Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-05-14
EARLY FLYING MACHINES.
Mentioned In Petitions of Inventors
to the Seventeenth Con-
gress in 1922.

BEcsh In Ao&
"Some day in the very near future
an American inventor will produce a
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 coun-
try would want to war against the
country that owned a covey of armed
flying machines" said an old employe
of the patent Office, reports the Wash
ington Star. sour government, l am
sorry to say, has never done anything
in the way of encouraging the ambi-
tion of flying machine inventors, and
the records will bear me out in max
ing this assertion. Among my papers
/ have the record of the first appeal
to congress by an American 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 SEES
sion of the Seventeenth congress. On
Monday, March rs, 1922, Representa-
i've Minor, of Pennsylvania, presened
to the house the following petition,
which was read for informatfon:
James Bennett, a mathematician of
the city of Philadelphia, to the hon
orable the senate and house of repre-
sentatives Of the United States of
America in congress assembled, most
respectfully showeth:
THAT your petitioner, having in
vented a machine by which a mar can
fly through the air-can soar to any
height-steer in any direction-can
start from any place, and alight with
out risk of injury; and whereas a like
machine has neverbeen invented in any
country or age of the world, so as to
be applied to purposes of practical
utility, and as it is more than probable
that artificial flying would not, for a
thousand years to come, be broughtto
the same degree of perfection had not
your petitioner under Providence ac-
complished it, and, as it must be evil
dent to all that letters patent would
be of little use to the inventor in con-
sequence of various notifications 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 there.
fore solicits a special act of the con.
gress of the United States to secure
to him and his heirs for the term OF
40 years, or for such other term as in
their wisdom may be deemed just, the
right of steering flying machines
through that portion of earth's at.
mosphere which presses on the United
States, or SO far as their jurisdiction
may extend.
"'By granting your petitioners re.
quest the honor of the invention shall
be conferred on the United States.
"tJ. BENNETT, A. and NJ.
"'Philadelphia, February 10, 1922
"After the petition had been reat
Mr.. Milnormoved to refer it to the com
mittee on judiciary, but this motion
was opposed by Mr.. Sargent ON thu
ground that his committee did mo-
undertake to oar into regions Sc
high; that the duties of the judiciary
committee were nearer the earth
Mr., Walworth thought the petition
should be referred to the committe,
on roads and canals. But the house
refused to do this. The petition wa'
finally laid on the table.
about a week later, to be accurate
the first of April, Representative.
Keyes presented a petition from
David B. Lee, of Philadelphia, in which
the petitioner claimed to be thu
original inventor of the f1yin.
machine mentioned in a petition
from James Bennett. Lee in his petit
ton prayed that no right or privileg,
may be granted to said Bennett Oh
account of said invention, but tina
congress grant him (Lee) exclusiv;
right and privilege of navigating tn
atmosphere either with flying ma
chimes or with navigable balloon
throughout the United States
"The two petitions were referred t,
a special committee, but there is n,
record that the committee ever made
report on the merits of flying ma
chimes. If congress had taken TIL
matter up at that time there is no tell
ing but that we would have by thi
time been flying through the air in
stead of making speed with automo
biles."