Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-18
EARLY FLYING MACHINES.
Mentioned in Petitions to the Seven
tenth Congress.

"Some day in the very near future an
American inventor will produce perfect
flying machine. and when that day comes
all danger of war will pass, because every
improvement in the line Of defense tends
to increase the power of arbitration, and
no country would want to war against
the country that owned a covey Of armed
flying machines said an old employe Of
the patent Office. Our government, I am
sorry to say. has never done anything IN
the way Of encouraging the ambition of
flying machine inventors, and the records
will bear me out in making this assertion.
Among my papers I have the record OF
the first appeal to Congress by an Ameri-
can who, in his petition to the Congress.
claimed to have solved the problem OF
aerial navigation. But Congress turned
a deaf ear to the petitioner.
This happened during the first session
of the Seventeenth Congress. On Monday,
March %, 1922. Representative Minor Of
Pennsylvania presented to the House the
following petition, which was read for in
formation: James Bennett a mathemati-
clan of the city of Philadelphia, to the
honorable the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives Of the United States of America
in Congress assembled, most respectfully
showeth:
That your petitioner having invented
the african soar to any height-steer in
any direction-can start from any place,
and alight without risk Of injury; and
whereas a like machine has never been in
vented in any country age of the world,
so to be applied to purposes OF practf-
cal utility, and as 1t is more than prob
able that artificial flying would not, for a
thousand years to come. be brought to the
same degree of perfection had not your
petitioner under Providence accomplished
it, and. it must be evident to all that
NIL h.a nf h<a
inventor in consequence of various modif-
cations or improvements which might be
made and which never would have been
thought Of had not the way first been
opened by your petitioner He therefore
solicits a special act of the Congress of
the United States to secure to him and his
heirs for the term of forty years for
such other term in their wisdom may be
deemed just, the right of steering flying
machines through that portion Of earth's
atmosphere which presses on the United
States. or SO far as their jurisdiction may
extend.
BY granting your petitioners request
the honor of the invention shall be con-
ferred on the United States.
81. BENNETT A and M.
philadelphia, Feb 13, 1922
After the petition had been read Mr. Mil
judiciary, but this motion was opposed by
Mr.. Sargent on the ground that his COM
mittee did not undertake to into re-
gions so high; that the duties of the ju-
Mr.. Walworth thought the petition should
be referred to the committee roads and
canals. But the House refused to do this.
The petition was finally laid on the table,
About a week later, to be accurate, the
first of April Representative Reyes pre-
scented a petition from David B. Lee of
Philadelphia in which the petitioner
claimed to be the original inventor of the
flying machine mentioned in a petition from
James Bennett. Lee in his petition prayed
that no rigl.. or privilege may be granted
to said Bennett on account of said inven-
. ton, but that Congress grant him Gee)
exclusive right and privilege of navigat-
ing the atmosphere either with flying ma
chimes or with navigable balloons through
out the United States
THE two petitions were referred to a
special committee, but there is no record
that the committee ever made report on
the merits of flying machines. If Congress
had taken the matter up at that time there
is no telling but that would have by
this time been flying through the air in
stead of making speed with automobiles"