came to America mainly to confer
with the directors of the ST. Louis ex-
position regarding the conditions they
will insist upon in the contest for the
5000, 900 prize at their exposition. 1 have
my own ideas as to the scope OF the air
ship contest at st. Louis 1t is not a
thing to be handled cheaply, like mus
cum freak. There should be liberal cash
prizes in the first place, because aeron-
autics are costly, and unless the financial
inducements are sufficient inventors will
not bestir themselves to bring out the
best that Is in them.
There should be good course laid out
around the city so that all the people
may view the contests whether they at
tend the exposition or not Any attempt
to make 1t a sideshow for the fair Will
fall as the proper conditions for fair
contest cannot be observed. All these
| things of course, are matters to be set
tied by the exposition authorities and
have no doubt but that they will handle
| them In a liberal way.
l hope that some philosophical Ameri-
can will offer a good prize for an airship
competition aside from that planned at
st. Louis. This prize should not be less
than $4,000 and allow me here to explain
why purse of that amount Is essential.
A first class airship and its equipment,
with the expense of trial, will cost fully
$4,000 and unless there is a margin of
profit over the outlay in sight there will
be no inducement for inventors to incur
the risk of preparing for the trial.
| do not expect much from my expert
ments in London during coronation week
! as it is a hard city for an aeronau to
as 1t is a hard city for an aeronaut to
overhead wires. 1t is in America that I
expect the best results. France Is too
slow. My own country, Brazil is easily
now in the lead in airship matters, but
| the United States is destined to come
to the front. New York offers a great and
| a most severe test to the airship, for it's
| buildings are so tall and so close together
that only a perfect machine and brave
man could navigate through them sue
| cessfully. The entire country also offers
a splendid field for the airship by reason
of its immense distances. but the great
air port of the world will be New York,
1 am sure.
The airship is here. 1t is here to stay
and to be rapidly improved upon and
inside of ten years it will be the most
common vehicle for travel in sport, in
bnsiness. and every other way.
Chicago. l understand is also favor
ably located for an airship port I shall
stop there on my way back from st.
Louis and look it over, and If the condi-
tions are right, 1 may make some trial
trips there with the Santos-D umont No Z.
Santos Dumont bears his laurels mod
estly. Yet at times, especially when he
talks of his work and what he will do
In the future, he has an air of such alb
solute self-confidence that he seems al
most boastful. Still, close study of the
man shows that he is not boastful He
is simply so absolutely imbued with the
convictions of his own theories that he
speaks of them with the same confidence
that one makes the staten ent that two
plus two makes four, When one hears of
the wonderful nerve, the GOODNESS in the