The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1904-07-31
ANorHER rLY1Ne ENTHus1Asr.

vented a submarine boat. is also inter-
ested in the subject OF flying and gives
1t as his opinion that within five years
the air will be filled with fiying men,"
Then he tells how easy 1t will be. All
a man will have to do" he says, will
be to strap on a pair of wings. jump
from any elevation sufficiently high to
give him the proper velocity. and soar
at will in any direction he cares to 60"
We've been reading that sort Of CUFF
from the times of the old blue-back
speller. Such claims, In fact, are as
old as humanity. Mythology and his
tory abound with fy-away literature.
OF late there has been a "reminiscences.
so to speak, Of the flying fad. En-
thusiastic inventors and dreamers are
continually telling US just how and
when the business of flying will be an
accomplished fact. They tell us how
We are to fly and some of them, like
Mr.. Holland, fix the time.
But in spite of all this men and wo-
men do not fly. Machines are invent
ed and constructed which are partially
successful. People go through the air
In them, but 1t is not flying any more
than travelling in a SUBMARINE boat is
| swimming under water like a fish.
Some of these vessels make safe voy
Some go where the travellers desire
and some go where the winds and the
fates dictate.
| This new candidate for Immortality
proposes actual flight. as the birds Of
the air fly. We are to strap on pair
challenge the birds to a trial of speed
and endurance. We have not seen the
details of his invention. and don't know
how the wings are to be made and OPP
| Grated. We are to get on an elevation
Sufficiently high" ana sail OF. We
are Of opinion that barrel will be suf-
ficiently high to satisfy most people.
The fall will be less and the jolt much
easier.
With the knowledge we have of such
inventions we propose to let the other
fellow do the experimenting. Seeing
safer. When 1t gets to be a common
thing. we may try 1t on. but not yet
The fact is that bird flight is still one
Of the mysteries of nature. No one has
yet explained how a bird flies, and I'M
til that mystery is fully and satisfac-
torily solved, we shall remain doubtful
about human fight.
We do not affirm that flight is i'm
possible. So many apparently impos-
sible things have been done within the
memory of man that it isn't safe to
doubt anything. Man may triumph
over the air as he has triumphed over
the other forces of nature. but we pre-
fer to see the air filled with flying mon
before taking any stock in the predic-
ton. For the present we prefer land
travel, where a fall is not so discon-
certing.
Wonder is often expressed that hui
man beings should be so anxious to fly
but the desire Is natural. Who ever
noted the swift flight of a bird without
the wish to rival it? Who ever watch
ed a hawk or buzzard sailing around
in apparently perfect circles, contin-
ually rising from earth without appar.
ent effort, but has been filled with en-.
Wy at the superiority of the lower or
ders of creation? From the minute
humming bird to the mighty condor OIL
the lone albatross they wing their way
at will, while man, the superior being
the lord OF creation, must remain or
the earth as inert and helpless as the
toad. 1t is no wonder that he rebels
against the fate that ties him to earth
No wonder that he chafes under such
impotency.
And there is another reason, founded
on human ambition, why men desire t.
fly. Humanity doesn't like to be BAT
fed. When anything appears difficult
or is pronounced impossible. that is thu
thing men will endeavor to accomplish
For generations the attempt to react
the earths poles has gone on almos
without cessation. Thousands of lives
and millions of money have been sacri
feed in the attempt. Every effort ha
resulted in failure, but the battle
against nature still goes on. The more
difficulties that are encountered thu
more efforts will be used to overcome
them. Success may never come, bu
man will not admit defeat.
Something of the same nature is a
the bottom of the effort to fly Asid,
from the advantages and pleasures tt
be derived from successful navigation
of the viewless fields of air." asid,
from the satisfaction of leaving tn,
earth at will and circumnavigating thu
globe without asking any ones leave
aside from the thrilling experience o
looking down on mans earthly habita
ton from the pure regions of the up
per atmosphere; aside from all this
comes the altogether human ambition
to conquer difficulties and surmount OBJ
stacles.
The very fact that flying Is pro
nounced impossible is a spur to human
effort, and there will be no let-u,
while there are men on earth who TAX
delight in warning with difficulties. I
may be that Mr.. Holland has solve,
the problem, but when we think of tn
many obstacles to be overcome, and o
the uncertainties of the air currents, a
well as the imperfections of the hes
mechanical appliances, We may wei
conclude that this new inventor is un